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Friday, January 30, 2009
So You Want To Get Validated
Picture this.
You're minding your own business - whether it's doodling in math class or snoozing at work - when BAM! You get attacked by a ginormous plot bunny! You sit up in your chair, heart racing, pupils dilating, fingers itching for your laptop. You're dying to get home and as soon as you do, you make a beeline for the computer. Slowly, your masterpiece comes to life on the screen. You pop over to TDA and request a snazzy banner. You write a ground-breaking summary filled with angst and mystery. You click the "Submit" button, sit back, and sigh with anticipation. You just can't wait to see your story and your beautiful banner at the top of the Recently Added Stories list!
Fast forward 3 days. You've been checking HPFF obsessively and finally, there it is:
"YOU'VE GOT MAIL! There are 1 unread messages in your inbox."
At last! You click on your inbox, expecting to see those two beautiful words (Successful Validation) gazing up at you from the screen, when your heart drops.
You got a rejection.
Sound familiar at all? Of course it does, because we've all been through this.
You rant. You rave. You throw things. You curse whoever came up with the idea of a queue in the first place. But when you calm down, it begins to dawn on you. Did you double-check your warnings? Did you clean up the formatting of your chapter? And heaven forbid ... did you decide not to read the rules?
Getting validated is a very simple process. All it requires is *care* on your part. Below, you will find a helpful checklist put together by the validating team at HPFF. Pay attention to these things and you are well on your way to making it through the queue.
You're minding your own business - whether it's doodling in math class or snoozing at work - when BAM! You get attacked by a ginormous plot bunny! You sit up in your chair, heart racing, pupils dilating, fingers itching for your laptop. You're dying to get home and as soon as you do, you make a beeline for the computer. Slowly, your masterpiece comes to life on the screen. You pop over to TDA and request a snazzy banner. You write a ground-breaking summary filled with angst and mystery. You click the "Submit" button, sit back, and sigh with anticipation. You just can't wait to see your story and your beautiful banner at the top of the Recently Added Stories list!
Fast forward 3 days. You've been checking HPFF obsessively and finally, there it is:
"YOU'VE GOT MAIL! There are 1 unread messages in your inbox."
At last! You click on your inbox, expecting to see those two beautiful words (Successful Validation) gazing up at you from the screen, when your heart drops.
You got a rejection.
Sound familiar at all? Of course it does, because we've all been through this.
You rant. You rave. You throw things. You curse whoever came up with the idea of a queue in the first place. But when you calm down, it begins to dawn on you. Did you double-check your warnings? Did you clean up the formatting of your chapter? And heaven forbid ... did you decide not to read the rules?
Getting validated is a very simple process. All it requires is *care* on your part. Below, you will find a helpful checklist put together by the validating team at HPFF. Pay attention to these things and you are well on your way to making it through the queue.
HOW TO GET VALIDATED
1. Are your banners 700 x 110? Are your chapter images 380 x 300?
Take 10 seconds to check the size of your pictures, and you could save yourself 2-3 days of waiting your turn in the queue. We've seen enormous banners (and I mean ENORMOUS). It wastes time that could be spent getting reads and reviews!
2. Are your story summaries and chapter summaries rated 12+?
This means NO swears and NO explicit/inappropriate details whatsoever.
3. If you used more than 4 lyrics of a song, did you label the story as a Song-Fic?
Always, always, always remember to classify the story as a Song-Fic if you use more than 4 lyrics. Always spread the lyrics throughout the story; don't have a huge chunk of 8 lyrics just sitting there.
4. DID YOU CREDIT EVERYTHING THAT IS NOT YOURS?
It's called "plagiarism" if you don't. Lines of poetry, dialogue from a movie, sentences from the HP books ... you need to cite the writer and the movie/book/chapter in an author's note. You cannot use more than 4 lines of anything.
5. Did you preview your chapter?
Double-check your chapter before submitting it. Is it all bolded? Is it all italicized? Are there huge chunks of space (more than 4 lines) or NO space between paragraphs? If so, you need to fix it. The Simple Editor is your friend. The rule here is to make sure people can read it easily.
6. Did you check the Staff Tutorials?
Sex, violence, or sensitive issues (i.e. abuse, rape, forced marriages) are tricky to write about. How do you know what's okay and what isn't? How do you know what swear is 15+ with a Strong Language warning, and what swear is Mature with a Mild Language warning? That's what the Staff Tutorials are for. PLEASE READ THEM.
Everything is here under one easy link: Staff Tutorials
Add "Staff" to your favorite authors and you'll have a quick link to everything you need.
You can also check out the Site Rules.
These are very simple guidelines that will help you survive the queue. Always remember: when in doubt, PM a validator. We'll be happy to look over a certain paragraph or a summary you're not sure about, and we're always ready to answer questions.
Don't spend time waiting for a story that won't get validated. Follow the rules and double-check your work, and you'll be published in no time.
Happy writing!
Take 10 seconds to check the size of your pictures, and you could save yourself 2-3 days of waiting your turn in the queue. We've seen enormous banners (and I mean ENORMOUS). It wastes time that could be spent getting reads and reviews!
2. Are your story summaries and chapter summaries rated 12+?
This means NO swears and NO explicit/inappropriate details whatsoever.
3. If you used more than 4 lyrics of a song, did you label the story as a Song-Fic?
Always, always, always remember to classify the story as a Song-Fic if you use more than 4 lyrics. Always spread the lyrics throughout the story; don't have a huge chunk of 8 lyrics just sitting there.
4. DID YOU CREDIT EVERYTHING THAT IS NOT YOURS?
It's called "plagiarism" if you don't. Lines of poetry, dialogue from a movie, sentences from the HP books ... you need to cite the writer and the movie/book/chapter in an author's note. You cannot use more than 4 lines of anything.
5. Did you preview your chapter?
Double-check your chapter before submitting it. Is it all bolded? Is it all italicized? Are there huge chunks of space (more than 4 lines) or NO space between paragraphs? If so, you need to fix it. The Simple Editor is your friend. The rule here is to make sure people can read it easily.
6. Did you check the Staff Tutorials?
Sex, violence, or sensitive issues (i.e. abuse, rape, forced marriages) are tricky to write about. How do you know what's okay and what isn't? How do you know what swear is 15+ with a Strong Language warning, and what swear is Mature with a Mild Language warning? That's what the Staff Tutorials are for. PLEASE READ THEM.
Everything is here under one easy link: Staff Tutorials
Add "Staff" to your favorite authors and you'll have a quick link to everything you need.
You can also check out the Site Rules.
These are very simple guidelines that will help you survive the queue. Always remember: when in doubt, PM a validator. We'll be happy to look over a certain paragraph or a summary you're not sure about, and we're always ready to answer questions.
Don't spend time waiting for a story that won't get validated. Follow the rules and double-check your work, and you'll be published in no time.
Happy writing!
