Tell me about it! I still have no clue what's happened to the point system. I've been told by readers that they can and cannot review Reaction Time for points. Others have said there are two versions of the book out there, one for points and one not for points! Then, there seems to be some books restricted to specific groups. Unfortunately, I can't find an understandable explanation of the point system anywhere. R.M.

I'm writing an explanation of it now. But basically, to have content pay points you need to post it into a group that pays points. You will know if you are doing this because when you publish it will deduct the points and give you a message. Groups with points have a coin symbol after them when you publish. If it doesn't have the coin symbol, and you post to it, the content will not cost points but it will not pay points.

So, you can choose to post to a group that requires points and the content will pay points or you can choose to post free, and the content will not pay points.

When viewing content to read, it will indicate whether it pays points or not by the coin symbol. No coin symbol, no points.

You can change whether content pays points anytime. To do this, go into your Portfolio, click the content and then click the Publish sub-tab. From there, choose  the section: Choose which groups to publish your content to. You can add free groups no problem. You can also add point groups although it will cost you the points to do this.

Hope that helps. A more extensive guide will be coming later today.

Sol

877

(0 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

BTW - Forgot to mention it but for those having trouble navigating the site, we did put together a conversion guide. It provides some high level information on how to use the new site. I may add to it based on the questions I have received over the last week.

http://www.thenextbigwriter.com/member/conversion-help

Sol

878

(28 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Okay, I've edited a chapter of Sorcerer's Progress Book 1: Children and Beasts, creating a new version.  Now I don't see it listed as updated anywhere.  Is this because I don't see my own work on the highly personalized lists, or is there some magic utterance that I'm not seeing?  I tried to follow the 1=>2=>3=>4 buttons, even creating a cover image (and the website did not respect my minimal print/display size) but I have no indication that the revised/reversioned chapter 2 is being presented to anyone.

Can you send me a link to the new version or new chapter version you created? It should appear on the homepage and the Read list. I'll check it out.

Thanks,
Sol

We are working on the publishing and points system over the next day. If you experience a few publishing glitches it might be because of this. We apologize in advance.

Sol

880

(33 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

If you're going to offer downloads, how about an open document format?

Sure, good idea.

881

(4 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Basic)

Thanks, Sol.  Just fiddling around I see that you can use filters on the Home page to sort by genre, which is what I was looking for. I'm sure I'll get the knack of using the new features soon, although I tend to be a bit slow on the uptake.
Paul

Hi Paul, you can sort on the Read pages by genre. Go to Read up at the top of the screen and choose Groups Content. This is all the content posted in all o the groups you belong to. On that page you can sort by Group, Genre, and Type.

Sol

My other question is what is Platinum Membership and how is it different from Premium (aside from being able to add more groups)?

There is no Platinum Membership at this time. It was a thought we had for people who wanted to join more than the Premium number of groups. But at the moment, it doesn't exist and we need to remove it from the messaging. Maybe once we settle on the right number of groups for Premium, we'll think about rolling out an even higher option for those that are power-groupies.

Sol

Please forgive me, I'm so un-tech-savvy that I have to be told at least a dozen times before I actually get it. I've joined five groups, one of which is my own, Kid's Korner. I understand that is the limit (which is rather upsetting) When I post to Premium, will that story be seen in 'Free'? Or will it only show up in the groups I select.
I've grown attached to several stories which fit into more than five categories, and if those writers don't post to either free or premium, I'll loose track of them. And I'll hope to join more YA and Romance groups because that's the only way I'll learn from the best - unless they also post to premium.
Help me understand this.
Thanks,
MzP

Content is only posted in groups which the writer has selected. It is not automatically posted anywhere.
We're still examining the limit on group signups. But the reality is that over time there will be thousands of groups. There is no way a writer can join and actively participate in all of them or even view all of the content. When this was one site, it made sense to want to see everything. Now, the way to go about it is to make sure the people you want to read are in a group with you. Or connect with them.

