YouWriteOn Top Questions

Scotland’s leading newspaper’s Literary Editor writes about YouWriteOn and about YWO member and now Random House author Doug Jackson:

".. for the very best there's the reward that induced many writers to submit their stories to the English Arts Council-funded site in the first place: the chance of their work being critically assessed by an editor at a major London publishing house.

That's what happened to The Emperor's Elephant (now entitled Caligula). And as Jackson told me about it, I became fascinated: this, I could see, was a publishing innovation that even many people in the industry hadn't latched on to. Because it's all done on the internet, and because restrained criticism seems to desert us in cyberspace, appraisals can be raw and often hurtful, but a good story can find itself propelled up the site's popularity chart by equally uncompromising raves.

Here, for the first time, Jackson found himself learning from other writers. So they thought his opening 10,000-word submission didn't live up the book's title, didn't get to the meat of the plot soon enough? Very well, he'd rewrite it and submit it again. The second time, it worked: he was rewarded with a trail of five-star reviews. The site's organisers put him in touch with Sarah O'Keefe, an editor with Orion, who read the whole novel.

O'Keefe liked it, but wanted still less of a linear structure and even more detailed plotting at the novel's core. It should not be just one book telling Rufus's life story, but at least two. For the first, he should concentrate on the Caligula years, showing how Rufus finds himself in a maze of conspiracies, unable to work out whom to trust.

If youwriteon.com had crystallised what the book should be about, O'Keefe's advice focused it further. Essentially, she was outlining a different book entirely . It had to remain a page-turner, but a more complex one: readers had not only to feel they were in Rome, but feel an edge of fear as Rufus found himself enmeshed in political intrigue against a psychopathic emperor, set to end in a grisly death.

By this stage, Jackson had acquired an agent, who set up an auction for the book – now called Caligula – with seven publishers. A pre-emptive bid by Simon Thorogood of Transworld won the book for them.

Publishing may be a gambler's industry, but it's not altogether insane. To understand why Thorogood bet so heavily on Jackson, you have to understand that Caligula is a rare beast: a book written with irresistible pace but also a slowly growing sense of unease. For the nearer Rufus gets to the psychopathic heart of imperial Rome, the more he has to guess whose side he should take. The wrong choice – or in Caligula's corrupt, compromised, paranoid court, even the slightest suspicion of the wrong choice – would prove fatal."

How do I enter for the YouWriteOn Book of the Year Awards?

Simply join YouWriteOn.com for free and upload your opening chapters. Each month the five highest rated stories in the Top Ten, and stories with over 25 days cumulatively in the Top Ten, enter our Best Sellers Chart. The top stories in the YouWriteOn Top Ten receive free feedback each month from editors for leading publishers, including Orion and Random House. All Best Seller Chart entries during the year are eligible for our Book of the Year Awards.

Reviews and Ratings on YouWriteOn.com

How does the YouWriteOn Review and Ratings System work?

To get reviews for your own story, go to your My Writer Page and request a Reading Assignment. The system will randomly assign you another member's opening chapters or short story to review and rate. Once you request a Reading Assignment, the story is displayed on your My Writer Page and you can click on the story title to read and review. You can remove one Reading Assignment every 24 hours via your My Writer Page. Once you complete a Reading Assignment, you are awarded a Reading Credit. You attach this to your chosen story by clicking on the button to assign Reading Credits on your My Writer page. Your story is then assigned randomly for review by another member. After eight reviews you enter the Top Ten Charts the day following your fourth review being received. On the first day of each month the highest rated writers receive free professional feedback from editors from leading publishers, see Top Ten rules via the link on the Top Ten page for more details.

You can view your reviews by clicking on your story title on your My Writer Page and then clicking the button to view your reviews.

The YouWriteOn Ratings System uses an advanced system of maths called Standard Deviation to assess score results. The system has been advised upon by a University Statistical Consultancy. This is a more effective way of assessing representative results than averages and helps to negate unrepresentative scores. The Rating Results for over 200 books have been checked independently by the Statistical Department of one of the United Kingdom's top Universities.

The Overall Score for each story is displayed in five stars. This is the score which counts towards your chart rating and is assessed via Standard Deviation.

The Ratings Breakdown for each story, which displays how reviewers have marked each of eight facets of your story out of five stars - such as characters, settings, and themes - is assessed by simple averages. You will receive a star rating up to 5 stars for each of these facets for your story.

