Before submitting anything to the .moon Library, be sure to read the Submission Guidelines.

This tutorial only outlines the process for submitting an entirely new story to the Library. For instructions on adding chapters to existing stories or performing other Library functions not related to story submission, go to the Other Functions page.

Step 1: Click on the Profile button on any page of the site to go to your profile.


Step 2: Scroll down to the Actions section, and click on My Stories.


Step 3: The My Stories area shows information and actions for all your Library submissions. To submit a new story, click on Submit New Story. Remember that stories of less than 500 words must be submitted to the vignette section. To submit a vignette, click on My Vignettes and then Submit New Vignette.


Step 4: Fill out the provided form with the essential information of your story. All fields are required except the Author's Comments field. You must decide on a title and summary that fit your story. Entries such as "I can't think of a title" and "I suck at summaries, just read!" will not be accepted unless the story is a parody. Regardless of your story's rating, all information in these fields must be G-rated. If your story is a fanfiction and its fandom is not in the list, select "Other Fandom" to request that your fandom be added to the .moon system. When finished, click the Submit New Story button.


Step 5: If you selected "Other Fandom," you will be presented with a form to fill out with the details of your fandom so the administrator can add it to the system. If you selected "Crossover," you will get a form asking you to select which fandoms are involved in your crossover. Otherwise, the form will give you the option of selecting special additional information. Most often, this means the main characters of your story. These fields are entirely optional. Select your main characters or leave them blank, and then click Continue.


Step 6: The next step is a bit tricky. You need to choose which upload method fits the text file you are submitting. In this step, only upload the first chapter (or prologue, or author's notes, whatever you want the first file attached to your story to be) of your story. You will be able to add additional chapters later.

If you are uploading a plain-text file, use the first method shown. Plain-text files are rarely used in modern fiction archives, but support for them is included for the convenience of older writers. These files have a .TXT extension and are just that - plain text. They should not contain any HTML tags. Plain-text files will be displayed in their own screen outside the .moon site layout and must be pre-wrapped to 70 characters per line. This means you must go through your chapter and press Enter at the end of every line so the text will not scroll off the right side of the screen. Please note that the hit counter and bookmark functions will not work with plain-text chapters. These files cannot be edited once they are submitted.

Click here for an example of a plain-text chapter. If this is the type of file you are submitting, use the option shown below. Otherwise, scroll down to the next option.


If you are uploading an HTML file, use the second method shown. HTML files should have a .HTML or .HTM extension and may include common HTML tags such as bold, italics, and center. These files will be displayed within the .moon layout and any supported HTML tags included in the text will be used. If you use a word processor to type your stories, it may be easiest to use the program's Save As function to save your stories as HTML files (web pages) and submit them using this method. HTML files do not need to be wrapped, and they can be edited after they are submitted.

Click here for an example of an HTML chapter. If this is the type of file you are submitting, use the option shown below. Otherwise, scroll down to the next option.


If your file is not type .TXT or .HTML, you can always copy and paste the text directly using the third upload option, a general text box. You can even type your chapter into this box if you wish. The text box method supports HTML tags such as bold, italics, and center. Files created using this method can be edited after they are submitted, and will be displayed within the .moon layout just like HTML files are.

Click here for an example of a chapter submitted using the text-box option. If your file is not a plain-text or HTML file, copy and paste the text of your first chapter into the box shown below.


Step 7: After you upload your story file, you will be taken to the last step of the submission process. The final form will ask you whether or not you want to submit your story to the moderating queue immediately. If your story fits all the submission guidelines and is ready for readers, you will probably want to submit the story for moderation right away. Select the confirmation checkbox and click the Submit Story button if you wish to do this. If your story is not ready to be added to the Library yet, you can click the Return to My Stories link instead and submit your story for moderation at a later time.


Step 8: All done! If you decided to submit your story to the moderation queue, the final screen is just a confirmation of the submission. Your story is now created and the next step lies in the hands of the story moderators. Remember that all new stories must be checked by the story moderators to make sure they comply with the site rules before they will be added to the Library. Accepted stories will appear on the New Stories page after the next weekly update. Click on the Return to My Stories link to leave the final page.


Below is an example of the My Stories page after several submissions have been added. Note that the first story in the list is shown located in the Moderating Queue. If the story is accepted, this will change to "General Library." If it is rejected, the location will change to "Not Submitted." Stories in a "Not Submitted" state can be edited and easily resubmitted to the moderating queue. The following two stories in the below example are incomplete submissions. If you close your browser during the submission process or go to another page, you can continue the process right where you left off by going to your My Stories page and clicking the "Continue Creating Story" link.


That's it for story submission! To learn about the other Library functions, go to the Other Functions page.