spelling errors reported

[DireLilith]

a story was rejected with the reason "did i check to make sure everything was spelled correctly?"

when put into ms word the story did not come up with any spelling errors.

how do i resubmit it properly? i didn't know what to do so i just put "resubmitted" and a note. but what would be the proper way to resolve this problem? who would i email to discuss what they thought were spelling mistakes? i reread the story too, just to make sure ms word just didn't miss anything.

 

[cloudy]

Have someone else proof it for you.

We, as authors, are usually too close to it to see sometimes glaring errors. We know what we meant to write, and that's what we see.

 

[DireLilith]

thanks

so i get someone else to proof read it, and then just use the "rejected" link to resubmit it, right? what if they don't find it either? i mean i did use the spell check so it's nothing super obvious. what if they don't find anything either? what do i put next to the name if not "edited"? thanks for the response also, i appreciate the time.

 

[blaster8]

so i get someone else to proof read it, and then just use the "rejected" link to resubmit it, right? what if they don't find it either? i mean i did use the spell check so it's nothing super obvious. what if they don't find anything either? what do i put next to the name if not "edited"? thanks for the response also, i appreciate the time.

As an editor, I have found things things in stories that MS Word won't catch, like the use of wrong words, such as "agents" for "against" or "than" for "then." I have also found various other grammatical errors than MS Word didn't catch. Chances are good that a decent editor will find something and fix it for you.

 

[DireLilith]

thanks for the response.

when i send a story to an editor, will the editor change things or just point out the mistakes? i don't want my story changed, i just want to know what the mistakes were that got it rejected. i'm very unsure of using an editor.

 

[Sherry Hawk]

thanks for the response.

when i send a story to an editor, will the editor change things or just point out the mistakes? i don't want my story changed, i just want to know what the mistakes were that got it rejected. i'm very unsure of using an editor.

If you just want it proofread, tell them that upfront.

I will tell you this, though, a good editor doesn't "change" your story. They will, however, tell you what does and does not work in it, i.e. word choice, run-on sentences, etc. When I edit, I'll let the author know when something is off: character motivation is missing, a character seems flat, or dialogue is unrealistic. I don't change anything, and it's always the author's choice whether to accept my suggestions or not. But you, as an author, won't always see these things. Stephen King uses an editor....'nuff said.

None of us are perfect. Beginning authors especially need an editor's help.

 

[LadyCibelle]

thanks for the response.

when i send a story to an editor, will the editor change things or just point out the mistakes? i don't want my story changed, i just want to know what the mistakes were that got it rejected. i'm very unsure of using an editor.

An editor shouldn't change anything without your consent. He/she may suggest changes, can put his changes in a different colour for you to see but ultimately the decision to accept his changes are yours and yours only.

Unless the changes he/she recommend are vital and you're a dimwit (not that I thought that you are but we have to allow for the possibility, who knows? ), then I think you'd be well served in accepting the changes but it's still ultimately your choice.

 

[LadyCibelle]

If you just want it proofread, tell them that upfront.

I will tell you this, though, a good editor doesn't "change" your story. They will, however, tell you what does and does not work in it, i.e. word choice, run-on sentences, etc. When I edit, I'll let the author know when something is off: character motivation is missing, a character seems flat, or dialogue is unrealistic. I don't change anything, and it's always the author's choice whether to accept my suggestions or not. But you, as an author, won't always see these things. Stephen King uses an editor....'nuff said.

None of us are perfect. Beginning authors especially need an editor's help.

Seems like great mind think alike, huh?

 

[Sherry Hawk]

Seems like great mind think alike, huh?

Indeed.

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

There is a weirdness about the spell check in MS Word. Missellings are held in a buffer. If Word reports an error, you will change it, but the misspelled word remains in the buffer even though it is now correct. Eventually that buffer gets filled up or something and Word doesn't report or incorrectely reports misspellings.

I found that I have to shut Word down between spell checks.

