Story Backlog, Editor Caution, and Frustration

[PrevertOne]

I have a whole bunch of chapters of stories in progress, of which I'm losing track, I'd like to post. There seems to be too few editors available for these particular stories, given the content. I hesitate to go to the Editor's Forum to ask, as I had a somewhat problematic experience with a respondent (when I first came to this site), that's made me cautious about soliciting editors outside the availability thread. Maybe I'm being too cautious. I'm just soliciting opinions on whether to wait for more editors, or just ask the Forum.

 

[AlinaX]

After 98 stories published, do you really still need an editor?

 

[PrevertOne]

After 98 stories published, do you really still need an editor?

As I remember, you can't submit a story on this site without an editor. At least that's the impression I have since I first tried submitting years ago.

 

[MrPixel]

No, that's not the case. Not that I know of. I've been on for two years and have 11 stories published, none vetted by an editor. If a story is rejected for content, an editor might be suggested, but not required. That I know of.

 

[RejectReality]

Finding an editor that you're comfortable working with long term is always going to be a problem. I haven't had one for years now since mine retired.

Obviously, run it through spell/grammar check.

If you aren't already, make sure to let some time pass between completion of the first draft and when you start editing. Preferably, write other things in the meantime. That will help you erase what's supposed to be on the page from your head, so you don't skim over errors that are there.

Try changing the font size and face to something radically different from what you write in when doing the first read through. Changing the position of the words on the page can make errors jump out at you that you would have otherwise missed.

Use a text-to-speech reader pass. It's another excellent way to catch errors your brain automatically passes over when reading it yourself. It can also make clumsy phrases stand out. Even free versions can help a lot, but the paid versions which let you correct pronunciation of words via phonetic spelling have proven an additional boon to me. Being able to remove the distraction of character/place names being pronounced weirdly lets me concentrate more on everything else.

 

[LongDraw]

Also you can simply read your story out loud as if you are narrating for an audiobook. Even if the word sounds the same, your brain should catch wrong words used more readily.

 

[PrevertOne]

Right, okay. So twelve years of editors. Some good, some very good, some . . . ehhh, but not exactly required. I guess I'll try submitting some stories, and see what happens. Thanks for the response.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Right, okay. So twelve years of editors. Some good, some very good, some . . . ehhh, but not exactly required. I guess I'll try submitting some stories, and see what happens. Thanks for the response.

I use Grammarly as one step too, but it's hardly foolproof. All its suggestions have to be checked by a human mind, namely yours. One of my favorite goofs is when it changed "brown stone" (the color of a rock) to "brownstone" (the type of row-house residence that may be that color). Still, it does catch some things that may be otherwise missed.

 

[SimonDoom]

As I remember, you can't submit a story on this site without an editor. At least that's the impression I have since I first tried submitting years ago.

This is not true. I have never had an editor for any of my published stories. So far, I've flown completely solo.

You've been publishing stories since 2010, far longer than I have, and you've published far more stories. You don't need an editor to publish stories at Literotica.

The threshold for editing/proofreading/spelling/punctuation/grammar at Literotica is not high. Some people's skills in these areas are not as high as others, but ANY experienced Literotica author can easily meet the Literotica requirements with modest effort. Use Grammarly or a similar proofing app. Read a few "how to" guides here at Literotica on grammar, how to write dialogue, etc.

I would never wait to publish a story at Literotica because of the unavailability or tardiness of editors.

 

[KeithD]

There's nothing magical about editors on the volunteer editors' list. They self-nominate and don't have to know any more about writing or editing than you do.

With your track record, I think you can assume that you can wing it yourself, with careful self-review, better than taking a gamble on the volunteer editor system here. The best way you could move forward is to become increasingly better knowledgeable about grammar/spelling yourself (which involves knowing where to look good information up more than stuffing yourself with all of the guidance). There are "How To" essays here on self-review at Literotica and how to use the dictionary (have a few posted myself under the sr71plt account).

Self-Review for Literotica - How To - Literotica.com


Dictionary Smarts Can Up Ratings - How To - Literotica.com

 

[ElectricBlue]

As I remember, you can't submit a story on this site without an editor. At least that's the impression I have since I first tried submitting years ago.

Not true. I've published more than a hundred stories/chapters without an editor. The occasional beta reader, but that's different. I self-edit, and in a million words, have been picked up on things maybe half a dozen times (and half of those, the joker was in fact wrong or didn't get that something was done deliberately).

 

[PrevertOne]

It was more about double-checking with someone with different eyes to see things I missed. Plus, I'd always worked under the belief that an editor was required, and needed to be credited in order for the story to get through. Thanks for the info everyone, and thanks for reading too

 

[PrevertOne]

My first story without an editor just posted without a hitch. Simple as that. To think I didn't know for these twelve years. Once more, thanks for the info folks