Once we get some membership, you just post a brief synopsis of your work, state any caveats if any, and let folks know what kind of swap arrangement you're looking to make. If you get anyone interested in committing to it, I can start you a sticky thread under your novel name and you can use it as your own personal area to announce things or discuss additional feedback with them.
302 2014-11-15 16:15:39
Re: Did I do this right? (40 replies, posted in HodgePodge)
It's official: Happy HodgePodge day. And it's too early in the morning for me to come up with anything better.
303 2014-11-14 18:30:43
Re: Welcome (30 replies, posted in Cop Shop)
Hey everyone. I write all kinds of things but my two favorites are romantic suspense and crime fiction. I don't have any particular expertise in the cop shop area but have done a ton of research for all of my novels that I'd be happy to share. I'm currently working on a crime fiction draft called Sister Margaret's One Big Lie and could always use more eyes on it. Looking forward to this group becoming active!
304 2014-11-14 17:58:02
Re: Site Bugs (217 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
SolN wrote:
Linda Lee wrote:Not sure if this is a bug or not, but checking the public side of my profile I noticed that projects I've disabled are showing up on the list. I know they aren't available once clicked on, but shouldn't disabling hide them? I'd like to control what the general public can see in my portfolio.
This is a cache issue. The site can sometimes take 5-10 minutes to reflect changes made. This is something we'll be tightening up over the next week. But after a bit, content you disable should disappear.
Sol
How? I did it all a few weeks ago on the old site in preparation for coming here.
305 2014-11-14 17:44:28
Re: Forum Confusion (7 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
I have an idea....why don't you start a group called "OLD TNBW" and build a forum similar to what we had there. As the groups founder, you can build your own forums complete with stickies. You can make it open to join, and cost no points to post. Or are we just curmudgeons?
306 2014-11-13 22:51:16
Re: Site Bugs (217 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Don_P_Chambers wrote:
SolN wrote:We can grandfather some content in. Maybe for the next week. If you want that, let me know which group you want that for.
You can also do the other alternative. The best way to publish select chapters to a different points group is to create another version of the manuscript and only publish those chapters to the points group you want. That way, you only have to pay for those chapters.
I was wondering how this would work for our works in progress, that are currently in the "Classic" group. I take it that if we also want to post in another group, say "mystery" or "science fiction" we would have to use points to do so. I agree this is not ideal to get those of us from the old site to actually populate these new groups with content. I know I wouldn't do it until I have something completely new to add.
I think some sort of "grandfathering" is appropriate, but it may have to be longer than a week. Will all groups be formed in the next week?
This brings up another question: for new content, if we want to add to two groups we are a member of, I assume that will take double the points? If so, I may just stick with the "classic" group and use the other groups for the forums.
This, more than anything, is probably why I'll shy away from joining any groups that cost to post in. I created mine before I realized the implication. In my opinion, we should never pay more than once if we elect for something to show up in multiple places. And if we ARE going to be stuck with this--reviews should be rewarding us 20 times the points because only those with HUGE stockpiles of points will ever be able to use the system as is.
307 2014-11-13 22:44:33
Re: New question about portfolio (2 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Hey again Mrs. Piddles
When you are in edit mode, within the document in any chapter, if it is unpublished, a big green button shows up at the top of the doc letting you know that it's unpublished. Also, if you go into 'content' view, the list will indicate published vs. unpublished with a yes or no. Lastly, to verify, if you go to the public view of your project, unpublished chapters will NOT show up on the drop down chapter menu.
308 2014-11-13 21:39:26
Re: Site Bugs (217 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Not sure if this is a bug or not, but checking the public side of my profile I noticed that projects I've disabled are showing up on the list. I know they aren't available once clicked on, but shouldn't disabling hide them? I'd like to control what the general public can see in my portfolio.
309 2014-11-13 21:17:04
Re: New Swap Requests (6 replies, posted in Swap Club)
Hey PB, I peeked at your first chapter and can't remember if I left a review or not, but I'm a little over-committed at present with reciprocal reads. Once I have some time freed up, I'll hit you up.
