Hello NL chums! This is Ikkleosu doing my very first bit of proper admin for the site, and wishing you all a happy 2015.

With the start of a new year, it seems like a perfect opportunity to go back to basics and have a reminder of the core principles of this site.

Megan set up Nine Lives as a safe place for Caryl fans to find fantastic Caryl fanfiction without fear (say that three times fast). In doing so, it was decided that we would have a basic level of quality for submissions. That's not to scare anyone off, or be snooty, or elitist, it's simply to ensure that all fics can be read and understood by everyone. We want to ensure fics can be viewed at their very best. I think most of us who write would want to make sure what we post can be understood by as many people as possible, and that's what we as admins want for our writers too.

To that end we do try to ensure all fics have good grammar, punctuation and general writing standards. We try to work with writers to make sure that if they are struggling with this, we can get them to a place that their ideas can be enjoyed by everyone without the reader being caught up trying to understand what’s being said. We do this by suggesting betaing when a story has a few issues that might prevent it being enjoyed as it should be, and we may reject a story or chapter that we think hasn’t got to that level yet.

The importance of betaing cannot be overstated, even for the most experienced of writers.

Anyone who has read anything I have posted elsewhere will know how badly I need a beta! I am a terrible typist - I miss words, I use the wrong words, and autocorrect mocks me on a regular basis. And because I am so used to seeing these errors, I don't always spot them on a reread. When we KNOW what we expect to read, our brain has a habit of lazily just assuming that is what's there, even when it's clearly not. That's why it's so important to have someone else read your work.

When you have a good relationship with a beta, you can discuss with them what level of betaing you want them to do. If you are a control freak like me and worry about them telling you the entire story sucks and Daryl and Carol don't have enough sex, you can ask a beta just to do grammar and punctuation. Or you can ask them to check for sentence flow and structure, and even to help with the actual content and ideas of your story. It’s entirely up to you and your beta.

Betaing is a great process, and shouldn't be something to be afraid of. The bonus is you get someone's feedback on your story before you set it free into the wild, and expose it to predators - or reviewers!

If you're looking for a beta check out the beta's page for a list of people taking on fics, and what they specialise in:
http://ninelivesarchive.com/beta.php
And for some tips on working with a beta check this page:
http://ninelivesarchive.com/viewpage.php?page=betas

But even before (or without) betaing, there's lots you can do to ensure your story is as readable as possible before clicking that submit button.

1) Read and reread your own work. I know it can be tough - either because you get a cringe on and start to doubt yourself, or are bored of our own words - but reading through can make a huge difference. You can spot obvious errors and even improve the story. Also try printing it off, if you have the facilities, or viewing it on a different format. Amazingly seeing it someplace different can help you spot mistakes.

2) Use your word processor, be it Word, Open Word, or whatever you use. Most have a built in spellchecker and grammar checker which highlights mistakes or possible problems. If you don't have access to word processor software, some of the browsers - such as Chrome - also have this facility built in. And there are even some websites - such as http://www.reverso.net/spell-checker/english-spelling-grammar/ - that you can paste your fic into to get a spell check.

3) Ask someone to read it. Even if you don't want to go so far as betaing it yet, ask someone you trust to read it through. Maybe an online friend or RL friend that you trust, who can read it over and just let you know if they found it understandable, or if they noticed obvious mistakes.

4) Check for Americanisms. This is a controversial one, but it's something that immediately takes readers OUT of the action if they suddenly come across a word or phrase they don't know, or know isn't something you'd hear our characters say.

This is NOT to say you have to be American to write fanfic for this show - heavens, half the cast isn't even American. Megan - who set up this site - is Australian, and I am Scottish, so we KNOW how easy it is to slip up and use the wrong word (I have posted elsewhere a story which uses "nappy" instead of "diaper"). This is why it really pays to have an American read your story. They can spot when you've used a word that isn't common to the North American part of the world.

If you don't have someone you can ask, you can post a quick question in Nine Lives Shoutbox asking one of the many wonderful readers what they call fizzy pop or whatever you need to know (That particular question is a bit of a hot topic, mind you!). Alternatively, a tweet or post on tumblr in the Caryl tag will be sure to get some helpful replies.

Another good tip is to type the question into Google, using speech marks around it - for example, "American word for spanner", "American word for toilet". Often this will throw up plenty of answers for you, and even extra cool slang words you may have never heard!

Obviously we have some writers for whom English is not their first language, and my WORD do we admire you. We welcome you with open arms and we think you are amazing to write fanfiction in a second language. We are here only to facilitate you and help you ensure your work is able to reach its audience. So we hope you too will find the above tips helpful.

We don't want ANYONE to feel discouraged or disheartened from posting their fic. All we want is to make sure as many people can read and enjoy your story as possible, and that any obstacles to that end are fixed. We are trying to work WITH authors, not against you, to get your fanfic to the best status it can be when it's housed on Nine Lives. We hope our authors understand that, and know we're here to help, not to hinder.

Remember you can always PM one of the admins for help, advice or if you want to talk through your fic and why it may have been rejected. Write on, ladels and germs, write on!