What's the correct number of groups? I don't know yet. But we want to avoid abandoned groups that are set up or joined on a whim and then allowed to drift into the wasteland. A limit seemed like the best way to get writers to focus on the groups that they really wanted to participate in. We may adjust the number once we see how it goes on the site.

Sol

884

(33 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

I like to stay organized so with the old site I would copy and paste my reviews in OneNote. I would categorize them by work  and reviewer for later reference. The new site makes it harder and in places prohibits this process. I love the in-line reviews but they're impractical for my old method. So a feature I'd like to see, is the ability organize the reviews we give and receive. Icons are nice for the latest but a list is more informative when you get into the hundreds.

How about the ability to download reviews in a Word or CSV format? It's a bit more complicated for in-line reviews but we're thinking of a couple of different ways to do it.

Sol

I don't think our credits update until the next time you sign in, which is why you might be thinking the work was done for free.

Yes, this is something we need to fix. It should update right away.

Sol, I just edited ch 9 Genesis last nights based on the reviews I'd received, and got hit with more credits. I thought this was going to stop.
Please let us know when it will stop, and whether the charges for editing will be reversed. My total assessed charges so far, in the new site, are starting to add up...
Thanks.

We haven't implemented the changes yet. We'll let you know when we do.

887

(4 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Basic)

I'd like to be able to see new postings on the Home page filtered by type--novel, short story, poetry. I generally critique short stories and poetry only and as it is now I have to hunt for them. Also, are all new members automatically in the Free group, so I can see their postings even if they are not part of another group of which I'm a member?
Sol et al, information please.

We'll be making some  changes to the homepage soon which will help you find your content better.

All new members are in the Free group and Premium group. So, if they post to those groups, you will see it. Some members may come on and decide they want to post it to a smaller group, not a general audience. Those, based on the wishes of the author, you will not see.

888

(217 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Hi Sol,
I haven't seen a response on a couple of bugs I've reported previously. So, I'm following up. They still are occurring.
1. When I've writing a review or answering one, hitting <return> takes me to the top of the text box. I can only go to the next line by clicking on the start of it. I don't have that problem in the Forum text boxes. I'm running Safari 7.1 on a Max (OS 10.9.5).
2. I'm still getting lower review credits than is stated on the chapters, even if I have one of the first 3 reviewers. I think njc has it right, the 25% credit isn't being added - or the amount stated on the chapter is wrong.
Cheers,
Don

Hi Don,

We're actively working on #2 and should have it fixed in the next day. I will also check on #1. I know it was also entered as a bug.

Sol

889

(217 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Sol, this is what I'm seeing on the site homepage most of the time when I log in:
An error occurred
Page not found
Exception information:
Message: Invalid controller specified (index.html)
Stack trace:
#0 /usr/local/Zend/ZendFramework/library/Zend/Controller/Front.php(954): Zend_Controller_Dispatcher_Standard->dispatch(Object(Zend_Controller_Request_Http), Object(Zend_Controller_Response_Http))
#1 /usr/local/Zend/ZendFramework/library/Zend/Application/Bootstrap/Bootstrap.php(97): Zend_Controller_Front->dispatch()
#2 /usr/local/Zend/ZendFramework/library/Zend/Application.php(366): Zend_Application_Bootstrap_Bootstrap->run()
#3 /var/www/vhosts/thenextbigwriter.com/httpdocs/index.php(46): Zend_Application->run()
#4 {main}
Request Parameters:
array (
  'controller' => 'index.html',
  'action' => 'index',
  'module' => 'default',
)

That's not good. Will send it to developers.

890

(33 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

A lot of good ideas here. One of the things I detest and get really frustrated with is noodling out a new interface. I've been to places I can't seem to get back to, and I click on things not sure what will happen, or I end up someplace that baffles me. I think you will need to do this eventually anyway--that is: some sort of tutorial or help. I don't care how you do it: building it into the interface with roll-over pop-ups or a series of cataloged screen shots that have roll-over pop-ups.

