Check your story submissions in edit mode.

30 Sep 2014

I'd like to post a reminder to all Lush authors to please check your story submissions when uploading. When you upload your story, you see it in edit mode. This is a good place to do a final check over. Read your story through thoroughly, one more time. You may catch typos, misspellings or other mistakes that you missed before and need to be fixed. Doing a thorough final proofing at this stage could be the difference in having your story verified or sent back to you to be fixed.

You should be aware that when going between different software and OS systems that glitches can and often occur. That is the nature of the beast and no one's fault. A couple of the main glitches you should look for are spaces closing up or extra spaces appearing between letter characters. Another is line spaces between paragraphs disappearing.

Thanks and have a great day Lushing!
Buz
coffee

6 Dec 2014

Yep...read it and proofed it several time and sent it. That's when I found the error or course! Now I have to wait for it to be verified so I can fix it....sigh.

6 Dec 2014

Because of screen positioning, font size/face and other factors, your text when viewed here prior to final submission will look dramatically different than you're used to during the writing and editing process. It can make overlooked errors jump out at you.

Reading the story in final preview has always been part of my editing process because of this. It saves you a lot of facepalms later.

Good Will ---|--- Three Alarm <= Both almost famous, give them a read and get them one step closer!

6 Dec 2014

I found once or twice after edit - that the changes didn't stick and they had to be redone. The last story was fine though even after two edits..

21 Dec 2014

Same here cannot get edits to stick in Lush software. I have had to resort to writing, editing and spell checking in Open Office and copying/pasting into Lush for verifying. Is this a bug?

24 Dec 2014

I absolutely agree with Buz. It was nice of him to share this piece of information. Keep in mind too that Lush supplies a spell checker in the editing mode, even poems benefit from a good spell check before submission, but every story should be checked. You should have one last check, specifically after you have made any changes. It's just a good habit to form.

Poetry line breaks are so important, as well as just general spacing. Hard line breaks that you have made on your computer can cause glitches in the submission process. You may not even notice them in the presentation on your computer. It confuses the Lush final formatting process. Lots of people experience this. I know I do. Check the final presentation right before you submit. Sometimes you have to go back and edit to remove hard line breaks 2 or 3 times, don't settle. Usually for me, the third time is a charm. During the 3rd time, the glitch seems to disappear and spacing and line breaks are as you intended.

No system is perfect. Have your poetry laid out how you want it to be read by the reader. It determines the emphasis, pauses and speed of the reader. Remember too, every poem without stanzas does not have to be double spaced. Removing the double spacing often looks better on the page and increases the readers speed (which may improve the poem itself). Sometimes I like a reading that pushes forward because it builds momentum for the main thought presented at the end. If there is rhyming, removing the double spacing (when you do not have stanzas) works well for increased flow of rhythm.

Once again, there is no hard and solid rule regarding line stops and spacing on LUSH. Of course, double spacing should be between stanzas. That's just general knowledge.

But seriously, think of how all of this controls the reading of your poem. Use it to your benefit. Sometimes listening to your poem being read by a 2nd party is good. It could be the difference between a poem that reads like "blah blah blah" and a poem that excites or pulls your reader in. It is also a visual representation of a mature poet.

Keep in mind that this is just me sharing what works for me and what I advise my students to look out for.

Of course I'm not mature, but I like to look like I am. Whistle

? A True Story ?

30 Dec 2014

Really, you need to make sure you edit your story so much that you know the story exactly from front to back. Use the page to check spelling, but do actual editing in a word document. After a while, your computer may lose memory if it is on the same page and then you'll be shit out of luck. Trust me, it has happened to me.