• General Writing Member Questions
• Posting Questions
• Feedback and Review Questions
• Competition Questions
• Reviewer Questions

General Membership Questions

What Can I Post

You can post your poems, short stories, articles, and novels on the site. TheNextBigWriter has an eager membership base that is waiting to read your work.

Can I Post Adult Material?

Yes, within good taste. The site was designed for adults and members must be 18+ to join and enter. Any posted material must adhere to the site's Member Agreement.

Can Anybody Join?

We welcome all writers who wish to join other writers and readers in a dynamic community. If you want to learn, meet other writers, and see what other think of your writing then you are welcome. Our members come from all over the world and are both published authors as well as beginner writers.

TheNextBigWriter is a respecful community. If you have a bad attitude, are looking for a place to rant, or want to cause problems, this is not the community for you. We do not tolerate rude or disrespectful behavior and will quickly remove you from the site and keep your money.

Does it Cost to Join?

Thre is a membership fee to become a Writing Member. For the membership fee, Writing Members receive unlimited access to the site and can post an unlimited amount of writing, can participate in all contests, and receive a site ranking for each piece of writing posted.

The cost is $7.95 for a monthly membership, $14.95 for a quarterly membership, and $49.95 for a yearly membership.

Are there any additional fees?

No, one fee covers everything. You will be able to post an unlimited amount of work, receive reviews, receive a site rank, receive exposure and readership for your work, be eligible to receive Star Reviews, and be automatically entered into the theNextBigWriter contests.

I read that I needed to review work before I can post. Is this true?

Yes, in order keep the community running smoothly all Writing Members are also required to review the work of others. All new members join the site with the ability to post 1 poem, short story, or novel chapter without having to do any reviews. To post additional work, you will need to read and review the writing of others. Existing members have told us it's a great way to be exposed to new writing and to learn.

TheNextBigWriter utilizes a sophisticated, yet simple credit system to ensure that writers receive the maximum number of reviews, and that reviewers are compensated for their time. The credit system calculates how many credits it takes to post writing based on the length (number of words) and the type of writing. Thus, a short poem takes fewer credits to post than a long novel chapter. The system also calculates how many credits a review pays based on the type and length of the work. Writers can easily find out how many credits it will take to post something by uploading their writing and allowing the system to calculate credit costs. In addition, each posted piece clearly shows how many credits it pays per review. Writing with fewer than 3 reviews pays a 20% bonus to be reviewed. This system ensures that reviewers are properly compensated for the time spent reviewing and that all writers have an opportunity to receive reviews.

Do I retain ownership of my work?

Yes, absolutely. You retain full rights to your work and may do with it as you please. This is why we must charge a small fee. Unlike publishers, we do not claim ownership of your work. Please see the Membership Agreement to view our rights policy.

How much time will this take?

Your membership is completely flexible. You can spend as much or as little time on the site as you want. There is no activity requirement and you are not forced to review at pre-determined times.

Is this like vanity publishing?

No, we are not a publisher. We are a writing based community that provides writers with feedback, exposure, and opportunities to be recognized for their writing. Our site is password protected and not available to the general public. In addition, for the small fee we charge, we allow unlimited posting and use of the site. Our goal is to help writers refine their writing and publicize their work.

Am I giving away any rights by publishing on your site.

No, because the site is a closed, password protected community, you are not giving away your first rights of publication. Please be aware that if you post your work on the general Internet, or on sites where your work can be read without password protection, publishers consider that you have used your "first publication rights." Many publishers, especially short story publishers, will not accept work where this right has already been used. At TheNextBigWriter our goal is to help you achieve success, not cause you to inadvertantly loose some of your rights.

I read your about your competition and see that you do publish though.

Yes, to provide our members with another opportunity to be published we have started a small publishing operation based off the site and the competition. In this case, like a traditional publisher, we are paying the owner for the rights to publish their work.

Can I cancel my monthly or quarterly membership at any time?

Yes, but be aware that we will cancel your membership starting in the next complete period. We do not refund money for membership fees that have already been processed. You can cancel your membership by doing the following:

• In the Your Account tab click on the link that says: Update Your Payment Information.
• Click on the Edit Information link at the bottom of the page.
• Change Billing Recurrence to No and then press Submit.

Your account will not automatically roll-over at the end of the next period and if you do not manually upgrade it you will be downgraded to a free reviewer account. At that point you will not be billed further and your writing will not be visible on the site.

At any point in the future you can upgrade your account and start-up where you left off.

Can I cancel my membership if I signed up for 12 months?

Once you have posted your work you may cancel your membership but we will not refund your money. If you have any doubts about joining the site, we suggest you sign up with a weekly or quarterly membership, which can be cancelled at the end of each subscription period.

Posting Questions

Is it difficult to post work?

No, we have made the posting system easy and intuitive. If you can type into a Word document, and know how to cut and past text then you can post to the system. If you don't know how to cut and paste we have simple instructions to guide your through the process. Do not let your fear of technology prevent you from participating. Signing up and posting your first work takes approximately 10 minutes.

Can I hide my true identity?

Absolutely. You have the option of posting your work under a Pen Name. In addition, although you provide us with your email address, this is for administrative purposes only and will not be shown on the site. you do not have to post your email address to the site.

I read that I can only post 5,000 words per submission. How do I post my novel?

Novels can absolutely be posted but must be divided into 5,000 piece increments, or chapters. The site allows you to tie these chapters together so that each of your individually posted pieces can be viewed together and receive a combined score in the Novel category. In addition, writers who wish to submit many short stories as an anthology can do so by grouping their short stories into a novel.

Can I edit my work on the site?