 

[CopyCarver]

so i get someone else to proof read it, and then just use the "rejected" link to resubmit it, right? what if they don't find it either? i mean i did use the spell check so it's nothing super obvious. what if they don't find anything either? what do i put next to the name if not "edited"? thanks for the response also, i appreciate the time.

As several others have pointed out, a good editor very probably will "find it."
Spell checkers are cybernetic Rainmen--they do a few things extremely quickly and well but they fail miserably when they're expected to adapt to context, or intent. No spell checker in existence, for example, can distinguish between to,too, and two or between it's and its.

Seems like great mind think alike, huh?

You betchum. I never change anything--not even a typo or other no-brainer that I'm 99.9% certain the author will want to change. When someone consistently types "teh" it's sorely tempting to do a global search and replace, but we of great mind resist the temptation.

For me, this is partly an aversion to hijacking someone else's work and partly a matter of giving a writer an opportunity to learn from his/her mistakes.

Of the commonly available on-screen editing tools, I strongly prefer "Insert Comment" because it gives me room to present several options instead of pushing one specific change or to explain why a change is needed
(e.g."You need the plural possessive here rather than the singular possessive"). It's true that Insert Comment demands a bit more thought and effort from the author than Track Changes, with its "Accept All" button, but encouraging the writer to think the issue through and make an informed choice is a huge positive in my book.

 

[DireLilith]

thank you

those are great answers, they really help.

can anyone tell me though if an author can ask for an editor to "just" check for spelling? is that something i can ask for up front? i appreciate my style and like my work. i don't make complicated paragraphs and i'm a good writer, in that i like it and i'm my best audience however, if a story is rejected for spelling, i'd like to get an editor to check it's spelling - and only that. is it rude or uncommon to tell an editor here to just check for that?

 

[starrkers]

those are great answers, they really help.

can anyone tell me though if an author can ask for an editor to "just" check for spelling? is that something i can ask for up front? i appreciate my style and like my work. i don't make complicated paragraphs and i'm a good writer, in that i like it and i'm my best audience however, if a story is rejected for spelling, i'd like to get an editor to check it's spelling - and only that. is it rude or uncommon to tell an editor here to just check for that?

Yep, you ask them to proof read only. They'll pick up spelling errors, grammar stuffups and typos.
If there's anything really glaring in the story (like a third arm suddenly appearing ) they'll usually point that out, without altering it.

 

[snooper]

Of the commonly available on-screen editing tools, I strongly prefer "Insert Comment" because it gives me room to present several options instead of pushing one specific change or to explain why a change is needed
(e.g."You need the plural possessive here rather than the singular possessive"). It's true that Insert Comment demands a bit more thought and effort from the author than Track Changes, with its "Accept All" button, but encouraging the writer to think the issue through and make an informed choice is a huge positive in my book.

I use Track Changes because it's easier for me, and I put an explanation (different font, different colour) saying why I recommend the change. Non-specific comments (e.g. Who is this "Fred" we never met before?) are in yet another colour/font and, of course, the comments don't vanish with "Accept All".

 

[CopyCarver]

a story was rejected with the reason "did i check to make sure everything was spelled correctly?"

when put into ms word the story did not come up with any spelling errors.

how do i resubmit it properly? i didn't know what to do so i just put "resubmitted" and a note. but what would be the proper way to resolve this problem? who would i email to discuss what they thought were spelling mistakes? i reread the story too, just to make sure ms word just didn't miss anything.

You're right. Just one very minor spelling error in the entire story. The 'bots must have been misinterpreting your character names as mispelled words. Computers truly are cybernetic Rainmen.

 

[DireLilith]

thanks, and as we discussed it could also be things like the word "magickal" which i spelled in an uncommon way. again thanks for the responses!! this was a helpful topic for me.

 

[zschachwitz]

I had a story rejected for "mis-spelling".

Really?

I wrote it in British English - hardly surprising as I've used it for over 60 years. It's what I'm used to.

