1,326

(212 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

It seems to me a simple request for someone not to comment on your work is a far better method than resorting to impersonal technology, kind of like driving a nail with sledgehammer. Take care. Vern

1,327

(212 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

KHippolite wrote:

really don't understand the clamor for having a forum for every work posted. Doesn't make sense; the majority appear, get little attention and then are never heard of again, so what would be the purpose in creating all these thousands of feedback forums above what is already available.

Yes... I see from this that my statement has been misunderstood so I'll rephrase it slightly.

What's needed is a way to attach a forum link to a particular work. For example:

[Body of Work]
[Inline Reviews]
[Reviews]
[Additional Feedback]

The additional feedback link would drop you into the forum thread associated with the work. You would be able to read & post in this forum thread without needing to join the group. You would not need to go hunt down the group / forum that was discussing this body of work. You would not need to randomly guess that there was a thread on it in the first place.

Links are good, works for me. Take care. Vern

1,328

(212 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

janet reid wrote:
SolN wrote:

If authors really want more feedback, then pray tell why don't they offer some opinion on all the comments left in the inline review instead of only a few words in the final comment section. You can agree or disagree with what was said or even offer a totally different interpretation. You can question why the reviewer sees things that weren't intended at all or show why you chose to do something a particular way and start a conversation in which others could offer various points of view. In other words, you've got a forum built into the review process just as Sol envisioned and implemented.

This is the purpose of in-lines but I don't think we are fully there yet. The problem is that there is no notification when someone posts a comments so the author and others have no reason to go back to the in-line. We're working on a new version of the in-line review system that will address this and hopefully move more towards the vision I have for the tool. I do believe this is the place to focus the site's resources as opposed to building out the forum system.

I'm struggling to get my head around the practicality of using reviews, especially in-reviews, as discussion boards.

Reason for my concern is this:  A novel with 30 chapters, and an average of 5 in-line reviews per chapter, at an average of 10 in-line comments per review = 1500 in-line comments.  I'm not even considering if a writer has more than one novel active.  If only one comment every 2 chapters is discussed in more detail, that's 15 discussions spread over 30 chapters and 1500 in-line comments.  Not mentioning if two reviewers made the same suggestion, yet one group adds their views to review A and another group theirs to review B - and in the process, you now have two of the same conversations that don't follow each other.  From a writer's perspective, especially one that do not incorporate changes as they write on, this would be impossible to manage without going mad or without missing possibly some really good feedback.

So my question is, how would someone manage this?  Email alerts will drive me nuts (but that's just me) - traffic light patterns attached to in-line comments would probably work, but it doesn't negate the navigation require to get to this.  As already mentioned, having a feedback thread in more than one group is already problematic.  And I disagree that it takes the same effort to navigate in-line reviews compared to forums (1500 comments ...) - once you're on the forum page, you're going.  (I think the clicking involved with in-line reviews have been covered, so I'm not mentioning it).  How would this make it easier?

So although this functionality of in-line reviews specifically would be great, is it really what the intent is?  I have seen this many times over where something basic, but really effective morphs into a brilliant system that simply is too complicated and cumbersome to be used for its original purpose.  Fixing this would be even more painful.

KHip's proposal to have a "Facebook" kind of interface for each novel, that isn't part of the forums, seems less complex to me (from a user perspective, not necessarily a programmer's).

So, what am I missing here?  Sol, or is this what you're working on?

From my perspective, any author can start a forum on any piece of work they wish; you don't need anything special to do so. Now if said author can get reviewers to congregate at this forum, then said author could if they wish to do so get reviewers to leave comments on the inline review. They could even appoint their most prolific reviewer as the central review for others to comment on thus creating an inline forum. As far as thirty chapters go, I for one do edits one chapter at a time, so why would  want all those comments in a regular forum mixed up and spread over thirty chapters with no way to know which chapter a given comment was relating to. For instance a reviewer could enter comments on chapter 5 while others are entering comments on chapter 29, etc. I don't really want to wade through god knows how many pages of a forum to find who made what comment on each chapter so would most llikely do it as each chapter was being reviewed anyway if that were my only choice. However, with the inline, it is already divided into chapters so I can edit at my leisure without the ever repeating necessity to fish out those comments from a regular forum.

