Writing.Com 101

Seeking Reviews

Writers join Writing.Com in order to be read and reviewed. The site provides many options you can use to help increase the number and quality of the reviews you receive.

REVIEW OTHERS
Reviewing other writers is a great way to get yourself out there and try to garner reciprocal reviews.

Give meaningful feedback in your reviews.
You are more likely to receive return reviews if you put some effort into your reviews rather than just saying, "Good Job!" See "Guidelines To Great Reviewing"  for some tips on writing your reviews.

Review items that resemble your own writing.
If you only write poetry, review other poets. If you only write horror, review other horror stories. If you only write GC-rated material, review other GC-rated items. Reviewing like items will increase the possibility of return reviews as many reviewers choose to stay within their comfort zone when reviewing.

Request return reviews in your signature.
At the bottom of your review, post a link to an item which the author might enjoy reading and providing feedback for in a return review.

Make your reviews public.
Public reviews increase your visibility, and other members may click on your portfolio after seeing a review you posted.

REQUESTING REVIEWS ON WRITING.COM
The most popular methods for requesting and giving reviews are:

Visit the "Request a Review" page and choose your preferred reviewers.
Use our Request a Review page to find a reviewer who uses the style of reviewing you are looking for. The members listed on this page are accepting review requests and ready to review your item. Peruse the list. To check a potential reviewer, click the "Request Review" link to go to the member's "Reviews Tab" . Check out the rest of their Reviews tab header information, the request form information, and their public reviews listed below the request form. Request a review from anyone who seems like a good fit for your item. The Request a Review page can be found in the left navigation menu as Community/Request a Review.

Peruse the Public Review page for quality reviewers.
Use the Public Reviews page to find a reviewer who gives the level of feedback you are seeking. Click the member's handle to access the handle menu which contains the member's "Request Review" link and status. A member who has this feature turned "ON", is accepting review requests. The Public Reviews page can be found in the left navigation menu as Reviewers.

Utilize the Review Forums   and Review Groups  .
Some members run "review exchange" and "review request" forums/groups on Writing.Com. They can be found using the site search system. Some of these groups exchange reviews among themselves. Some offer reviews in return for a set gift point payment. Others offer reviews just because you requested one. Particularly for long works, such as novels, this is the most productive option. Keep in mind that these forums and groups are run by members who have offline lives and at times, this may hinder their ability to review items in a set time frame.

Advertise your item on "The Shameless "Plug" Page" .
All members are welcome to post items for review. For items with E-rated intros and a content rating of 18+ and below, please see "The Shameless "Plug" Page" , which is linked in the left navigation menu as Community/The Plug Page. For items with non-E intros or a higher content rating of GC and XGC, please see "The GC+ Shameless "Plug" Page" , which is linked from the header of "The Shameless "Plug" Page" . Please read the directions in the header of the page before posting.

Request reviews for your item on "Please Review" .
This page is for requesting helpful reviews for Static or Book items with E-rated intros and a content rating of 18+ and below. Be specific in your request in order to get the most out of the reviews you receive. If you need more space, add a note to reviewers in the body text box of your item. This page is linked in the left navigation menu as Community/Please Review. Please read the directions in the header of the page before posting.

Request reviews for your item on the "Newsfeed" .
When you post a note in your Notebook Tab, which is linked in the left navigation menu as Portfolio/Notebook, it's automatically added to the Newsfeed. Using the plain Save button when creating or the Complete Edit button when editing an item or a Book entry provides a semi-automated option of posting about that item or entry to your Notebook. You can edit the provided text before posting it, and you can also compose your own note in your Notebook to request a review. If you compose your own note, remember to include an item link or an entry link so reviewers can click to view your work. See WritingML Help for b-item and WritingML Help for f-entry.

Offer payment for reviews using "Auto-Rewards" .
Offering gift points for reviews generally increases the number of reviews you receive; however, it is not a guarantee of quality reviews so you should determine how many gift points to offer with that in mind. Remember that you can always send more gift points to a reviewer who gives outstanding feedback. You can set an AutoReward in the item's create or edit page in the Advanced section.

Sponsor your items using the BidClick system.
This is "Pay Per Click" advertising. Your item will be advertised in different areas around Writing.Com depending on the Bid you set up. When members click on the link, gift points will be deducted from your account. For complete information, see "BidClick System: Sponsored Items, Links & Genres" .

PRESENTATION OF YOUR ITEMS
Don't forget that before your readers can read the content of your item, they must choose it from among many others when all they see is a header, cover, title and brief description. It's important that you make your item really stand out on the "shelves" among the others. Once readers open your item, the content must still persuade them to read and review it.

Make your content readable.
Many reviewers prefer not to read or review items where the text does not separate paragraphs with a blank line, or it's obvious that the item has not been spell-checked. Using a grammar checker before posting is also helpful.

Use an eye-catching cover, title and description.
Your item is competing with many others for reviews. To increase your chances of being seen and selected, make sure you think of an interesting title and description. A title of "Work In Progress" with little else in the description does not encourage members to click or entice them to review.

Assign a correct content rating.
By default, member filters are set to exclude anything rated higher than 18+. If you don't add a content rating, then your item will not be seen in the public listings by the majority of members. See "Content Rating System (CRS)"  for further instruction on setting your content ratings.

Use the promotional features inside your portfolio.
Many members who go to a port looking for an item to review will give first consideration to the author's Highlighted Items, on the assumption that the author is particularly interested in getting reviews for those items, and to save time looking through numerous items in a portfolio. Click the gear icon at the right of the HIGHLIGHTED ITEMS header to open this manage area.

Members with a Basic+ paid membership can create a Folder item with a title that identifies the contents as items they are currently seeking reviews for. Such Folders are generally kept at the top of the Portfolio listing.

If you need additional help or suggestions, post in "Technical Support Forum"  or "Writing.Com General Discussion"  and the community will help you out.1

Recommended Reading

1. Reviews Tab
2. BidClick System: Sponsored Items, Links & Genres
3. Public Reviews
4. Newsfeed
5. Notebook Tab
6. Content Rating System (CRS)
7. Folder
8. Email

Footnotes
1  Updated by northernwrites; written by Diane