As soon as it was changed to American English, it was accepted.

Is it really such a big deal to write "colour", for example, than "color"?

I suppose it must be.

I have actually made this point in another thread.

(Separate paragraphs used for emphasis)

 

[snooper]

I had a story rejected for "mis-spelling".

Really?

I wrote it in British English - hardly surprising as I've used it for over 60 years. It's what I'm used to.

As soon as it was changed to American English, it was accepted.

Is it really such a big deal to write "colour", for example, than "color"?

I suppose it must be.

I have actually made this point in another thread.

And as I have said many times before, I always use UK English and have never had a problem, nor have a number of other writers.

This is another argument for the theory of multiple reviewers; since such inconsistencies occur, different people appear to be applying different criteria.

 

[zschachwitz]

And as I have said many times before, I always use UK English and have never had a problem, nor have a number of other writers.

This is another argument for the theory of multiple reviewers; since such inconsistencies occur, different people appear to be applying different criteria.

Thanks - I guess I was just unlucky with my reviewer.

In my real life occupation, it's implied that my spelling and grammar are accurate, and that I am able to make myself clearly understood to members of society who are vulnerable when I deal with them; what grated, in addition, was to be told that my grammar was wrong as well. NO - for obvious reasions I take a pride in the accuracy of what I write, (although the odd typo. does creep through)!

 

[DireLilith]

hrm, please correct me then, maybe i'm reading this wrong. there are only two people who review the work and approve it, right? manu and laurel? because if that's truth, i can understand why a document that for an american Word program comes up with a lot of "mistakes" would be rejected before they had a chance to really read it. they'd be busy as all hell! but am i wrong? are there more than just two people who approve stories here? please advise when you can.

 

[cloudy]

hrm, please correct me then, maybe i'm reading this wrong. there are only two people who review the work and approve it, right? manu and laurel? because if that's truth, i can understand why a document that for an american Word program comes up with a lot of "mistakes" would be rejected before they had a chance to really read it. they'd be busy as all hell! but am i wrong? are there more than just two people who approve stories here? please advise when you can.

Nobody really knows the answer to that one, sorry. It would surprise the hell out of me if it was only the two of them, to be honest.

 

[CopyCarver]

There are rumors of a litter of dwarves scurrying around the office, chanting "Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho."

 

[snooper]

hrm, please correct me then, maybe i'm reading this wrong. there are only two people who review the work and approve it, right? manu and laurel? ...

The corporate persona of Literotica is split into two:

"Laurel", who is the literary side of the company dealing with posting, membership, etc. I have only occasionally had dealings with Laurel.

"Manu", who is the technical side of the company, running the web site. I have had quite a lot of correspondence with several different people at Lit, all of whom sign themselves "Manu", on different technical aspects.

Since the editorial is now apparently down to one 'person' consider the time taken to read upwards of fifty stories a day (actually 74 yesterday), plus handling the emails from aggrieved authors, 365 days a year. Even if each story averages just one Lit page that is 187,500 words per (50 story) average day and 277,500 yesterday. It is beyond belief that one person can handle that much work.

 

[zschachwitz]

I thought that volunteer editors were sought, to help authors, generally, and to be around to point out "mistakes". I was tempted to add my name to the list, but decided against it. I mean, what do I know about spelling if I can't spell "color" properly ?

And don't get me started on the incorrect use of the apostrophe.

And for those of you in the UK, "Don't Forget the Full Stops" BBC4

And, I know - don't start a sentence with a conjunction

 

[Sherry Hawk]

I thought that volunteer editors were sought, to help authors, generally, and to be around to point out "mistakes". I was tempted to add my name to the list, but decided against it. I mean, what do I know about spelling if I can't spell "color" properly ?

And don't get me started on the incorrect use of the apostrophe.

And for those of you in the UK, "Don't Forget the Full Stops" BBC4

And, I know - don't start a sentence with a conjunction

Volunteer editors have zilch to do with the approval of a story. Two completely separate things.