The YouWriteOn system adds all new ratings to your story's Overall Score early during the following morning after you receive a new review (UK Time). The system adds all new scores at this time as it is more efficient for the smooth running of the site to do this compared to calculating new positions for the whole chart upon each individual review received.

The system will add new scores immediately to your Ratings Breakdown scores however, as this functionality works separately from the YouWriteOn Chart System, see below for an example of a ratings breakdown.

If you hover your mouse cursor over your Overall Star Rating you can view your Overall Score as a number. It not practical to represent, for example, 4.7 or 4.8 in a star display, but by hovering your cursor over your Overall Score stars you will see your precise Overall Score as a number. For the purposes of graphic score displays, a Overall Score of, for example, 3.7 will be represented as 3.5 stars in a graphic star display, and a Overall score of 3.8 will be rounded up to 4 stars. In each case, the precise numerical Overall Score is the score that is used when chart ratings are calculated.

How many reviews does it take before I can see my ratings and enter the YouWriteOn Charts?

You will be able to see your ratings after 4 reviews, which is the minimum amount of reviews required to begin to assess a representative rating for your story. After your story has received 8 reviews your story will enter the YouWriteOn book charts. You can view your ratings breakdown by clicking on your story title on your My Writer Page, and then clicking on your ratings breakdown. This displays the following breakdown of your reader ratings.

Each Assignment Rating and Review you receive for your story counts towards your overall chart score. Assignment Reviews are reviews from members randomly assigned your story to review. Members can also complete 'Free Will' reviews of stories. A Free Will review is a review where a member reviews a story by choice rather than being randomly assigned the story as a Reading Assignment. Free Will Reviews do not count towards the ratings. This is to avoid the small minority of any membership that may attempt to cheat.

How do reviews help me develop my writing?

The majority of members who rewrite their story based on collective feedback from readers of what works well and what needs developing in their stories are higher rated as a result. As in the publishing world, reader opinion, like your own opinions, will often be very diverse. In our experience, it is useful to get least ten reviews to start to get an idea of collective opinion about your writing.

I've received a review that I didn't find helpful, can I remove it?

You can remove one review and its rating that you consider to be unrepresentative every eight Assignment Reviews that you receive for a story. An Assignment Review is a review of your story by a member randomly assigned your writing by the system to read. The remove-review button will appear beneath each review you have received. You click this button to remove your preferred review, and the system will also automatically remove that review. The rating will be removed from your story when the chart calculates all chart ratings the next morning, UK time.

Members can also complete Free Will Reviews. A Free Will review is a review where a member reviews a story by choice rather than being randomly assigned the story as a Reading Assignment. Free Will Reviews do not count towards the ratings. This is to avoid the small minority of any membership that may attempt to cheat. Members can remove any Free Will reviews they receive for their story should they wish.

Each review will of course seem personal, it is advisable to view the process philosophically and look at your reviews overall to assess what readers are saying works well and what needs developing in your story. Reader Opinion, as in the publishing world and, like your own opinion about different stories, will be very diverse. We recommend getting at least seven to ten reviews to start to assess representative feedback from your readers. Remember, even the most successful writers receive critical feedback, and famous writers such as J.K. Rowling were turned down by several individual readers. It is a good amount of cumulative and collective opinion that will give you an idea of what works well and what needs developing in your writing. One of YouWriteOn's literary professionals advises the following when considering reviews, and it is advisable to take a deep breath and let a few days pass to reflect on whether a review has something valuable or not to say about your story.

Criticism has the potential to be both inspiring and fatal .. I'd suggest some rules of thumb. Spend a few days mulling on any criticism before drawing conclusions. If a criticism strikes a chord with you, act on it. If it doesn't, but if several critics have touched on the same thing, consider very carefully whether to act on it. If a criticism really doesn't strike a chord, and particularly if no one else has picked up on it, probably ignore it. Lastly, you may find critics evenly divided on an issue, as many pro as con. These are the trickiest to navigate: go with what your instincts tell you.

If you consider a review is completely unconstructive, you can report it via the report-review button beneath a review. We will not remove a review if a member expresses their opinion unless it is completely unconstructive, as this would encourage a site where members give anodyne opinion, which does not help writers develop their writing. The real publishing world is far tougher on stories than anything you will see on review sites, and it is useful to bear in mind the above advice from our literary professionals when considering reviews. The majority of writers who develop their stories after rewriting based on collective feedback of what works well and what needs developing in their writing are higher rated as a result.

I rose or dropped several places after one review, is this the result of that one review?

The YouWriteOn Ratings System uses an advanced system of maths, advised upon by a University Statistical Consultancy, called Standard Deviation to assess score results. This is a more affective way of assessing representative results than averages and helps to negate unrepresentative scores.

