New story posting issues

[Jsnweir29]

I'm relatively new to posting stories here and posted two with 0 issues. They are a continuing story series, anyway like I said I posted the part and second part with no issues, and they were well received. Then I attempt to post parts 3 and 4 and they both get sent back with several points of concern.
My paragraph lengths were too long
Make sure all appropriate terms, names and paragraph beginnings are capitalized.
Use spell check.

So I go over both stories, shorten up the paragraphs, and spell check them. Resubmit them and the 3rd one is sent back saying spell check again. I suspect part 4 will be sent back.
Now I've had two different people check them. They said it looked fine to them.

Is the fact I'm spelling certain words the Canadian way and not the American way my issue here.

There are stories posted here the have horrid spelling and words just obviously missing but they get posted.

Advice??

Link to part 1 and 2 https://www.literotica.com/s/executive-decisions-1
https://www.literotica.com/s/executive-decisions-ch-02-explorations

 

[Rustyoznail]

I'm relatively new to posting stories here and posted two with 0 issues. They are a continuing story series, anyway like I said I posted the part and second part with no issues, and they were well received. Then I attempt to post parts 3 and 4 and they both get sent back with several points of concern.
My paragraph lengths were too long
Make sure all appropriate terms, names and paragraph beginnings are capitalized.
Use spell check.

So I go over both stories, shorten up the paragraphs, and spell check them. Resubmit them and the 3rd one is sent back saying spell check again. I suspect part 4 will be sent back.
Now I've had two different people check them. They said it looked fine to them.

Is the fact I'm spelling certain words the Canadian way and not the American way my issue here.

There are stories posted here the have horrid spelling and words just obviously missing but they get posted.

Advice??

American/British/Australian/whatever spelling shouldn’t be an issue. Try running the free version of Grammarly over it and see if it picks up anything.

Also, go to the User CP at the top of the screen and a link to your stories in your signature. It’ll help to see what went on previously.

 

[AlinaX]

Advice??

It's helpful if you put a link to your stories in your signature in the forum. [As Rusty said first.]
(Not sure what your 3rd & 4th stories look like, but the 1st is in major need of editing.)

 

[Jsnweir29]

It's helpful if you put a link to your stories in your signature in the forum. [As Rusty said first.]
(Not sure what your 3rd & 4th stories look like, but the 1st is in major need of editing.)

And yet they posted it.
I'll be the first to admit, I am no writer.
But why was parts 1 and 2 ok, then all of a sudden 3 and 4 are in no good and rejected?
I personally think they just don't like the concept so they are just nit picking them apart. Its frustrating and discouraging.

 

[AlinaX]

There are so many submissions to this site and they're reviewed by one person. I'm pretty sure her software flags up key words and phrases, in some cases leading to automatic rejection, and in others flagging the story for closer attention. Probably this happened with your Ch. 3.

I am speculating here.

I *am* surprised your first story was published. As a first time writer, I would expect her to take a closer than usual look.

So it's not that the previous chapters were fine and she's nitpicking now. It's that she's paying attention and wasn't before.

 

[Jsnweir29]

I personally don't see the big deal about minor grammar mistakes. We are all amateurs on here and are not submitting work to a major publishing house for mass publication. No one is making money off anything here.
We are all just sharing stories for the enjoyment plain simple.

 

[lovecraft68]

And yet they posted it.
I'll be the first to admit, I am no writer.
But why was parts 1 and 2 ok, then all of a sudden 3 and 4 are in no good and rejected?
I personally think they just don't like the concept so they are just nit picking them apart. Its frustrating and discouraging.

Because this site is unprofessional and things pass or don't pass based on mood, whim, or how many stories they need to try and get through that day.

You could submit a story with no issues and have it rejected, you could have a story rejected for under age or rape or anything else but find countless stories that have that same content floating around because the site has no interest in any type of rules or consistency.

That's the real answer, the others are trying to do CYA or legit trying to help, but they know how it works at the end of the day

Your options are to remain patient and keep submitting because eventually they'll go through like the other did

Try and find an editor to help you in the editor's forum which is not always a certainty that you can find someone

Or go to another site that has firm rules and an actual staff that can help you, not one person blazing through 100 or so stories in an hour every day and half asses even that.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I personally don't see the big deal about minor grammar mistakes. We are all amateurs on here and are not submitting work to a major publishing house for mass publication. No one is making money off anything here.
We are all just sharing stories for the enjoyment plain simple.

