How the Site Works

General Overview

TheNextBigWriter is a dynamic community that was designed to be easy and intuitive to use. Although we have included the basic rules of the site below, the easiest way to learn about the site is to start using it. Additional answers to common questions can be found in our list of Frequently Asked Questions

Types of Members:

There are two types of members on the site:

• Writing Members (Writers) can post, read, and review work. Their posted work receives a ranking and is part of the Competition. Writing Members must also review work to post.
• Review Members can only read and review work. They receive credit for their reviews should they ever decide to become Writing Members and post work.

For a side by side comparison of Writing Membership versus Review Membership, click here.

Credit Posting System:

TheNextBigWriter runs on a credit system. Your account comes with 1 free post of either a poem, short story, or novel chapter. To post additional work, you must earn posting credits by reviewing the work of others. You may also purchase credits from TheNextBigWriter Credit Bank. The three bullets below summarize how the system works:

• Use Credits to Post: Writers need a certain number of posting credits in their account to post a new work. All new writers join the site with the ability to post 1 poem, short story, or novel chapter without having to do a review. To post additional work writers must accumulate credits by reviewing and rating the work of their fellow writers. The amount of credits needed to post is calculated by the system based on the type of work being posted (novel, poem, short story) and the length. The system keeps track of all credits and allows you to see at any time how many you need to post your next piece of writing, making it easy.
• Accumulate Credits: Writers receive posting credit by reviewing the work of other writers. The amount of credits each work pays is determined by the type of work (short story, poem, or novel chapter) as well as the length of the work. Each posted work shows the amount of review credits it pays. Work with fewer than 3 reviews pays 20% more credits. Writers have told us that the process of reading and reviewing the work of other writers has been invaluable tool in developing and refining their writing skills. If you are pressed for time the site gives you the option of purchasing credits from TheNextBigWriter Credit Bank.
• Rate Reviews: Writers need to rate the quality of the reviews they have received (Rate the Review). Feedback consists of ranking the review from 1 to 5. Writers will not be able to post additional writing until they have rated the reviews they have received.

In addition, here are some other helpful rules of the system:

• Re-posting Writing: Writers may repost any work. Reposted work retains all of its previous reviews and scores and goes back to the top of each queue.
• Deleting Writing: Writers may delete the work and post it again. Doing this will eliminate all of the previous review history. Doing this is not recommended and may actually harm the ranking of the work.

Posting Work:

Writers can post work to the site in sections of 8,000 words. There are three different writing "types" to allow writers to best post their work:

• Short Stories: Short stories are limited to one post of up to 8,000 words. Thus, short stories on the site are any work of 1-8,000 words.
• Novels: Novels can consist of an unlimited number of 8,000 block sections.
• Poems: Like short stories, poems are limited to one, 8,000 word block.

Writers with longer short stories may post them as novels. And writers with multiple poems may publish them as novels and then place them in the Poetry genre.

If this sounds confusing, don't worry. Once you get started, the rules will become apparant.

Rankings & Competition

Once your work is posted it will start to receive feedback and reviews from the other members of the community. On a nightly basis, the scores that you have received are tallied by the system and each piece you submit is given a rank. In addition, the site's Ranking Page displays writing across various timeframes.

All ranked writing starts at the bottom but over time, as you receive more exposure on the site and your writing receives more recognition, it will climb in the rankings.

On a periodic basis, the rankings are used to determine winners of various competitions.