Now Sol has said he is working on improvements for the inline review process and if one such improvement already mentioned was to be able to scroll through the comments, then that would be wonderful and would diminish even further any need for any additional forum changes. I mean I don't care if forum upgrades are made, I just don't see any need as far as making a special effort for each author's work when they can do that already - I've even suggested that some authors do so for a particular work; still hasn't come about so I'm not sure what the broad appeal would be.

As is, you have a choice to do your own forum or to use the built in forum capability of the inline review (especially with potential upgrades) so I really don't understand the clamor for having a forum for every work posted. Doesn't make sense; the majority appear, get little attention and then are never heard of again, so what would be the purpose in creating all these thousands of feedback forums above what is already available.

But to each their own.  Take care. Vern

1,329

(212 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

bimmy wrote:

I want a pony.


Wait! I got that. Nevermind. I don't need anything.

How about a new saddle or a puppy to keep the pony and/or you company? Everybody needs something, lol. Take care. Vern

1,330

(212 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Linda Lee wrote:

I am so glad to be wrong about versioning!  His post DID generate a listing, and did offer points. I'm assuming the low point count was based on the small size of the test chapter.

Question, would this still work if he doesn't disable his original chapter?

The new published version is independent from the original, just like a new chapter; whether the original is active or disabled doesn't effect the points for the new version - if that is what you are asking. Take care. Vern

1,331

(212 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Well, when I first read all the talk about creating a new forum for every piece of work, I really couldn't understand the need so thought I'd just sit out this particular debate , but then I kept reading different posts about how good it would be and all so I decided to go ahead and jump in. But alas it looks like Sol must've read my mind because he pretty much said everything I was going to say. But I'm gonna go ahead and regurgitate some of it anyway so as to put my vote out there should one be taken.

The problem is not that there is no forum for all this feedback bandied about; the problem is that virtually no one uses the built in forum of the inline review. Not only do most folks not respond to any of the highlighted areas within the text of the piece being reviewed, virtually no other reviewers make additional comments to the ones already made. I've made a few attempts to get some response, but so far nothing has happened so I simply quit leaving additional comments for the most part.

If authors really want more feedback, then pray tell why don't they offer some opinion on all the comments left in the inline review instead of only a few words in the final comment section. You can agree or disagree with what was said or even offer a totally different interpretation. You can question why the reviewer sees things that weren't intended at all or show why you chose to do something a particular way and start a conversation in which others could offer various points of view. In other words, you've got a forum built into the review process just as Sol envisioned and implemented.

I really don't see why Sol would entertain making any changes to the existing forum parameters when the potential for the obvious feedback choice is almost totally ignored.

That's my vote on the long ballot. Take care. Vern

1,332

(3 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Hi, Shazzie, (cool name) When you click on a story, it will show you how many points you earn for reviewing. Generally you'll need to review roughly four stories of similar length to yours to earn enough points to publish your story. Good news is that you will also learn by reviewing others. It is easier to spot things in other works than in your own, but doing so makes it easier to spot things in your story in the future. And around and around and around we go. Take care. Vern

If you post to the Premium group, then everything requires points, so no problem. And the "free" group is being phased out (if not already) so there will be no more zero points. Simplest thing to do until all freebies are gone (if not already) is to post and read from the Premium group. Problem solved. Take care. Vern

Michelle8 wrote:

I have revised a story and changed the status from 2nd draft to final. A few reviewers expressed interest in seeing the story again after revisions. Will they be able to get points since I've changed the status? They really should - taking a second look can take as much time as a first look and is often less fun, so they should certainly get credit for their generosity. Sol, I recommend bringing back the re-publish option, too.  I don't mind paying extra points. After significant revisions it's nice to get not only a second round of comments from reviewers but a first round from people not influenced by the earlier version.

You could just publish it again with the same Title + (revised) which would also be cheaper than the old republish option. Since you don't want new readers influenced by the earlier version, it should be perfect as they would not see the earlier reviews or original material. Just a suggestion. Take care. Vern

1,335

(16 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

KHippolite wrote:

Can anyone other than the author even see that button? I've never once clicked it so I don't know.

.