310 2014-11-13 21:13:24
Re: Forum Confusion (7 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Hey Tirz, the only forum that is something like the one we had on the old site--in that every member can automatically see it is this Classic one. It has no sticky headers like our old one did--but it is the only one that EVERYONE can see. He mentioned wanting to move away from the central forum theme so that we concentrate more on group functions. I too read posts and rarely respond to all because it helped me get to know new people, and keep up with old friends too. That won't change much as long as people keep posting on CLASSIC, but I have a feeling once groups really begin to take hold--classic won't be nearly as active anymore. Who knows, I hope I'm wrong. And I hope I didn't confuse you more 
311 2014-11-13 21:03:47
Re: Future wishlist (33 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Adding to my original list:
1. An easier way to keep track of reading/reviewing progress on other peoples work. The check mark thing, I thought was ingenious! Until I realized that it has no function whatsoever since it bounces around anytime you do, or when you submit a review. I know we can go look at our review list, or do what we've always done and read the last chapter you *thought* you reviewed, but having that process finally streamlined would be such a HUGE blessing and boon. It would negate the necessity of keeping a running tally on my desk, or having to spend the first 10 minutes each time I sit down to review...trying to figure out where I left off. When you're reviewing 5+ novels at a time (like most of us are), having a time saving feature like this would be a gigantic benefit.
312 2014-11-13 20:14:58
Re: Site Bugs (217 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Found an annoying little glitch in regards to reviews.
It took me a while to check through chapters of someones novel to remember where I left off in reviewing. Once I located it, the little check mark in the drop down lit up that chapter. But once I was done reviewing and hit submit, I was reverted back to chapter one. So was the check mark.
I was so happy to see the check mark thinking there was FINALLY a tool that would help us keep track of where we left off. Sadly, it was all for naught. Would you consider changing this?
313 2014-11-13 19:25:09
Re: Future wishlist (33 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Sol thanks for addressing some of the points.
<So, just so I understand this properly, you want anyone to be able to come onto the site and message you?> I want any registered writing member to have the ability to contact me, yes. Otherwise, a quickee will suffice.
314 2014-11-13 08:54:11
Topic: Future wishlist (33 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Sometime MUCH later, once the hubbub of the site switch has died down a bit, a few small things I've noticed so far that I'd love to see implemented:
For uploaded content on our personal home page:
1. I'd like to see the genre of new uploads listed. And if it's a novel, having the chapter number of the upload listed would be most helpful too. As it is right now, I'm not sure what kind of project I'm clicking into and when I do go look-see, it takes me to chapter one by default--not the newest content.
2. Would like an option between viewing uploaded content as a LIST, or as COVERS. The covers are cool and it's nice to see them, but at the same time they take up so much room on the page. If it's a particularly busy upload day, I may miss content if I don't remember to use the arrow navigation. I also like being able to see new content at a glance. In the very least, you should consider scaling the cover sizes down for listings. We'll see the full size cover once we click into them anyway.
3. I know selling books is a priority, but having that connections shelving segment take up a whole third of my home screen, without the option of minimizing it to make room for things I DO want to see regularly, is troublesome. It's also a bit redundant because there is already a smaller shelf listing on the right side of the same page (View Shelved books).
General stuff
1. I'd like the log in section of the site to have a remember me, or keep me logged in option. If there is one, I missed it and did have to log in again when I closed my browser by mistake.
2. We need better connections control. Connections shouldn't automatically equate to reciprocal relationships at all times. I don't want my making a connection to automatically populate my personal home page with their content unless I choose for that to happen.
3. We should be able to utilize the messaging system for connections AND non-connections. There are people I would like to communicate with privately who may not be someone I would have a reciprocal "connection" with. And by the way, I learned that we cannot message non connections the hard way when I opened it up and typed in the name of a recipient--but because I didn't have a connection with them, it defaulted that message and sent it to the last connected person I messaged with because they had a check mark next to their name. Awkward!
4. Why are recommended Shelving of books only pertaining to books for sale? I'd like to display my recommendations for books I LOVE reading on this site that may or may not yet be for sale.
5. Email notifications need to have Reviews added as an option. As the number one priority around here, it SHOULD be one of the notification options. I was lucky enough to receive 3 reviews today and wasn't notified via personal email for any of them.
6. Speaking of email, our public profile should have a 'contact author' option. Quickees are one thing, but if they aren't connected to me they can't do as instructed and send me a private message.
That's all I have for today. I'm sure as things get ironed out, some of these issues may disappear or be tweaked--but I wanted to give you a snapshot of the areas I had the most trouble with today. Thanks, Sol!
