Editorial Guidelines
Bibliofaction Publishing Limited aims to be, in all its activities, an ethically
run company. This stems from the personal convictions of the directors that there
is a way of using the resources we have been given, and of treating the people with
whom we share the planet other than that widely found in society. It is also their
conviction that a profitable business does not have to have a negative impact on
the world in which it operates, and can, conversely, be a force for good. Any contributions
to the site that promote this view are particularly welcomed.
Bibliofaction aims to maintain a high editorial standard in the works it publishes,
both on a large and small scale. As content is not pre-moderated on Bibliofaction,
it is especially important that all members read and abide by the following editorial
guidelines before publishing stories on the site. If you have any queries or comments,
or indeed any suggestions about any of the guidelines, please contact the editor:
Our vision for Bibliofaction is that it will be a positive, encouraging and inclusive
publisher, accessible to people from all sections of society, across the world without
fear of discrimination or abuse. All works published on the site should be within
normally accepted bounds of decent taste.
More specifically, short stories published on Bibliofaction:
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should as far as possible, be correct in terms of punctuation, grammar and spelling,
and authors should take reasonable care to ensure this is the case when preparing
submissions. The editors reserve the right to edit lightly all works published on
this site to correct any outstanding minor transgressions, though it can’t be guaranteed
that your work will be edited, so please don’t rely on it.
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must have appropriate keywords allocated to the story. This gives readers the power
to make an informed choice about which stories they decide to read.
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Must not denigrate the beliefs or practices of any religious group, either explicitly
or implicitly.
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Must not contain language that is racially abusive, or that is intended to incite,
or likely to incite racial hatred.
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Must not contain pejorative terms relating to people with physical or mental illnesses.
Please remember that such people are more than the sum total of their suffering,
so please avoid simply talking about “the disabled”; prefer “people who are disabled”
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Must not speak negatively of people on the grounds of sexuality or gender.
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Must not glamorise or otherwise encourage drug or alcohol abuse
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Must not glamorise or otherwise encourage violence in any form
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Must not be sexually explicit.
Any exploration of sexual issues, or stories involving violence or drugs must be
editorially justified. If in doubt as to whether something is acceptable, please
contact the editor for advice:
Use of language
It is very difficult to lay down guidelines for what constitutes acceptable and
unacceptable language. It depends very much on the context in which a word is used,
and the audience the story is aimed at. Authors should give due consideration to
this when writing.
Mildly offensive words are usually safe, but should never be included in works
aimed at children. Moderate to extremely offensive language must be justified and
should always be checked with the editor before submission. Failure to do
so could result in the work being removed from the site. Language that causes most offence
includes sexual swear words, terms of racist or sexual abuse, derogatory terms used
to describe someone’s sexuality, abusive terms relating to a person’s disability,
and derogatory or blasphemous words which would cause offence to religious communities.
While Bibliofaction only accepts registration applications from people aged 18 or
over, the site will contain stories aimed at children, and children will be able
to access the site. Bibliofaction seeks to be a welcoming and protective place for
children where they can be safe and respected. The site has a facility for marking
stories that are only suitable for adult audiences. This is called “reader advisory”.
Authors must mark their stories with a reader advisory label when uploading
their work to the site if appropriate.
Please remember the editors and moderators of the site reserve the right to reclassify,
edit or remove stories from the site altogether. Please contact the editor if you
need clarification on any of the above before you publish a story to the site. Remember,
also, that acceptance of these guidelines and their implications forms part of the
Terms and Conditions of Use.