I don't think anyone else can see it. I've never seen it on reviews other than mine. And I just checked again; it's not there. Take care. Vern

1,336

(5 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Hello, John, Well, yeah, they did blow it after it being handed to them on a silver platter so to speak, but to the point at hand:

There is no "republish" on this new site. Simply edit your story and "publish" it again as a new version of the same story. Take care. Vern

PS: Welcome back to the land of the living.

1,337

(14 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Congrats! Perhaps some day I  or we all can say we know how you feel; still have my fingers crossed for the last submission. Take care. Vern

SolN wrote:

Yes, that is correct. I even went back and added "revised" to the title just in case. Thanks. Take care. Vern

Hi Vern,

I see the problem. It is not posted to TheNextBigWriter Premium. This is the group sponsoring the contest so it must be posted there to be entered.

Sol

I clicked the box for TheNextBigWriter Premium to post on three different occasions. Why else would it tell me the cost of points? I'll try again, but what else can I do?

PS: I just tried again and it worked this time. Still don't know what the difference was. Thanks. Take care. Vern

SolN wrote:

Hi Vern,

I checked it out and it should work. Let me talk to the tech guys about it. The title shouldn't make a difference.

Just to confirm, you published it as a new book, right?

Thanks,
Sol

Yes, that is correct. I even went back and added "revised" to the title just in case. Thanks. Take care. Vern

Hello, Sol, I've tried to enter The Silver Mist in the Strongest Start Competition 2015, but it keeps tellng me the publishing date is too old. I deleted the previous chapters and published the three new ones a a new book or at least attempted. It told me it cost 25.97 points which I have to spare and clicked publish but it still shows the old publish date when I click to enter the contest. What else do I need to do? Would it help to simply change the title? Does it still consider it when the older one was deleted first. Thanks. Take care. Vern

1,341

(13 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Shearluck wrote:

Hello everyone my name is Tyler, and this is my first time ever putting my writing out there.  Not since the disturbing era of teenage fan fiction have I attempted to put anything of mine online.  Gripping paranoia of rebuke holds me back more often than I'd like to admit.  I would love for someone to show me the ropes around here, thank you very much.

Shearluck

Hello, Shear, good thing about the site is that no one can see you shaking in your boots or whatever, so test the waters and you might be surprised at the results. You will find the good, bad, and ugly comes out in reviews and you must decide what is relevant to your vision of the story. We all have opinions like some other anatomical structure, but yours is the most important. We as a community only point you in different directions to explore; that is where you learn and can also teach. Welcome and good luck. Take care. Vern

1,342

(51 replies, posted in HodgePodge)

GPyrenees wrote:

Dragon actually a pre-install. I've never tried it. Do you use it, Vern?

No, I change my mind too many times when I'm thinking before writing something. With Dragon, I'd be speaking out and then it's on paper just to have to delete and go with my next thought. But a lawyer now, you always think before speaking, so might work. Take care. Vern

1,343

(8 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Basic)

Crapacetic? Take care. Vern

Mariana Reuter wrote:

Actually, writers who are girls don't even need to use makeup. They look pretty anyway only because they write. Wonderbras aren't needed either.

Kiss,

Gacela.

Good, I prefer them without bras anyway. Take care. Vern

Oh me, oh my, clickity click, too many clicks. Hmm, just wondering how many clicks folks make to type out their reviews as opposed to the minimal clicks to open a tiny box to read what someone has spent the time clicking, clicking, clicking, in order to help improve the work being reviewed. Let's see, in typing class we did exercises by typing as fast as we could without regard to mistakes, just clicking away. Well if you do that, it is amazing how many clicks one can make - several a second. So I'm guessing that the time to click on a great big highlighted area (even if only one word) is kind of like typing as fast as you can since you don't have to be concerned about making a mistake. Extrapolating, the cumulative time to click on 10, 20, 30 little boxes or so is like maybe a few seconds compared to the say 30 minutes to an hour someone spends clicking to write that review. And the wear and tear on the knuckles is probably proportional too; jeez, I got cramps with that last review, lol. So, yeah, I'm not really impressed with the clickity click objections to inline reviews.