315 2014-11-13 07:37:49
Re: Writing Feedback (25 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
I noticed a very positive thing a few moments ago....after taking a break for dinner and time with the family, I returned to my homepage (not sure what the actual term is) and had a great listing of reviews and messages and a connection request. It was NICE to have that stuff populated and easy to see and respond to.
The only question I have regarding this is why aren't notification of reviews one of the boxes we can check to receive email notification? Is that option listed somewhere other than settings?
316 2014-11-13 04:50:48
Re: Writing Feedback (25 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
MrsPiddles wrote:
I'm still not able to leave an inline review. This is a function I was able to do just fine on two other critique sites, which I stopped using long ago, but when I highlight text, nothing happens. There is no way I can leave an inline review and I haven't seen any inlines on anything I've read yet. Of course this is just the first few hours. And when I'm typing something in a forum, the site keeps freezing. Is it that busy today?
Thanks,
MzP
I noticed this too but you have to go to the BOTTOM of the chapter and click the INLINE REVIEW button first. Then it works fine.
317 2014-11-13 04:49:40
Re: Group Spammers (2 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
This name left me an inline review....there wasn't one there, so I looked them up. It's spam.
bluetoothwirele
318 2014-11-13 03:48:34
Re: Site Bugs (217 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
I agree that any previous content prior to the migration to this site shouldn't cost us to post to a new group. There should be grandfathering because we already paid to post those chapters.
319 2014-11-13 03:46:55
Re: Site Bugs (217 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Mrs. Piddles --you can click on the forum name of any writer and get the option to connect that way. OR you can type their name into the little magnifying glass search bar up on the top of the screen and type the name of the writer you want to connect with. Once their page comes up, hit the connection button.
320 2014-11-13 03:45:09
Re: Site Bugs (217 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
jack the knife wrote:
Major problem - In the old site, you could click on any of the posted chapters of a novel. Now you have to start at Chapter 1 and keep advancing until you get to the chapter you want. Extremely inefficient! I suggest inserting at the top all of the posted chapters as with the old site. If I know I stopped at Chapter 15, say, of an author's work, I don't want to have to keep turning pages until I get to Chapter 16 to read and review. And this will also show us how many chapters have been posted. If we've caught up and are waiting for the next chapter to be posted, a quick check will tell us if a new chapter is now up.
There is a drop down menu that makes navigating chapters really easy--however, I agree that there should be a way for us to tell what's NEW since the last time we read.
321 2014-11-13 03:43:24
Re: Site Bugs (217 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
SolN wrote:
Edited to add: found some controls, however when I went to publish one of my books into my group....it wanted over 300 of my 600 points to do it. WOWZA. So I went to change it to a non point thing and couldn't. Why would you not give the founder/mod the ability to change their mind? Do I need to start the group over?
Once you start a group and decide points/no points, it can't be changed. You can delete the group and start over. To delete, go to the group and then Members and delete yourself. Then you can recreate it.
Sol
I saw that but wasn't sure if deleted myself if the members would still be there when I recreated it under the same name.
322 2014-11-13 02:10:32
Topic: General Discussion (2 replies, posted in Swap Club)
This is the place for any general discussions pertaining to the group.
323 2014-11-13 02:09:20
Topic: New Swap Requests (6 replies, posted in Swap Club)
If you have a project you would like to post for others to consider for full swaps--here is the place to give the details. Remember to include your genre, a brief description, any caveats like explicit or sensitive topics, etc.
324 2014-11-13 02:05:20
Re: Site Bugs (217 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Not sure if this is a bug or not, but I created a group in beta and had a lot more control over the group I just created called Swap Club. As admin of the group, shouldn't we be able to do forum stickies and assign others as mods? Unless I'm missing where those controls are. Anyone?
Edited to add: found some controls, however when I went to publish one of my books into my group....it wanted over 300 of my 600 points to do it. WOWZA. So I went to change it to a non point thing and couldn't. Why would you not give the founder/mod the ability to change their mind? Do I need to start the group over?
325 2014-11-13 02:03:51
Topic: Welcome! (1 replies, posted in Swap Club)
Welcome to the swap club! Hopefully we'll get enough people to join us that it will become a worthwhile endeavor. Once you begin finding partners, if you'd like me to make a forum header under your project name, I'd be happy to do that. That way you can keep all your novel specific correspondence together.
Good luck!
