Is there any unspoken etiquette around threads or adding chapters? For example: don't write a chapter on the last story in a thread unless it is your thread. Or maybe: you should write at least five chapters in a particular thread before going starting a different thread in the same story. Is there any general courtesies you wish others would follow? I personally won't publish a "build up" chapter unless I'm sure I will publish the pay off.
Don't start or get into a heated debate that is far off subject from the thread that is presented. Stay on course!
Or perhaps you choose to make sure there are no spelling mistakes in the title of your work before posting?
I should carify. By thread i meant a series of chapters writen by the same author. As in McAuther needs contributions to his thread in Sex Story. But forum etiquette is good too.
Sorry I thought you misspelled thread in the title. To have a word that is appropriate to the thread I would say make sure that you have some meat before you publish any work in the back end. Hope I've read correctly.
The title was supposed to be thread etiquette (my brain must have been asleep). Thread is just an ambiguous term in this case, my bad. Yes that was more the stuff I was looking for, but thanks for both of your contributions.
Both of those are good ideas that more people, myself included, should follow. However: I have one more: if you're an editor or owner, NEVER edit another author's chapter(s) to publish before THEY submit for publication: NEVER!!!
In my opinion just follow the most common sense form of etiquette- contact the author and discuss what you would like to write to add to their story. If you both can come to an agreement prior to writing it would make writing more enjoyable for you and show the author that you respect their work.
not necessary, though it could be nice to wait a day or two before doing that. depends on the kind of story. e.g. if you add to a quest story with some branch. Yes, though editors don't see the chapters on the story map but can access them from the parent chapter. (I think it is the same for story owners)
The only things I can think of are really very much a matter of common sense. Don't submit "chapters" which are only one or two sentences. Don't go way off the plot. If it's a story about a girls boarding school, it's not appropriate to write a chapter about a UFO landing and the subsequent alien abduction. (Of course, some stories are meant to be an "anything goes" situation, but not very many.) Don't submit stuff that shows blatant disregard for the editor's guidelines. If he says, "I don't want male/male sex in my story," assume that exceptions won't be made for your chapter. Don't create five choices off one thread and then follow through on none of them. That's just frustrating. Don't include pictures in a story which has none, unless it's been cleared by the editor. Some people don't like pictures in their stories. Don't include graphic, gratuitous violence. That's not what CHYOO is about. DO feel free to introduce new characters which are appropriate to the story. Again, if it's a story about a girls' boarding school, and you want to bring in a lesbian art teacher, go ahead. DO add chapters to long threads which have been exclusively written by someone else, and take it in a new direction. Why not? Part of the point of CHYOO is to branch off into different plots, and the original author can still continue the thread. DO communicate with the editor if you have a question about something. In the end, the editor can reject any chapter which he/she doesn't like. So I'd say the only truly unwritten rule is that if this is happening to you a lot, there's probably a reason why.
I'd have to say that, contra Nemo, I'm strongly on the side of the editor having the authority and responsibility for editing the content of contributed chapters, as well as simply accepting, rejecting, or deferring for contributor edits. In particular, copyediting and consistency may be easier to just do by editing the chapter, for example: * For spelling and grammar * For tense * For consistency in setting and events I've had contributors for which this was necessary, and I find it preferable to edit and accept in these cases. Not every chapter gets or needs editing. Some chapters or ideas get offline discussion in site messages or the forums.
Yes, but as Nemo said, the editing shouldn't happen before submission. I can imagine two main reasons for that: - you confuse the contributor "WTF? I didn't write that!" - you open the chapter, the contributor saves an edit and you save the chapter... then, the contributor's changes are lost
I missed that. Yes. If you run across a chapter sitting in draft mode, don't edit the content. (If it looks abandoned, message the contributor, or perhaps delete the chapter). In that case I'm in agreement. I only run across draft-mode threads by wandering a story and have only seen maybe two, ever, so it didn't even seem to be a thing to have a rule about.
Believe it or not: the reason I commented on people doing this is that it has happened to me at least three times that I can remember; the latest just a few days before this thread came up... I'm fine with some light editing IF I've already submitted it for approval... If it's still in draft mode: that means I don't think it's ready...
Personal experience with premature editor action sounds like a perfect reason to call that out. Agreed.
Good question and thread, you should feel free to contact the editor to discuss but otherwise submit. It's collaborative and might even tweak a dormant thread!