If Sol wants to make all the little boxes open at once or put them on the side, no problem, I'm certainly not adverse to making things easier, but until that time, you have choices folks. Use whichever method works for you, or better yet, use whichever method works for any reviewers you might have. That's my few clicks; well, a whole lot of clicks, but guess what, it didn't really take that long. Take care. Vern

Inline review easier for reviewer or author? Obviously a rhetorical question. It depends on where you are coming from. We are each going to do things which make our own lives easier presumably. If I am reviewing I will do it the best way for me whether old school or inline - I actually do both at times depending upon the piece being reviewed and how detailed I wish to be; I generally read the entire work first and determine my overall input at that time.

If I am an author receiving a review, then I don't care which method it is because I am the recipient of someone's time and effort to help me and will not look the proverbial gifthorse in the mouth so to speak. If it is best for the reviewer of my work to use an inline review I will gladly suffer what some consider a burden to open the highlighted areas one at a time and decide if the suggestion, if any, merits my changing something in the story. If it does I'll remember it, write it down, or copy and paste it to a cumulative page where each and every one can be gone over with a fine tooth comb as often as need be.

BTW, if I should give anyone an inline review which is too burdensome for them, please let me know and I will cease and desist; would hate to waste both of our times, especially mine. Take care. Vern

I joined the old site simply to get impartial reactions/reviews of my writing. I learned a lot in the process and continue to learn and hopefully pass on some tidbits here and there.

As to the regular vs inline review: They both are useful of course, but I would disagree with anyone who puts limits on the inline compared with a regular review - quite the opposite is true for me. There is nothing you can do in a regular review which can't be done as well or better in an inline and in less time. The inline offers the capability to comment on any single words, sentences, para, entire story/chapter as well as punctuation and the author knows exactly which unit you are referring to. You can comment on flow, dialogue, characters, plot, or anything else which could be covered in a regular review and do with more ease by not having to type or copy/paste the material you are commenting on. You can go back and edit the comments, or add completely new comments in a separate box should something new occur to you even after you have closed the review. You can comment on other peoples inline reviews and vice versa. You can get responses from the author and respond back and forth to make clarifications should you wish without having to go into a feedback forum or some type messaging system outside the original review.

As for free members not being able to see inline reviews, that should provide at least some minimal incentive to become a premium member once they understand the full potential of the inline review - I think most do not. I don't know if free members receive notification that they have gotten an inline review or not, but if not, they should to let them know they are missing a valuable part of the benefits provided by the site.

If you can't publish without points, the points system does indeed provide the impetus to review others at least until enough points have been accumulated to last your writing lifetime. By that time, many who might have been reluctant reviewers at first have learned to enjoy the review process in itself and will continue to review even if they don't need the points. Although there are those rare individuals who from the start give great reviews without regard to gathering points, for most it is a matter of "you get what you pay for" if for no other reason than the time factor involved and you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.

Take care. Vern

1,348

(51 replies, posted in HodgePodge)

GPyrenees wrote:

I'm in a writing rut. I know where the story is going - sort of - in my head, and I'm feeling too lazy and too cold to write it down. yikes

Buy "Dragon" and just speak into it while wrapped in a warm blanket. Take care. Vern

1,349

(9 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

njc wrote:

More precisely, the blue bar.  It's not clear whether they are like text links, where you have to hit the text, or whether they are buttons, with a region around the text that responds to the input.

Anywhere within the text it lights up and is clickable; outside the text it does nothing. Guess that would be a text-long defined button, lol. Take care. Vern

Edited to add: Except the "Show Subscribed Topics" which is the longest "button" already, extends slightly beyond the text, but whose counting; I mean, I should be able to hit somewhere in any of them even after a few too many drinks.

1,350

(342 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

janet reid wrote:
vern wrote:

Quick answer because I don't have time right now to explore the possibilities, but a quick solution might be to do the procedure backward. Select the sentence and comment. Then click on the highlight for a second comment box and then just type the single word and comment on it; you can type a single word about as fast as you can highlight it or faster. Got to run. Good luck. Take care. Vern

This only works though if you realise that you want to comment on the whole sentence or paragraph before you comment on a single word!  Paragraphs are the bigger issue as you can imagine.  It's not ideal, but for most of it, you can make it work!  Thanks Janet

That's true, but you can always get the new box and copy and paste the sentence/para on those hopefully rare occasions you comment on a single word first. I'll do some more experimenting and should I come up with another "solution" I'll let you know. Take care. Vern