Submitting Story...how to do paragraphs

[kizkiz]

When submitting via a word file, what's the way to do paragraphs. Is it a new line or an indented line?

Specifically, someone gave me this advice: "Per the Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed. (CMOS), first sentence of each paragraph should be indented from 0.2” to 0.5.” This should be using the Paragraph function on the toolbar ribbon in Word and not by using the Tab button or space bar. Because paragraphs are indented, there is no need to have an additional line space between each paragraph."

What is allowed on Literotica?

 

[sr71plt]

When submitting via a word file, what's the way to do paragraphs. Is it a new line or an indented line?

Specifically, someone gave me this advice: "Per the Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed. (CMOS), first sentence of each paragraph should be indented from 0.2” to 0.5.” This should be using the Paragraph function on the toolbar ribbon in Word and not by using the Tab button or space bar. Because paragraphs are indented, there is no need to have an additional line space between each paragraph."

What is allowed on Literotica?

It's single spaced lines, flush left, with an extra return between paragraphs at Literotica.

 

[kizkiz]

Thanks pilot

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Question: Why are you submitting it as a .doc file?


It would be simpler and quicker - in most cases - to submit the text only with the cut and paste method into the submission form.

But to each their own.

 

[sr71plt]

Question: Why are you submitting it as a .doc file?


It would be simpler and quicker - in most cases - to submit the text only with the cut and paste method into the submission form.

But to each their own.

I do the cut and paste method too. Same paragraph rules, though.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I do the cut and paste method too. Same paragraph rules, though.

Indeed they are.

To: kizkiz

And there are no margins to worry about on Lit. A paragraph is a as long as it needs to be, although short paragraphs are easier to read. There is no carriage return after a sentence, just at the end of the paragraph, then another to put a blank line between the paragraphs.

Kind of like what you do here on the forums. You type until you think you should break a block of text into a paragraph.

Then you hit return twice to start the new paragraph.

Get it? Just like what a I did above.

 

[robertreams]

Smashwords and other e-publishers, require blocks, not first line indents, but will allow an indent on the first line of the first paragraph of a story, or on the first line of the first paragraph of each chapter.

 

[HuckPilgrim]

I can't stand to have all those extra lines between paragraphs in my Word file, so I do a search and replace for the paragraph end symbol (^p) and then replace it with ... two paragraph end symbols (^p^p)! This gets me an extra line between each paragraph and then it's just a cut and paste. A little fussing to add HTML tags for any italics and I'm good to go. Takes about 10 minutes.

 

[sr71plt]

I can't stand to have all those extra lines between paragraphs in my Word file, so I do a search and replace for the paragraph end symbol (^p) and then replace it with ... two paragraph end symbols (^p^p)! This gets me an extra line between each paragraph and then it's just a cut and paste. A little fussing to add HTML tags for any italics and I'm good to go. Takes about 10 minutes.

But then it's very hard to see where the paragraphing is, isn't it?--because another Lit. requirement is no paragraph indenting. Just one solid wall of type if you don't do the paragraph returns as you write.

Anyone can learn to type in the Lit. requirements as they compose if they want to (and it's what you have to do here on the forum). I do and then, do conversion for the marketplace distributor requirements (which, in contrast to what Robert posted about Smashwords, for my set up for Smashwords, Amazon, and ARE is Arial 12-point font, one-and-a-half spacing, and automatic .5 paragraph indent--all of the paragraphs. Only the titling is flush left. The section separators (* * * *) are centered. But that's for marketplace publishing, not Lit. submission.)

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Smashwords and other e-publishers, require blocks, not first line indents, but will allow an indent on the first line of the first paragraph of a story, or on the first line of the first paragraph of each chapter.

Not really. Smashwords allows first line indent for paragraphs without a blank line between them. They do however require the document be double spaced for first line indent.

I don't know about Amazon as I have never submitted any stories with a first line indent, just the block paragraph format.

As for other e-publishers...I have seen ebooks from other publisher with a first line indent and double spaced lines.

To each their own. Personally I like the block paragraphs as long as they are not too big. There is nothing that turns me off more than a wall of text. The human eye likes some white space in there.

 

[HuckPilgrim]

But then it's very hard to see where the paragraphing is, isn't it?--because another Lit. requirement is no paragraph indenting. Just one solid wall of type if you don't do the paragraph returns as you write.

Anyone can learn to type in the Lit. requirements as they compose if they want to (and it's what you have to do here on the forum). I do and then, do conversion for the marketplace distributor requirements (which, in contrast to what Robert posted about Smashwords, for my set up for Smashwords, Amazon, and ARE is Arial 12-point font, one-and-a-half spacing, and automatic .5 paragraph indent--all of the paragraphs. Only the titling is flush left. The section separators (* * * *) are centered. But that's for marketplace publishing, not Lit. submission.)

I use styles in Word to put a little white space between the paragraphs. I suppose I could turn that off and put a manual line break in between each line, but then I'd have to take that same break out for distribution to Amazon, Smashwords and any others.

Plus I'm fussy about how the words look on the page. I get a lot of enjoyment out of the act of writing. I mean just putting the words into the computer. Getting the words ready to publish -- here or a marketplace -- is a different thing all together. I don't mind doing the prep and I'm pretty good at it.

