Unable to upload story

[ivan_ronical]

Hi,

I'm attempting to submit a new story (my third). I usually submit my works in rtf file format to preserve bold/italics, but I'm unable to submit this one using the form. When I select the file, it still says "No file selected" in the box next to the "Select" button.

I've tested with other files, and they seem to work fine, so I'm suspecting that there's a maximum limit set on file sizes for uploading which should likely be increased. For reference, the last story I uploaded was 1.3MiB. This new one is 2.1MiB.


Any assistance would be appreciated, as I've already tried emailing/messaging the webmaster without reply.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Try sending a PM to Laurel, asking if there's a file size limit (first I've heard, if there is).

That's a big file - how many Word pages is that?

You could try uploading a docx. They're smaller files than the equivalent .rtf, and if there is a limit, that might work.

 

[ivan_ronical]

I've sent a PM to Laurel as suggested with a link to the thread, thanks for the tip.

It's roughly 110,000 words; the last story I posted was around 70,000.

I was considering a docx, but the upload form specifically says only rtf and doc formats are allowed. I suppose I'll give it a shot and see what happens if I don't hear anything back in the near future?

 

[ElectricBlue]

I've sent a PM to Laurel as suggested with a link to the thread, thanks for the tip.

It's roughly 110,000 words; the last story I posted was around 70,000.

I was considering a docx, but the upload form specifically says only rtf and doc formats are allowed. I suppose I'll give it a shot and see what happens if I don't hear anything back in the near future?

I'd say you've got a corrupt file. 2 Mb sounds way too big for 110,000 words, even in .rtf.

I had a 103,000 word novel which I got ready for print publication (with a whole bunch of extra formatting, chapters and so on), and the final was less than 1Mb. I did bounce it between docx and rtf a few times to clear corruptions that got in somewhere - at one point it went up over 5 Mb.

Try saving as .txt to purge formatting, and if you must use html, methodically do it again. Something's wrong with your file, I reckon.

 

[ivan_ronical]

Losing the formatting is not really an option since I've made heavy use of italics.

I did convert it to a .doc and somehow it went down to 1.5MiB, so you may be on to something with file format issues. I'm writing in libreoffice, and I suspect it's doing something bizarre.

The form seems to work okay with the doc file, but I fear I'll be running into the same issue for my next submission, which is roughly twice the length of this one (210,000 words). I suppose I'll bump this thread then if I run into issues.

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[ElectricBlue]

Losing the formatting is not really an option since I've made heavy use of italics.

Be aware that not all readers will even see italics - those reading on phones, for example. The use of non plain text is often discussed in the Author's Hangout, and it seems many writers don't think beyond their own device.

I got clever with html for half a dozen stories, after someone showed me how to do it. After some spectacular formatting disasters, I only ever use plain text now, and avoid all those problems. You don t need to change your style much to get by without italics.

 

[ivan_ronical]

Huh, I didn't consider that. Good to know.

Regardless, I write in rich text, and it just so happens that I enjoy posting here. I'd prefer that italics be available for everyone who can see the formatting, so I'll continue to try posting in file formats that allow it.

Thanks again for your advice.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Huh, I didn't consider that. Good to know.

Regardless, I write in rich text, and it just so happens that I enjoy posting here. I'd prefer that italics be available for everyone who can see the formatting, so I'll continue to try posting in file formats that allow it.

Thanks again for your advice.

Keep in mind any confusion that might occur for those readers who don't see the text as you intend. Nobody knows what ratio of reader devices are clever font capable vs plain font only, but there seem to be vast numbers who read only on their phones, who don't see multiple fonts.