More on story codes

[PaganWriter]

I have submitted my first story to the Plaza and it is currently in the queue. I know Teanne is busy so don't want to bother while changes are afoot hence my post here. I thought that story codes and the right category (Bound, Latex, Packaged etc.) were applied by the author so I diligently went through the story codes and wrote them in at the top of the page. Having read through some posts here in the forum I'm getting the impression that this is not how it's done so would like some enlightenment regarding this. I am a complete novice when it comes to submitting stories, I've read a lot but have never put one in myself before. I have read the writers guidelines but this bit on story codes and categories has left me a bit flummoxed. Advice anyone, before I submit the final two parts of the story?

[bentbliss]

I have never added my own storycodes when I have submitted stories. In part because it seemed whoever was doing the copy editing was going to create their own list of codes. As far as I have noticed lately that is only Teann. Some stories can fit multiple categories. I assume you can suggest things but ultimately I think Teann makes the choice of what fits best for the website. That is just how I view it. It probably doesn't hurt to come up with your own list and see if it matches later. Sometimes a code we think is relevant may not be as well as we can miss something. Story category can be obvious if the focus is on one particular category but I have seen plenty of stories that fit multiple.

The advice you want to mostly follow is what is posted for submitting on the forums. Try to make sure you have clean up up as much of the editing errors before you submit. Make sure it follows the guidelines as best possible so that there is less work needed before the story is posted. Grammar and spell check. I reread mine multiple times and try to clean up little things I seem to miss and often still find more after submitting, so I know mine are not perfect.

[PaganWriter]

OK, thanks for clearing that up for me. I too have read through my story many times and each time I change something or find a mistake in my grammar or, worse and more often, a mistake in continuity. Many's the time I've found something along the lines of someone in the first scene was wearing a catsuit only to find that in the next scene it's magically turned in to a hobble skirt.

[jakbird]

There is a benefit to having a single source for story codes.  While they may not always accurately reflect the main theme in the story the assigned codes are Teann (Gaelic for close-fit) consistent in application.  One of the problems I see with category selection is the possibility of related stories in a series being split across two or more categories.  In the case of sequels, or serial chapters, the original category should be used unless there's a compelling reason to change.

Seems the four words of Gaelic I learned from playing all those Tannahill Weavers CDs were useful after all.

[teanndaorsa]

It 100% doesn't hurt, and can definitely be a help. Authors know their stories better than I will, and can highlight themes that I might miss in the rush. But it doesn't need to be exhaustive, and shouldn't be something that authors burn a bunch of time on. And Jack's points on consistency are very true, I'm sure I apply tags differently than Gromet would have.

The category thing is a bane for me, I hate having to pick one especially when stories are wide-ranging in theme, but for now I'd agree, best to stick with the one category for a series. That can be hard in its own way, for example it's quite common for self-bondage / caught stories to morph into regular bondage stories with no SB aspects in the later chapters. There's probably no perfect solution, but it feels like it could be better.