I tend to keep at least two copies of a story. The original which is a word doc and only has the text for a single story. And then another version with marketing blurbs, cover art, (sometimes multiple stories, etc.) that I upload to Smashwords, Amazon and others. For lit, I tend to make a copy of the original, fuss with it to get it to display right, cut and paste into the tool and then just discard it after I post.

 

[robertreams]

Sorry, yes the indent is okay if it is formatted automatically and not inserted each time, but I use Times New Roman 12 pt, double space with no problem. All my problems with e-publising disappeared when I learned to do automatic formating.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I use styles in Word to put a little white space between the paragraphs. I suppose I could turn that off and put a manual line break in between each line, but then I'd have to take that same break out for distribution to Amazon, Smashwords and any others.

Plus I'm fussy about how the words look on the page. I get a lot of enjoyment out of the act of writing. I mean just putting the words into the computer. Getting the words ready to publish -- here or a marketplace -- is a different thing all together. I don't mind doing the prep and I'm pretty good at it.

I tend to keep at least two copies of a story. The original which is a word doc and only has the text for a single story. And then another version with marketing blurbs, cover art, (sometimes multiple stories, etc.) that I upload to Smashwords, Amazon and others. For lit, I tend to make a copy of the original, fuss with it to get it to display right, cut and paste into the tool and then just discard it after I post.

Why take them out? Both Smashwords and Amazon except the block paragraph format. Single space, two paragraph marks between blocks.

Personally, I think the block format is not only cleaner, but easier to read.

Of course that only work if you don't have a wall of text with a paragraph that is four pages long. But even with first line indent and double spaced that would be a lot of text to read. And as Smashwords and Amazon squeeze down the double space to single space...

Here is the setup I use for word...

Then I can just cut and paste into the submit form.

 

[sr71plt]

I use styles in Word to put a little white space between the paragraphs. I suppose I could turn that off and put a manual line break in between each line, but then I'd have to take that same break out for distribution to Amazon, Smashwords and any others.

You do that for Literotica? I bet it's taken out, if so. The first thing I have to do when a publisher sends me a manuscript to edit is to strip out all of the fancy formatting the author thought would look pretty or needed to be there. It's not always easy to find it all and get rid of it.

 

[lovecraft68]

Not really. Smashwords allows first line indent for paragraphs without a blank line between them. They do however require the document be double spaced for first line indent.

I don't know about Amazon as I have never submitted any stories with a first line indent, just the block paragraph format.

As for other e-publishers...I have seen ebooks from other publisher with a first line indent and double spaced lines.

To each their own. Personally I like the block paragraphs as long as they are not too big. There is nothing that turns me off more than a wall of text. The human eye likes some white space in there.

You get what they want by going to styles in word and selecting traditional, I think.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

You get what they want by going to styles in word and selecting traditional, I think.

Not really. It uses the "space after paragraph" setting.

 

[HuckPilgrim]

You do that for Literotica?

Nope. For Literotica I add an extra paragraph return to each of my paragraphs. I do it with search and replace. It's simple and fast.

 

[HuckPilgrim]

Why take them out? Both Smashwords and Amazon except the block paragraph format. Single space, two paragraph marks between blocks.

Huh. I didn't know I could do that, so thanks for letting me know. I started distributing my stuff with excesscia this year and I like their format. I have been thinking about adopting it moving forward, so that I can do less formatting.

I have been formatting docs as my day job for too long. It doesn't take me a long time to do the formatting. It's probably crazy, but I like my docs to look a particular way as I'm writing. Sometimes I find myself changing line breaks just because I think it looks better on the page. I do this and I know darn well the page is going to change when it gets slapped into an ebook or churned out as HTML on some online reader, but I just can't help it. It's part of my creative process to fiddle with the words.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Huh. I didn't know I could do that, so thanks for letting me know. I started distributing my stuff with excesscia this year and I like their format. I have been thinking about adopting it moving forward, so that I can do less formatting.

I have been formatting docs as my day job for too long. It doesn't take me a long time to do the formatting. It's probably crazy, but I like my docs to look a particular way as I'm writing. Sometimes I find myself changing line breaks just because I think it looks better on the page. I do this and I know darn well the page is going to change when it gets slapped into an ebook or churned out as HTML on some online reader, but I just can't help it. It's part of my creative process to fiddle with the words.

Yeah, that's how I used to be. Making the doc look cool and snappy. Then when they were published all that disappeared, so I gave up and just use the block paragraph format now. It's easy to set up and when I submit a doc it looks just like it does on my screen, no matter the output.

Work smarter, not harder.

 

[HuckPilgrim]

Work smarter, not harder.

Ouch, that's feels like something Dilbert's boss would say! Don't do me like that Zeb.

 

[elfin_odalisque]

When submitting via a word file, what's the way to do paragraphs. Is it a new line or an indented line?

Specifically, someone gave me this advice: "Per the Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed. (CMOS), first sentence of each paragraph should be indented from 0.2” to 0.5.” This should be using the Paragraph function on the toolbar ribbon in Word and not by using the Tab button or space bar. Because paragraphs are indented, there is no need to have an additional line space between each paragraph."
ht
What is allowed on Literotica?

No, sr is right. Curent orthodoxy has no indentation but a line-break between paras.