Check out the Help section and some of the videos we've put together. They may help.

http://www.thenextbigwriter.com/member/video-help-guide

891

(13 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

What I miss is the scroll of new posts so that I can decide if I want to read new writers.

So, the Read menu option at the top of the page isn't sufficient?

I also miss the option of going to the list of reviews given and received (the one-line list) as opposed to the full reviews.

Not sure we can bring this back. It broke the site a couple of times but I will see. I have to say, I never thought this unsorted list of reviews was that useful but I guess I was wrong.

892

(13 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Sol what I really miss are emails telling me when my favorite authors posts something new. Is that function available here and am I missing it? Or is there no email notification?
I was thinking you could send out an email everyday detailing the work that posted in the various groups, then emails from contacts wouldn't be necessary.

We'll get those working again shortly. Thanks for reminding me.

893

(13 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

From what I'm reading, on both this site and the old site, one task that is hard is keeping track of content that you are actively reading and reviewing. So, I have a few ideas for how we can resolve this.

1. Show the latest chapters posted on listings across the site and bring readers to the latest chapter posted.

2. Expand the reading list functionality so that you see on your homepage and in other places when a new chapter is added to content on your reading list.

3. We also replace the chapter drop-downs on the content with the numbering from the old site. I don't know if this will be an issue once we fix #1 and #2.

I think once we put this in place, everyone will find it much easier to keep up with content they are actively reading and reviewing.

Sol

Hi Jack,

I saw the message and posted a Quickee for you. I didn't see you losing points.  You transferred over from the old site with 3,689 points and now have 3,699 points. Where did you see that you lost points? Let me know and I will investigate further.

Sol

895

(217 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

I've just emailed you images for the angle-bracket bug, the summary-behind-image problem, and a cursor oddity that occurs using IE.  Using Chrome, the cursor flips between arrow, text bar, and finger very quickly as you move it through the region in question.
Please let me know if the email doesn't show up, or if you need more info.  I suspect that the two HTML-related problems may originate in the same area, but that's a guess from the outside.

Got it. Thanks. This type of detail is very helpful in resolving issues.

896

(1 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

We will be fixing the logout issue over the next day. You may get logged out a bit more frequently as we test. I recommend savings frequently until we have this issue resolved, which it will be.

Thanks,
Sol

897

(4 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Thank you so much for listening Sol. Would you consider adding one teeny thing to the priority to do list?  Add a remember me button to the log in and remove whatever it is that is timing it out? Even after having the login each time, if the screen gets minimized for any length of time the system auto logs you out. Thanks again!!

Yes, we are working on that. The logout issue should be fixed in the next couple of days.

898

(4 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

If all the groups become no-points-required for posting, then getting points for reviewing would be essentially worthless. I thought the old system worked well. Authors accumulated points for doing the work of reviewing, and in return, they could post their own stuff. Now it'll be a free-for-all, with the only governor in the process being reciprocity. Maybe that's a good thing; I don't know. I'll canvass the members of my group to see what they think.

Jack, that's not exactly what it will be like. It will still costs points to post to point groups. The thing is, you only need to pay the point cost once, and then that will open up all of the point groups.

899

(28 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Favor to ask.  Please increase the clock before the mandatory logout.  I just worked an hour on a really good review, the clock kicked me out and the review was lost as I was forced to log in again.  For writing and editing online, this will cause a lot of lost work.  While taking the time for a decent review, I've just wasted an hour of my life.
Thanks in advance.  Now I have to go back and do that review again.

We are working on it. Hopefully will be resolved in the next day or two. Sorry you lost a review.

900

(28 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Is there a way to see all the comments at one time on an in-line review? I'd love to be able to copy the chapter with those showing. It would be so helpful in editing.

Right now, no. But I have added it as a future enhancement.