Entry posted by Cia in Writing Tips
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Cia’s Torturing Me!
by
Cia
If you’re an author, I’m sure you’ve thought that at least once, right? I swear, it’s nothing personal! GA’s posting system is complicated, and there is always a learning curve for new authors to figure out the ins and outs of posting here. I'm also the primary staff member who reviews Stories submissions, so I am not picking on any one person if you receive more than one PM; I'm simply the staff member who reviews everything in the queue unless I am away from GA for some reason. That being said, there are a few things that will get you on my hit… uh, kindly message list.
Posting Issues Most Likely To Trigger a Moderation PM:
*A posting bug issue noted by some authors since the update: Chapter text or other content uploads as files instead of pasting as text. This should not happen. If it does, try a different browser.
Posting More Than One Chapter
New stories should always be posted with a single chapter only. These should be properly edited, ready to go live and be read by readers. A prologue can be added when you post the new submission, and published separately from the story and chapter, but you can't go back and add a prologue later. Additional chapters CAN be posted, but only if you post-date them. You can read about the post-dating system in the faq here.
Paragraph Spacing
This might be the most common mistake I see. You can check the spacing using the "Preview" button in the text editor (looks like an magnifying glass over paper) to view how it will appear after you save your content. Check your story content after you post, please.
Some writing programs, browsers, and/or devices (tablets/phones) are not compatible with the text editor. It can either strip out or add extra spaces between the paragraphs. Reviewing your chapters allows you to fix that before I find it in the queue. A fix in Word for extra spacing can be found in the faq here.
If you use other writing programs, like Google docs, tablets, etc… try posting with a new browser or placing your text in another program before you copy to GA until you have the correct spacing. We can't always tell you what the exact problem is in these cases to fix the spacing issue.
Flash Fiction and Poetry
Short stories under 1k in length, such as prompt responses, or poetry must be placed in a ‘collection’. This is as simple as creating a title that implies a collection, such as ‘My Shorts or My Haiku’ and then posting a single submission as the first chapter. Then subsequent posts would be made as chapters to that ‘collection’. The chapter titles can be edited and notes can be placed in each chapter as a description, if you choose. You may have more than one collection, though we ask authors to limit them to 4 or 5 at most, to separate types of poetry or stories if you have a large number of varied content available.
Posting a Series Title
If you are posting a story that isn’t a follow up story to one already existing on GA, you do not have a series. Please don't use this field. Once you post the 2nd story in your series you can go back and edit the first story to include the series information for the search engine. Also you can never have story 0 of a series.
Content
Yes, we have limits of basic editing standards and quality for stories posting on GA. If you don’t know the word ‘I’ should be capitalized, or how to use a basic spellcheck, you will be placed under review and your story may be rejected until you can edit it up to a minimum level of readability. Yes, we allow stories with erotic content. We also allow stories that show drug use, suicide attempts and actual suicides, abuse, rape, etc… but there are criteria for each that must be followed, such as not glorifying the acts and adding content warnings to the story/chapter notes for extreme content. Erotic content must be integral to the plot and cannot be more than half the story plot. There is a narrow band of acceptable incest and bestiality themes, but necrophilia is NEVER allowed.
Various Meta Data Fields Filled Out Incorrectly
We have a 3 step rating system for stories for authors to use. They include Everyone, Teen, and Mature. Teen and Mature ratings apply for stories containing content like sex, violence, abuse, or suicide stories. Mature would mean any ‘on-screen/graphic’ content. Teen includes those themes, but it might occur in the backstory or off-screen such as a ‘fade to black’ sex scene not actually written in. Everyone means no graphic content.
We have a story status system that has 3 levels. In Process means you’re still posting the story on GA (even if you have completely written, until you post the last chapter live it is not complete on GA) and On Hold means you’re not posting the story for whatever reason. Make sure you post to the right category for your story. There is a drop menu with many options, so please check them all to ensure you have chosen the best ones for your story.
And there's more… This is why we ask that authors read the entire Author and Story related faq topics before they post.
Any story deemed suspect for any reason will be placed under review and discussed by the forum moderation team to ensure a fair team decision on acceptability. I am not a dictator with the only say in what does and does not get approved.
Questions I Get The Most From Authors:
Why are you checking my stuff in a moderation queue?
We check to ensure proper posting procedure is followed, that the content falls within our guidelines, and that you’re not a plagiarist. The fact is, we’ve been burned before with people stealing stories and posting on GA. We don’t always catch it, but we try our utmost to protect authors’ rights on this site.
How long does the queue take?
Typically 24 hours, at the most. I say this because I check the mod queue once a day. Usually I attempt this between 5-10 AM, Pacific Standard Time, but I do have a life and things sometimes crop up. If you post at 9:00 AM and I already checked the queue, and something comes up the next day and I don’t get to it until the afternoon… you may wait longer than 24 hours. Sometimes I can review and approve submissions several times a day. Anything with questionable content triggering a team review can take several days, as all staff are volunteers.
Please remember I’m one person who dedicates time every day to this process, but I am not perfect. In the past we’ve found bugs with the posting system when author’s work didn’t post to the queue properly as well. IF your submission remains in the queue for an unreasonable amount of time without any contact from me, you can PM me.
How long am I in the queue?
There is no set time limit in the queue, but there is a cut-off point. You must have 250 likes on your forum content, stories, and chapters before you're moved outside the queue. Once you have achieved that level, your stories and chapters will post when you publish them. So, it behooves an author to be active, posting consistently, and interacting with readers and other members on our forums as well.
Is your decision the sole factor in submission approval?
No, it’s not. As I said before, any story deemed suspect for any reason is reviewed by the forum moderation team for a fair discussion and consensus.
Why can’t I edit my story/chapter or why did I get an error message when I tried to edit my story/chapter?
The system has a fail-safe set in place to prevent large amounts of text in a chapter or story from being removed. We expect that you post your best work that has already been edited. If there is a serious problem, or you do not take advantage of the offer, I will remove the story/chapter content for you to repost if you PM me.
Why can’t I delete my story/chapter(s)?
Again, there’s a fail-safe built into the system to prevent that from occurring. Authors can place their work unpublished so no one but the author or staff can see it, but they cannot delete. No, we will not refuse to remove your work, but you must PM me to ensure complete deletion from the system. I will usually want to know why, because if there’s a problem with the story, posting, or a moderation issue with another GA member, a cooling off period and discussion can sometimes resolve the issue without the story actually being deleted.
I’m so confused! How do I find help?
We have a FAQ you can find under the Help tab in the red menu bar. The topics there explain all this and more, plus there is a step-by-step explanation of what each field is for in our story submission form as well as various things unique to our system. If you’ve read the FAQ and still don’t know the answer to your questions, please feel free to PM me. It can often be easier to ask ahead of time than to sort out posting issues after you submit your story.
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