I'm afraid to say your story formatting isn't just a few minor mistakes, it's a collection of repeated formatting errors. You'll do yourself a favour learning how to get the basics right, if you want people to enjoy reading your stories. As AlinaX noted, you would really benefit from an editor.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I personally don't see the big deal about minor grammar mistakes. We are all amateurs on here and are not submitting work to a major publishing house for mass publication. No one is making money off anything here.
We are all just sharing stories for the enjoyment plain simple.

I understand your points, but it's their site and they can do as they wish. We also know that they are understaffed (an understatement!) and thus are not always consistent in their decisions.

Grammar is not taught as strictly in most American schools as it was in the past, so many people never learned it well. Plus some of us just a knack for it, I guess, while others have to struggle.

You have your spell checker (in Word, I think you said). Then Grammarly will help, but it requires some judgment calls. It is not the panacea it promotes itself to be. If you know somebody who is knowledgeable (not just any acquaintance), have them read it. If all else fails, get a volunteer editor from here.

P.S.: Paragraph length is subjective. Try to imagine how it appears on the page to a reader. Somebody like the late David Foster Wallace could get away with stuff that you can't here. For paragraphs, it's better to go with short ones versus longer ones.

 

[Jsnweir29]

I'm afraid to say your story formatting isn't just a few minor mistakes, it's a collection of repeated formatting errors. You'll do yourself a favour learning how to get the basics right, if you want people to enjoy reading your stories. As AlinaX noted, you would really benefit from an editor.

I could benefit from an editor.... along with 80% of the stories here.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I could benefit from an editor.... along with 80% of the stories here.

If you want to set your own standards against that 80%, that's fine. It's a low bar, but it doesn't take much to aim little higher.

 

[Jsnweir29]

Well absolute perfect grammar, formatting isn't at the top of the list for me. I am not a writer, I'm a truck driver.

 

[KeithD]

Is the fact I'm spelling certain words the Canadian way and not the American way my issue here.

There are stories posted here the have horrid spelling and words just obviously missing but they get posted.

Advice??

Link to part 1 and 2 https://www.literotica.com/s/executive-decisions-1
https://www.literotica.com/s/executive-decisions-ch-02-explorations

Variant spelling could be the issue, yes, but it's not a showstopper at Literotica. If you're sure everything is in reasonably good order, you could send it back with a note in the note box saying you use Canadian spellings and asking Laurel to point to specific problems if she thinks they are there. My experience has been that this will get the original file through.

If not, there are problems that you and your checkers just aren't understanding. That happens a lot here too. Eight times out of ten if you'd known you are prone to a writing mistake, you wouldn't have made it to begin with (and most folks you rely upon here for editorial hope, although useful as a second, independent look, don't know any more about writing than you do.)

 

[gunhilltrain]

Well absolute perfect grammar, formatting isn't at the top of the list for me. I am not a writer, I'm a truck driver.

That's okay, I admire truck drivers. It wasn't quite the same, but I drove a taxi years ago. It isn't as easy as it looks to drive for a living.

But just like when you are driving a vehicle that are certain standards that have to be met, there are certain things that have to be done when writing. It has to be nearly perfect in mainstream book publishing (it used to be anyway), but they have people who will do it for you. It's obviously not as strict here, but somehow you ran afoul of the site's owner.

I know I've made typos that got through, and other errors. It doesn't have to be perfect here, but it does have to be acceptable to the admittedly shafting standards of the owners.

 

[MillieDynamite]

My English was horrid, came from not actually going to class much. This poor English is in spite of being raised by a writer from my 13 birthday. I was a runaway, rebellious, stubborn, and didn't see a need for schooling. My father, with the patients of an oyster, eventually, got through to me.

Not claiming to be a good writer, not yet, but I'm better than I used to be. Book learning has it place, but reading, as much as learning English and Grammar, helps you to write better as well. And I read a lot of books, stories on here, everything I can get my hands on.

But, editors can be invaluable. Editing is the asshole end of writing.

EDIT: I put a signature on my profile, but don't see it on this post. Did screw it up?

 

[gordo12]

I'm relatively new to posting stories here and posted two with 0 issues. They are a continuing story series, anyway like I said I posted the part and second part with no issues, and they were well received. Then I attempt to post parts 3 and 4 and they both get sent back with several points of concern.
My paragraph lengths were too long
Make sure all appropriate terms, names and paragraph beginnings are capitalized.
Use spell check.

So I go over both stories, shorten up the paragraphs, and spell check them. Resubmit them and the 3rd one is sent back saying spell check again. I suspect part 4 will be sent back.
Now I've had two different people check them. They said it looked fine to them.

