Still have work ahead of me · 4:22pm Jul 25th, 2014
A while back I submitted Sisterhooves Social: Deleted Scenes to The Royal Guard, and recently I received a rejection notice citing a number of problems with the story.
While it ruffled my feathers (I never have taken criticism well) I really need to take it as an opportunity to improve as a writer, and while I may not agree that all the grammar and formatting rules TRG stand by should be enforced in this non-print medium, since I do wish to be in print one day, it only makes sense to get used to that tier of fussiness now.
The things I bungled included: Using 'AJ' outside of dialogue, 'lavender unicorn syndrome' (AKA burly detective syndrome,) indenting AND leaving a space between paragraphs (choose one,) using the interrobang, double-spacing after periods (my education pushed this, but apparently it's obsolete,) using boldface for emphasis (only italics is acceptable for emphasis in formal writing,) and a couple of things too minor to mention.
Very little of it changes the tone/content of my story at least, or I would simply give up and find other ways to promote my work. I encourage you as my readers to point out problems in my stories, because even after sixteen years of scribbling I'm certainly still learning, and every little bit helps.
If you need a prereader or editor, I can help