You can change everything about the work you posted, including the title, genre, summary, and of course, the main text of the work. To do this:

• Click on the Your Account tab located on the upper right of the screen.
• Either click on the story title or click the edit link to the right of the title.
• To edit the title, type, genre, rating, and story/novel summary, click the link labeled Edit Main Story Information
• To edit the chapter title, chapter summary, and body of your work, click on the name of the chapter/short story.

Editing posted work is useful for several reasons. You can update and improve your work as feedback comes in. Editing also allows you to test market different titles and summaries to see what generates the most visits and reviews. If you’re not happy with the number of visits and reviews you are getting, test a different title or perhaps a more exciting summary. Use the site to understand what turns browsers into readers.

I've heard that I can edit, repost, and resubmit work. What's the difference?

• Edit work: This option allows writers to change their work and then save the changes. The changes then appear on the posted writing. This does not change the status of the work or its order in any of the queues. It does not cost credits to edit work and it preserves all of the old reviews and ratings.
• Repost work: Reposting changes the status of the work on the site. The writing becomes reposted which means that it goes to the top of all of the queues and receives additional exposure. Reposting preserves all of the previous reviews and ratings given a work.

  Features of reposting include:

  • The writing appears back on the Newly Posted/Reposted box on the homepage
  • The review counter is set to 0, placing it back at the top of the Read and Review tab and the genre categories.
  • A reviewer now receives a 20% bonus (just like New work) for reviewing the writing until it has received 3 reviews.
• Resbmit work: Resubmitting refers to deleting the old work and posting a new version in its place. Doing this will delete all of the reviews and ratings associated with the older piece. Once the work has been resubmitted, it is considered New.

How do I repost my writing?

Follow these steps to repost your writing:

• Go to the Your Account tab at the upper right of the screen.
• Click the Publish link next to the short story, novel, or book.
• Find the section that you wish to repost, click the box and hit the blue Publish button.  It should tell you the number of points needed to repost next to each listed work.

Can I preserve the formatting of my work?

The site does its best to preserve the formatting of your work. If you use Microsoft Word, we have a utility that preserves most of the formatting. When you are uploading your work, be sure to click on the W icon on the left hand side of the toolbar above the text box. In addition, please skim our tips for ensuring optimal formatting.

 

Feedback and Review Questions

What type of reviews can I expect?

Reviews are designed to provide the author with a big-picture sense on the effectiveness of their writing. Are the characters realistic and compelling? Does the plot make sense? Is the story interesting and impactful. TheNextBigWriter is not a line-by-line editing or crit site. While some reviewers do provide this type of feedback it is not required.

How many reviews will I receive?

The site is designed to provide each writer with at least three reviews but many of our writers receive more. In fact, the top novel on the site has received over 1,000 reviews. The number of reivews you receive depends on several factors including the quality and readability of your work, your activity on the site (someone who spends time reviewing others generally receives more reviews), the title and description you have given your work, and more.

Where is my writing shown on the site?

Your writing is show on the site in the following ways:

• The homepage: Newly posted writing appears in the Recently Posted/Reposted box on the homepage. It stays there until newer work comes along and slides it down and off the chart.
• Read and Review: Writing on the Read and Review tab is posted by date. Like the homepage, as newer work comes along, your post will slide down. You can always bring it up to the top of the line by Reposting the piece. As writing works its way down the line, it accumulates reviews. As you post chapters to a novel, each post will bring the entire novel back up to the top.
• Genre Categories: Writing in the genre sections is also listed by date. Reposting brings the writing in these lists up to the top also. As you post chapters to a novel, each post will bring the entire novel back up to the top.
• Your Profile Page: All of your writing appears on your personal profile page. From here, readers can select from any of your posted writing. Links to your profile page are provided from all of your posted work as well as from all reviews that you post to the site.
• Top 20 Rankings: Writing that receives the perquisite number and quality of reviews are showcased on these lists.
• Writer/Reviewer Account page: Recently submitted work appears at the bottom of each member's personal account page as work that is ready to be reviewed.

In addition, writers can get additional exposure for older work by Reposting it. Reposting work brings it back to the top of all pages. In addition, Reposting sets your reviews counter to 0, meaning you receive bonus credits for reviewing.

Writing Ranking Questions

How is my ranking calculated?

Your ranking is calculated based on the ratings provided by readers and reviewers on the site. These ratings are weighed based on the reputation of the reviewer. Thus, the sum of your review scores may not always correspond directly to your rank.

Reviewer FAQs

I don't have experience giving reviews, can I still participate?

If you enjoy reading and feel comfortable writing a few words about what you liked or thought could be improved, then you will be fine. We ask reviewers to provide honest, considerate feedback on what they have read.

Why should I be a reviewer?

If you've ever dreamt of being an editor, a reviewer of literature, or an agent, then becoming a Reviewer on theNextBigWriter is for you. Every Reviewer has the opportunity to identify new talent and provide their feedback and review to the community. In addition, each reviewew has a Reviewer Score which tracks how well their reviews and feedback is being taken by the community. By doing reviews that are consistently ranked highly, Reviewers can achieve clout on the site.

How is my Review Score determined?

Writers are required to rate the quality of every review done on their work. These ratings are used to calculate the Review Score.

How long is the work that must be read?

No single posting is greater than 5,000 words; many are shorter. 5,000 words equals about 10 pages.

How long do the reviews need to be?

Reviews need to be a minimum of 50 words.

Do I need to review a certain number of stories?

No, there is no minimum. The time you choose to spend on the site is up to you. The number of reviews you do as well as the quality of reviews will impact your review score though.

Can I upgrade from being a Reviewer to a Writer?

Yes. When you do, all review credits you have accumulated come with you. Review credits are used to post work.