Some Definitions, as Used in This Article

  1. Stories: These can be a single sentence, a paragraph, or more.
  2. Story Sets: A set of stories, by the same author, that are to be compared to each other for ranking/voting purposes. 
  3. Posters Group: A membership group of users who have permission to post their work for feedback.
  4. Voters: Participants who vote/rank submissions that are made by authors. Voters are not required to be authors. Authors are automatically included as voters. The words "voting" and "ranking" are used interchangeably. 

Introduction

 The Author Feedback section is NOT for the sale or purchase of editing services. Based on my preferred method of writing microfiction, it is designed for individuals who want to volunteer their time to help others improve their writing. I write several versions of the same sentence and then rank them from one to whatever. I then go with the one ranked #1. I've found that sentences that look like earth-shattering brilliance at 3 AM look like halting, nonsensical drivel the next day. So, I ask for other people's opinions. This is why I request a feedback exchange with other authors. I and/or other interested parties rank the submissions. Readers who are not authors are strongly encouraged to participate in the ranking of stories. 

  1. Request to be added as a writer, voter, or both. 
  2. You must be logged in to view the Story Sets that have been assigned to you for ranking. Those may be found here. You will receive emails when new story sets are ready. 
  3. Other submissions may be viewed here.
  4. A comment section is available for more detailed feedback.
  5. Before requesting my feedback, it may be beneficial for authors to read samples of my writing to determine whether my opinion would be of any value to them. Samples from "Them's Good Words, Vol. 2" may be found here.

How to Set up Your Story Sets

  1. You must first request permission to post. If that is granted, you will be added to the Posters Group. You may verify your membership in this group by viewing this page. Begin by submitting several stories that will be in a Story Set.
  2. Stories should be submitted one at a time. Use the image on the right to familiarize yourself with the submission page.
    1. Make sure you're on the correct submission page.
    2. The category to select will be specified in the invitation email.
    3. The subcategory to select will be specified in the invitation email.
    4. The author's name may be your GreatSentences.com username or whatever name you use as a writer.
    5. Select a title for your story. I prefer to use titles that allow me to easily remember which stories are going to be in the same Story Set. It is helpful to create stories for a Story Set and then immediately add them to that Story Set before creating more stories. Info about how to create Story Sets is further down the page. 
    6. The Author Feedback link reveals a dropdown menu with other pages you can access.
    7. The Story Status page shows whether or not your submissions have been approved and published by Admin. This is for individual stories, not Story Sets. 
    8. The "Vote for Stories" page allows you to access stories that have been assigned to you for voting/ranking.
    9. The "Story Sets" page allows you, among other things, to create story sets, view their status, and see voting/ranking results. 
    10. If you're copying and pasting, a font size of 14 is recommended in your source document. 

Story Feedback Status Page

The fields on this page are mostly self-explanatory. 

  1. The "Status" field indicates whether or not Admin has approved/published your submission. You may create story sets before the individual stories have been approved/published. The story sets require separate approval and have their own status page. 
  2. The "Edit" field allows you to edit your submissions. Please note that after editing your submission, it has to be re-approved.

Story Sets Page

  1. Click to create a story set. 
  2. Enter the name of the story set
  3. Enter the number of stories you'd like to be in the story set. I usually don't go higher than five.
  4. Select who you want to be able to read your stories. Selecting "Everyone" allows people who will not be ranking your stories to have access to them.
  5. Select who you want to see the ranking results. Save.
  6. Click to add stories to the story set you just created. It will be helpful to have titled the stories in a way that tells you which ones should be in the same story set.
  7. Before voting begins, you may edit your story set. After that, don't do it. 
  8. Click to view the voting/ranking progress. 

How to Vote/Rank Stories

Story Sets are located on this page. 

  1. Select a Story Set to vote for by clicking on "Start Voting." This will take you to the page that lists all the stories you will be voting for. 

 

List of Stories in a Story Set

  1. Click on the story that appears at the top of the list. This will direct you to a page where you can read all the stories in the Story Set.
  2. After reading all the stories in the Story Set, you'll have to come back to the page shown in the image to rank the stories. You can always re-read the stories to refresh your mind.  

 

Help Desk

If you have any problems or questions, feel free to contact me here.