A single review which seems to have a big impact on your chart position will usually be the result of the system looking at your complete range of scores. For example, a story may have two middle or lowish scores which the system of Standard Deviation may wholly or partly negate as they are unrepresentative of your score range compared to your other scores. If another middle or lowish score comes in, the system may then look again at your previous results and expand your score range to include the range of other middle/lowish scores. This is Standard Deviation explained in simplistic terms, but basically it looks at your range of scores collectively and not in isolation. So the impact of one review on chart movement is almost never just that of one review in isolation. Other scores may move your score in a different direction again.

Other factors for sudden chart movement include: new stories moving into the charts; other stories may be closely ranked together and a drop in your score may lead to your being placed below them; and that stories must attach a credit every 30 days to remain in rated position in the charts. The 30 day credit rule was requested by members to keep the charts displaying current stories. If you dropped in the charts due to not meeting the 30 day credit rule, you can resume your rated chart position the next day by attaching a credit.

If you find between the 10 to 20 review stage that it is hard to move your chart position, you may wish to consider uploading your story again to counter the weight of collective scores which may be keeping your story from progressing. Many site writers, including Best Seller Chart members, have done this and progressed as a result.

The Rating Results for over 200 books have been checked independently by the statistical department of one of the United Kingdom's top Universities.

Do I need to attach reading credits to my story (gained by reviewing another member's story) to receive reviews and remain in the charts?

YouWriteOn works on a review-exchange mechanism, members review each other stories in order to gain a reading credit which entitles them to a review back for their story in turn. To feature in the Top Ten, members are required to attach one reading credit every seven days from when they enter. This is so that Top Ten members each continue to receive representative feedback. By popular member request, stories in position 11 to 30 are required to attach a reading credit in the last 30 days to feature in these chart positions. This keeps the chart active and current. Stories that haven't attached a reading credit in the previous 30 days will be archived to the back of the charts. If they reattach a credit and meet the 30 day rule they will resume their chart rated position again.

After each review there will be a gap of one day before a story enters the YouWriteOn assignment system to be assigned to a member for review again. Then the assigned reader will have 4 days to read.

My chart position isn't moving, what can I do?

If you find between the 10 to 20 review stage that it is hard to move your chart position, you may wish to upload your story again to counter the weight of collective scores which may be keeping your story from progressing. Many YouWriteOn Best Seller Chart entries have done this and progressed as a result. As in the real publishing world, opinion will be very diverse. Some stories may progress with higher amounts of reviews, others may find that a large amount of diverse opinion leads to a 'middle-spread' of ratings for their stories that prevents them progressing after receiving a large amount of reviews. A range of diverse opinion doesn't mean that your story may not be successful, but will often reflect the varied tastes of many readers as in the real publishing world.

When does the YouWriteOn system calculate the new chart ratings for reviews received during the day?

The YouWriteOn system adds all new ratings to your story's Overall Score early during the following morning after you receive a new review. The system adds all new scores at this time as it more efficient for the smooth running of the site to do this compared to calculating new positions for the whole chart upon each individual review received. The system will add new scores immediately to your Ratings Breakdown however, as this functionality works separately from the YouWriteOn Chart System.

Are members positive on site, does it get competitive?

We've found that the overall majority of members are positive and constructive in their feedback for others. YouWriteOn's leading literary agents and publishers, who include editors for Curtis Brown, Orion and Bloomsbury, consider that the stories in the YouWriteOn Best Sellers Chart rated there by members are of a very high quality. The majority of members on YouWriteOn appreciate what it is to be a budding writer and to want to give and receive constructive feedback. As with any site, there will always be a minority that may not be helpful or enter into the spirit of the site, and mechanisms such as the remove-review system - see above - and other systems on site - help to ensure a constructive and positive feedback environment. A good story will usually always be recognised on site through the collective appreciation of readers, and this is borne out by the number of writers on YouWriteOn that have been rated highly by members and received leading literary agent or publisher recognition.

Editing/Pasting Your Story

How do I paste my story onto the site during the upload process?

To paste your story onto the site during the upload process, position the cursor inside the story upload box, and then click edit then paste at the top of the Internet Explorer or other Internet Browser menu. Another short cut to paste is to copy your text, position the cursor inside the story upload box, and then hold down the 'Ctrl' key while pressing the V key on your keyboard. This will paste chapters inside the story upload box.

How do I edit my story text?

