o First of all, this is a Once a Thief slash archive. You may notice that we do make exceptions occasionally so if you'd like your story archived here and it doesn't strictly match the criteria please ask us.

o If it's possible, first post your story to the RatBoat yahoo group. This is our primary story source.
You do not, however, have to be a group member to have your story archived here.

All questions regarding the group should be addressed to the group owner RatBoat-owner@yahoogroups.com.

o Unless requested otherwise, we will archive all fic posted on RatBoat.

o Add warnings at your own discretion.

o Either privately or on list, if you like a story, please send the author feedback. It's the best way to keep the author happy so they will continue to write the fic we love so much.

o FOR NEW AUTHORS: Many people don't bother to read a story if it hasn't been beta'ed. It's not difficult to find a beta reader to check grammar and perhaps give you invaluable tips on characterisation, writing etc. Please make an effort to find one. There are always plenty of people on the list eager to help.

Betas are always needed so if you'd like to give it a go, let us or the mailing lists know.

Here are a few things that will make our job a lot easier:

o Text format (pasted directly onto an email is probably best)

o Avoid using smart quotes.

o If posting directly to us we'd be really grateful if you use <i> </i> tags around italicised words, although it's not compulsory.
Brackets [ ] { } ( ) are also very good, as long as they aren't used elsewhere in the story.

o Try to keep punctuation uniform:
Ellipses (...) consist of three dots, or four at the end of a sentence. No more, no less.
We prefer two hyphens ( -- ) rather than one to be used for an emdash to differentiate them from mere hyphens.
Please use the same symbols for ALL story breaks. Preferably *** but as long as they are consistent it makes life a lot easier and we're less likely to mess up the formatting.

o Please put this information at the top or bottom of your story.

Title:
Author:
Pairing(s):
Rating:
Warning: (not compulsory)
Summary:
Authors Note: (if you have any)
Disclaimer:

o All questions about this archive should be directed to us here.

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