How do I sign up?

Click here, fill in the form, answer the complex mathematical equation, and wait eagerly for an email containing further instructions. The email is sent more or less instantly but depending on the sluggishness or general lack of dedication of your email provider, it make take somewhat longer.

If you never receive the activation email, first check whether it may have been devoured by overzealous spam filters. If not, drop us a line via the contact form and we'll see what we can do. We're a small operation, so give us a little time to let your inquiry float to the top of the swamp in our inbox.

What are tags?

Tags are short one- or two-word phrases with which to categorize individual stories. Every story, essay or pungent observation posted is required to have at least one tag, but you can add a few more if you so desire. Separate individual tags with commas (see following example: “tag, another tag, and another, got it now?”). Don't use punctuation in tags.

As you type a tag, the system will look up existing tags similar to whatever it is you are typing. It's a good idea to use an existing tag if it fits, so that the system won't have multiple variations on the same theme such as “mystery”, “scary mystery”, “mysterious”, and so forth – try to keep it simple.

Examples of useful tags might be broad categories such as “fiction” or “nonfiction”; genres such as “horror”, “mystery”, “romance”, “science fiction”, and the like; and themes such as “marriage”, “children”, “relationships”, and so forth. All stories that share a category are grouped together on the category page for that term or phrase. This allows members and visitors to quickly view all stories in a particular genre or that touch on a particular subject.
Longer phrases such as “my really good story (in 11 chapters) about my dead goldfish Hazel who was truly just like an uncle to me” are inappropriate as tags and will be deleted – use your story's title for that kind of information, or an explanatory note posted above or below the text of the actual story.

How do I add more information to my user profile?

Click the “my account” link in the top left menu. (after, of course, you have logged in). Look for the “Edit” tab off toward the upper right. Click it (if you dare).

Under the “Account settings” tab you can engage in such stimulating activities as changing your password, adding a signature line that will be appended to your posts if I've enabled that feature (which frankly at the moment I cannot remember whether I have or not), click a little check box that will allow other EveryAuthor members to harass you via the internal messaging system, and add a title and short description to your writer's blog that is displayed alongside the blog and your stories. You can also set your time zone (or whimsically place yourself in Guam) and review EveryAuthor's terms and conditions.

You can also check or uncheck boxes in “Block configuration” to determine how much information you wish to have displayed when you are viewing pages of EveryAuthor. If you don't wish to know who is online, for example, uncheck the box and the who's online box will mystically vanish from your screen (when you are logged in as you, that is). Check the box again to make it reappear.

Now scroll back up to the top and look for the “Personal information” tab. Here your can optionally enter your real name; your website if you possess such an entity; your country (type slowly and the system will look it up for you if someone has already entered it); a brief autobiographical snippet under “About me”; your approximate age; your favorite author(s); your profession; and a list of publication credits, if any. All of that, to reiterate, is completely optional. Entering things like age, country and profession are handy as they allow users to quickly view a list of other users who match any of those categories. Who knew, for example, that so many Icelandic crab fishermen wrote historical fiction?

How do I upload a picture?

Look for the “Picture” region of the Account settings tab under “My account”. Upload. Done. You can revisit this section to delete the picture and/or upload a different one if you happen to stumble across a more flattering one or acquire advanced Photoshop skills at a subsequent date.

What does “flag this” mean?

“Flag this” means you think a post is inappropriate for some reason. Reasons might include excessively graphic depictions of thus-and-such, hate speech, spam, posts having nothing whatsoever to do with writing, and the like. An administrator will review the post and determine whether it needs to be edited or removed. Use this sparingly, please – our time is limited.

What kinds of comments are appropriate?

Both supportive and critical comments are perfectly appropriate. Off-topic excursions are probably more annoying than interesting. Ad hominem attacks, spam, or other clearly inappropriate materials may lead to the deletion of your account and your blog. Comments, like stories, can be “flagged”.

What is a “buddylist”?

A buddylist is a handy, if tragically named, feature that allows you to more easily keep track of poets whose work you enjoy. To add a user to your “buddylist”, visit the user's profile page (by clicking on the user's username when reading a post by that user – and we have now officially killed the word “user” by overuse for the purposes of this paragraph) and find the “Add (whomever) to my buddylist” link. Click it, then click the “add” button (and possibly solve another difficult equation to prove you are a normal, marginally addled member of the human race). A buddylist inclusion request will be dispatched to that person in question, who will then decide whether or not he or she wishes to grant the request.

What are subscriptions?

Subscriptions enable you to receive email notifications regarding individual posts or entire blogs. When you add a comment to a post, or add a post to your blog, you are automatically subscribed to receive an email notification whenever anyone replies to that post. You can also subscribe to posts or blogs without replying to them. This allows you, for example, to subscribe to a user's blog whose work you enjoy but who for some reason does not care to be added to your buddy list. You can unsubscribe to any post or blog via the “My subscriptions” menu item.

What can anonymous visitors see?

Anonymous visitors, which include site passers-by, search engine spiders, and any other form of visitor who is not a registered member, can view all stories, categories, and blog titles and descriptions, but do not have access to member information such as your real name, country, age, profession, etc.

Why all the damn math?

It helps keep the barbarians beyond the gate.

What's the age limit here?

You must be sixteen years old or older to participate here. This is partly because writers may occasionally post material of a somewhat candid nature, and because we expect a certain base level of ability that most (certainly not all) individuals under that age do not yet possess. If you're under sixteen, please return to your monastery or finishing school until you have reached the requisite number of years.

Speaking of graphic material...

Yes, if your story is of a graphic nature, it can still be posted here. However, please include the word 'Graphic' (or some other indication) in the title to protect the innocent eyes of those who may find your work disturbing.

Does speling and grammer matters also?

Why should they? They're merely the bedrock of any meaningful written communication, and meaningful written communication certainly has little or nothing to do with a site focused entirely on writing. Feel free to ignore grammar, spelling and proper punctuation in your blog postings. Your readers will likewise feel free to ignore everything you post. Happiness prevails.

Can I post things written by someone else and claim them to be my own?

Of course you may. You will, however, be banned immediately and quite possibly prosecuted for plagiarism and copyright infringement, so you'd better be well-motivated. Posting of limited amounts of copyrighted material with appropriate accreditation is generally permissible under fair use provisions.

What about formatting?

Our system is configured to allow a limited subset of HTML tags with which to facilitate formatting. Take a look at the listing and explanation below the text window when you post a story for more information.

Any other questions?

Drop us a line via the Contact form and we'll try to incorporate an answer into the FAQ.