The points system is designed to provide every writer who uses it with high quality feedback on their posted writing. It works like this:
Members earn points by reviewing the work of other authors. Content that pays points displays a coin icon: 
The amount of points paid is displayed at the top of the work.
Once a member earns points, they can be used to post content to TheNextBigWriter Premium Group (this is the main point group although others exist on the site).
The posted content now also pays points, and other members will come to review it in order to earn their points.
The point system filters out writers who ask others to spend time and effort on their work, but aren't prepared to reciprocate. Review quality is greater because reviewers only earn points if their review response is greater than 50 words on a regular review, or if they leave at least 5 in-line icomments. Using the system, you will get real feedback that will help you refine your writing.
How to Post Content that Pays Points
The specific steps to post something that pays points are as follows:
1 Become a Premium Member. Only Premium Members can use the point system. New members receive 7 free days of Premium Membership as well as a free alottment of 7.5 points to test out system.
2 Find a point group that you want to join and post your writing to. The group will indicate if it uses the point system or not. TheNextBigWriter Premium, which every new member is automatically enrolled in is a good point group to start with to gain familiarity with the system.
3 Publish your content and select the group(s) on Step 4 of the publishing process.
4 The system will tell you if you have enough points. If you do, you will be able to continue. If not, you will need to read and review more before you can publish to that group.
5 Once you successfully publish, your content will now pay points.
How points are calculated
The amount of points a piece of content pays depends on two things: the type of content and the length of the content. Put together, these two variables create what we call "word density." So, for example, a poem has more word density than a short story, so word for word, a poem pays more to review. But because most poems are shorter, they generally pay the same or less than a novel chapter.
The same formula is used to calculate how many points are required to publish a piece of content to a group that requires points.
We do not publish the points formulas but you can find out how much a piece of content will cost by uploading it to the site. In general though, it costs about 4 points for every 1,000 words of a novel or short story. It costs 2 points for every 100 words of a poem. Once your content is uploaded, the site will provide you with the exact points requirements. If you have enough points (i.e. you have done enough reviews), you can post it.
We have spent eight years developing and refining this system and have seen that the Points system produces more and better reviews. Writers also say that the act of reading and reviewing other authors is immensely valuable and rewarding in and of itself.
Only Premium Members can post work using the points system. If you are not getting enough reviews on your writing, or want more detailed feedback, consider using the points system. Most of the best writers and reviewers on the site use it.
