Minor Enhancement Requests (Page 1 of 2)

The display under New In-Line Reviews/See More In-Line Reviews gives more information than is available elsewhere.  Could this info be made available under one of the other review lists?

Sol, could you please make me the moderator of the YA/New Adult crossover group? The group has had no forum or story posts in over a year. And Susan Stec, it's founder, has been off the site since the middle of 2021. Unless you want to delete it, I was going to rename it Young Adult/New Adult and try to revive it. I figured it may be worth keeping for those who write in those genres (and for new members who want to do so).

Sol, Kdot and I are trying to figure out where to steer writers of stories about vampires, werewolves, zombies, etc., not to mention horror stories in general. We have our renamed fantasy group (Fantasy/Magic/Sci-fi), which could cover at least some of those stories. We also have the renamed Young Adult/New Adult group, which often include such stories as sub-genres. Either way, we have no "perfect" place to steer general horror writers, although I don't know of any of the latter at present. All of those stories could perhaps do with a dedicated horror group, although that risks starting down the slippery slope toward too many unused groups again. Please let me know your thoughts.

Thanks
Dirk

Sol, I see a new author has again used the 'short story' format for a multichapter work, because it will be a novella and not a novel.  Could the new content menu item be amended from "novel" to "novel (multichapter story)", and perhaps "short story" be amended to "short story (single chapter work)" ?  Or some improved version thereof?

Placing the message where the input is accepted and the commitment made would ensure that the information is available where it is most needed.

I think you're both referring to the same thing, called Story Type in the publishing wizard. njc's solution is more precise (you see the information right as you select the option). If that's too difficult a change (e.g., if there's a short text limit on the pick list entries), then Vern's idea of some helpful text on that screen would be a trivial addition.

Edited for clarity:
An issue I see very often with new members, and one I contributed to myself, is starting at the most recent posted chapter, usually by finding it on the front page. When new to the site, or writing sites in general, it's unclear that this isn't very useful (other people have already gone over the earlier chapters, do they really want my feedback there too?). Reviewers would no doubt prefer to start at the beginning, so it should be just as simple/intuitive to do that as to start at the newest chapter. If encouraged to go to the beginning, that could indicate to them that yes, writers will appreciate your feedback on the early chapters too, that's the best place to start. 

Potential solutions:
- Add a link that says, "Go to chapter 1 of this book!" or something of that nature to the chapters as they show up in the "new books" feed. This might encourage people to start at the beginning or at least let them know it's an acceptable option.

- Make the book title link go to the first chapter. Currently the book thumbnail, book title, and book chapter are three separate links that all take you to the same place—the newest chapter—which reinforces the idea that this is the chapter you are supposed to review and deters you from getting to chapter one.

Another little change:  when displaying the "save" and "submit" buttons, make them visually different.  My first thought is to make the "save" button narrower, perhaps 3/4 the width of the "submit" button, and centered so you see the difference no matter the end on which your eye falls.

Whether a reviewer should always start at chapter one or join in at the latest chapter posted by the author has been an ongoing debate since I joined the old site umpteen years ago. My position has always been that it's a personal matter rather than a site problem. Let me play the devil's advocate again. If you falsely (I'll explain below) believe no one can leave a helpful review when starting in the middle chapters of a book, then you have a simple option to make a statement in bold lettering in your summary box that you prefer that approach. If someone misses the note, then you may inform them when responding to their first review or if preferred, place the note at the beginning of each chapter as a header.

Just as an aside, many reviewers are primarily making grammar/punctuation corrections which matters not one iota where they start.

Now, let me tell you why the assumption of rejecting or criticizing reviewers starting at other than the first chapter is false. First off, the author may indeed be finished working on the previous chapters until the entire book is posted. That was my approach when posting my first novel. For the kicker, one of my best reviewers jumped in somewhere near the middle of my postings which ended up being around 40 chapters. One caveat is that the reviewer should know what they are doing and not insist on asking silly questions about things which were logically answered in earlier chapters. My reviewer did indeed know what they were talking about and eventually after all my chapters were posted, they went back to the first chapter and were able to make intelligent suggestions concerning continuity, loose ends, etc. which may not have been noticed by starting at the beginning initially.

My point is that people have different expectations and if an author is dead set on having things done a certain way, then they should make that explicitly clear to any would be readers/reviewers. Afterall, most reviewers aren't mind readers, but they just might have some valuable suggestions if given a chance to do so no matter where they start. Take care. Vern

If there is a clear explanation placed at the beginning, then it's no longer an accident or the result of an unclear sign. If they still miss all the signposts, then the author can kindly explain it to them in their response to the review. Surely the site doesn't attract that many who can't understand, "PLEASE START REVIEWING AT CHAPTER ONE." At least, I haven't encountered all those folks -- just lucky, I guess. Take care. Vern

My point is that the author can change the controls rather than depending on the site to clarify everything. Obviously, those author controls have not been implemented by those who are concerned about the "problem." Not sure how the site can be clearer than the author in solving the problem. I suppose I place too much burden on the author seeking reviews only in a certain order. Take care. Vern

As I stated, the author can leave a clear note that they prefer the reviewer to start with chapter one. That is the same type "control" the site could make to accomplish the same thing. No matter who does it, the reader/reviewer must read the directions or the whole debate is meaningless and the outcome hopeless. Take care. Vern