The Pause Before the Plunge

[caleb35]

[I also considered titling this "The Waiting Is the Hardest Part" but was afraid it'd be confused for long waits for admins to approve stories]

So, you submitted your story and it's been accepted; will be in pending mode for a day or two before being posted. Do you look forward to the posting with bated breath? Are you happy to get another one out there into the world? Are you excited? Are you pacing your apartment wondering if readers will like it or comment that you're the biggest fake since fakes were faked? Are you bending fork tines under the table at dinner or, perhaps, even jamming them into your thigh?

How do you all react/feel when a story is only a couple of days away from being posted?

 

[NuclearFairy]

Relieved that it's not caught in pending hell.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

 

[caleb35]

Relieved that it's not caught in pending hell.

I suspect a number of authors are going to respond with that sentiment or similar.

 

[Djmac1031]

I cant be the only person who constantly refreshes the page to check to see if it's published despite the clear notification that it won't drop for another 48 hours, can I?

Can I...?

 

[NuclearFairy]

I cant be the only person who constantly refreshes the page to check to see if it's published despite the clear notification that it won't drop for another 48 hours, can I?

Can I...?

Well, I will admit that I checked right before bed last night, even though I knew it wouldn't be published for another couple of hours at least. But I swear that was the only time I checked after finding out what the publishing date would be.

 

[YmaOHyd]

I cant be the only person who constantly refreshes the page to check to see if it's published despite the clear notification that it won't drop for another 48 hours, can I?

Can I...?

I check to see when it's going to be published. Once I get the New status with the date, that's fine. I'm releasing my first piece since the Pending Black Hole opened and I'm a bit nervous about that.

 

[Writer61]

I cant be the only person who constantly refreshes the page to check to see if it's published despite the clear notification that it won't drop for another 48 hours, can I?

Can I...?

Once I have a publication date, I am happy to wait. But on the day itself, I refresh frequently to see the initial reactions.

 

[caleb35]

Once I have a publication date, I am happy to wait. But on the day itself, I refresh frequently to see the initial reactions.

Oh, I think everyone does that. Or at least most. I'd be surprised if that's not the nice. Partly because we all want to see initial reactions, but also for those of us who try to track our scores and see how many of each star we get, you have to be on top of it from the first.

 

[dirk2024]

How do you all react/feel when a story is only a couple of days away from being posted?

I'm worried that's when I'll find the issues I should have caught while editing.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I'm worried that's when I'll find the issues I should have caught while editing.

Guaranteed to happen, but when it does, don't worry about it. We all have silly typos, but leave them, they're not worth bothering to fix.

Unless it's catastrophically bad and totally glitches the story - like html that didn't work like it should, and the whole second page goes to italics. Those kind of goof-ups will always be down to you... But now you've got to wait, looking like a doofus, until the edits get done, which will be a 2 - 3 weeks if you're lucky!

 

[NuclearFairy]

Guaranteed to happen, but when it does, don't worry about it. We all have silly typos, but leave them, they're not worth bothering to fix.

Unless it's catastrophically bad and totally glitches the story - like html that didn't work like it should, and the whole second page goes to italics. Those kind of goof-ups will always be down to you... But now you've got to wait, looking like a doofus, until the edits get done, which will be a 2 - 3 weeks if you're lucky!

What about when an entire sentence disappears between you hitting submit and it going live?

 

[ElectricBlue]

What about when an entire sentence disappears between you hitting submit and it going live?

I got clever once, and used < words words > to indicate a text sent from a phone, little knowing that the system interpreted those as html commands, which removed a couple of sentences.

Nobody commented during the three weeks it took to fix, which shows: a) people don't read your content as closely as we writers might want them to; and b) the omissions didn't really matter...

 

[Rob_Royale]

Are you pacing your apartment wondering if readers will like it or comment that you're the biggest fake since fakes were faked?

I used to, honestly. But after 52 stories that for the most part have been well received by the readers, I've realized a parallel. My favorite stories that I have written, seem to be the most well liked by readers. So when I submit a story, and I think it's good, I have a fair bit of confidence that the story will be enjoyed. It sounds presumptuous and a little prideful, I'll grant you, but the numbers speak for themselves.

Until this past weekend, I haven't posted anything since mid September, so yes, I was nervous about the pending hell bugs that have been plaguing us. But happily it switched from pending to published in just a few hours and was posted two days later. And yes, the first couple of days the story is up, are very exciting and I check in every few hours to get my fix.