Is the fact I'm spelling certain words the Canadian way and not the American way my issue here.

There are stories posted here the have horrid spelling and words just obviously missing but they get posted.

Advice??

Link to part 1 and 2 https://www.literotica.com/s/executive-decisions-1
https://www.literotica.com/s/executive-decisions-ch-02-explorations

Your issues have little to do with Canadian spelling. I'm Canadian and have posted 19 stories with no problem.

Your issues are a complete and utter lack of understanding of punctuation, grammar and a host of other writing issues. I started reading Executive Decisions, and it was appalling that it even got published in its current state.

Even an editor would take one look at that mess and refuse to waste the time.

The problem is you, not the site.

 

[Jsnweir29]

Your issues have little to do with Canadian spelling. I'm Canadian and have posted 19 stories with no problem.

Your issues are a complete and utter lack of understanding of punctuation, grammar and a host of other writing issues. I started reading Executive Decisions, and it was appalling that it even got published in its current state.

Even an editor would take one look at that mess and refuse to waste the time.

The problem is you, not the site.

Ok. Point taken. I guess not all Canadians live up to our reputation, that said do the letters F O mean anything to you?

 

[gordo12]

Ok. Point taken. I guess not all Canadians live up to our reputation, that said do the letters F O mean anything to you?

You wanted an answer about your story and you got one. Like most, you really don't want to hear about your darling. Would you rather I lied to you? I've found that being direct is the only real solution to change in life. If you want to write, consider it a challenge to improve. Keep that story as a measure of where you came from.

My stories had issues in the beginning and fortunately, some honest commenters set me right. I used it as a learning opportunity rather than a "shoot the messenger" moment.

And a Canadian would add F O Eh or F O, please! Are you sure you're not an American Pretender?

 

[Jsnweir29]

There's being honest and constructive
Then there's being a dick.
I appreciate the constructive criticism. I am by no means a literary scholar. I just enjoy a certain type of story and there was a real lacking of it here, so I thought I'd try my hand at it.

As for being an American pretender.... with this embarrassing excuse for a government we have here in Canada, I'd gladly say yes I'm an American pretender. Sadly their present leadership isn't much better.

Now... take off eh.. ya hoser

 

[KeithD]

If Gordo12 is correct in the level of issues with your posted stories, then he took the effort to look at one of them in detail and to give you constructive feedback that, though blunt, isn't nasty and should be useful to you, and I think it's off base to bite the hand that took the time to help you. I certainly would have no incentive to look further into this now--and I tried to help you up to this point as well.

 

[gordo12]

Taking off? So not happening.

BTW hoser:

Hoser originates from Canada but is used primarily by those imitating Canadians.

 

[SimonDoom]

There's being honest and constructive
Then there's being a dick.
I appreciate the constructive criticism. I am by no means a literary scholar. I just enjoy a certain type of story and there was a real lacking of it here, so I thought I'd try my hand at it.

As for being an American pretender.... with this embarrassing excuse for a government we have here in Canada, I'd gladly say yes I'm an American pretender. Sadly their present leadership isn't much better.

Now... take off eh.. ya hoser

You started a thread asking for help, and you've gotten some help. Some of that help was blunt, but blunt help is still help. You have no call to say FO to people. Rather than get personal and defensive, listen to what people have to say.

I scanned your first chapter, which was published. There are some basic issues with punctuation and formatting. It is not surprising to me that subsequent chapters were rejected. There are some good articles here that explain how to format dialogue, for example.

 

[gordo12]

You know I always wanted to be a truck driver. Climb into one of those big rigs and aim it down the highway. Woohoo!

Don't need any experience. Rules...laws...bah! Why should I listen to anyone with experience? Hit the gas pedal and go like stink. What could go wrong?

 

[Jsnweir29]

You know I always wanted to be a truck driver. Climb into one of those big rigs and aim it down the highway. Woohoo!

Don't need any experience. Rules...laws...bah! Why should I listen to anyone with experience? Hit the gas pedal and go like stink. What could go wrong?

Hardly a fair comparison. Bad grammar, poor formatting etc. won't cause bodily harm or worse. However point taken.

I apologize for taking exception with the criticism that I asked for. It wasn't so much the criticism I took exception to, it was the manner it which it was given.

 

[jaF0]

Taking off? So not happening.

BTW hoser:

Well, I first heard it from the gang at SCTV -- Dave Thomas, John Candy, Rick Moranis, et al. Or in the movie 'The Great White North.' Canadians not they are, eh?