To edit your story text, login and then click on the pen symbol next to your story title on your My Page. This will take you first to a page with a button to verify your Reading Test, and then to a page to edit your story text.

How do I edit my Reading Test?

To edit your Reading Test, login and then click on the pen symbol next to your story title on your My Page. This will take you to a page with a button to edit your Reading Test.

How do I edit my story synopsis?

To edit your story synopsis, login and then click on the pen symbol next to your story title on your My Page. This will take you to a page with a button to edit your story synopsis.

How do I add a longer synopsis to my story?

To add a longer synopsis, login and then click on the pen symbol next to your story title on your My Page. This will take you first to a page with a button to add a longer synopsis for your story - approx 1 page.

Can I upload a new version of my story?

You are welcome to do this.

How many Reading Assignments can I request at one time/can I remove assignments?

You can request three Reading Assignments during a 24 hour period and remove one Reading Assignment every 24 hours. To request Reading Assignments, login and click on the button to request an assignment on your My Page. To remove an Assignment, for example of a story you may not wish to read, login and click on the Remove button next to the Reading Assignment story title on your My Page.

Can I request Reading Assignments according to my favourite genres?

Reading Assignments are sent randomly and will be from any genre. This is to help ensure all stories get reviews, and to enable writers to receive diverse opinion for their stories. You can request three Reading Assignments during a 24 hour period and remove one Reading Assignment every 24 hours. To request Reading Assignments, login and click on the button to request an assignment on your My Page. To remove an Assignment, login and click on the Remove button next to the Reading Assignment on your My Page.

I read a Reading Assignment thoroughly but the story's Reading Test was incorrect, what can I do?

If you consider that a Reading Test for a story is incorrect, click on the Contact Us button on the left hand column of YouWriteOn and send us details of the story title, the incorrect questions, and your YouWriteOn User ID so that we may look into this and send you a Reading Credit if we can verify the Reading Test was incorrect.

Reading Credits & Readers Assigned to Your Story

How can I check how many readers are assigned to my story and how does the system assign readers?

To check how many readers as assigned to your story, login and then click on your story title on your My Page. This will take you to your story's Cover Page. This page contains buttons to view all details about your story, including a button to 'view statistics' about your readers. The statistics button takes you to a page to view various statistics about your story, including how many readers are currently assigned.

If you have multiple credits attached, the system assigns by priority of who has the least reviewers attached e.g. once every writer has one reviewer the system will start assigning a second reviewer at random to stories with credits attached. Each credit you attach will receive a review back in return.

After each review there will be a gap of one day before a story enters the YouWriteOn assignment system to be assigned to a member for review again.

I've been waiting for a review, how can I help ensure that I don't receive delays in receiving reviews?

Reviews usually come in quickly on YouWriteOn and each Reading Credit you attach will always lead to a review back in return because the system will continuously assign your story until you have received a review for the Reading Credit. Once a story is assigned to a reader it is then up to the assigned reader to review. If an assigned reviewer removes your story, or doesn't review your story in 4 days, the system automatically reassigns your story to a new reader. If you sometimes experience delays in receiving reviews you should consider the following most common reasons to help ensure you receive as many reviews as possible.

In general, once reviewers receive an assignment after being randomly assigned, it is then up to them to review the story, and this decision can be affected by many different considerations, such as genre preference, time considerations, the complexity of a Reading Test, the layout of your text, and the immediate appeal of a story or synopsis.

Your Reading Test Is your Reading Test correct/is it too complex? Remember that readers are not as familiar with your story as you and will generally notice big events that occur throughout your story, and not minor details such as what a character is wearing, or, for example, the colour of eyes. Consider your Reading Test from the viewpoint of a first-time reader and set questions that the reader will generally notice as they read along. Make sure that all the answers to your test are contained within your sample extract, especially after you edit your story test. To edit your Reading Test, login and then click on the pen symbol next to your story title on your My Page.

Your Synopsis/Story Opening Look at your story synopsis and opening and consider it from the point of view of a browser in a bookshop. For example, compare your story's immediate appeal with other stories on site that have received a lot of reviews. As with book store books, often a story's immediate appeal may draw the reader in. If your story is very genre specific, for example, a romance story, consider making the synopsis less genre specific so that it will appeal to a wider variety of readers.

Your Text Layout So that stories can be read across a variety of Internet browsers, you should paste your stories onto the site with no indentation at the start of each paragraph and a line of space between each paragraph. If your text is all 'clumped' together in long paragraphs, this will affect the amount of readers you will receive. To edit your text to the correct format, login and click on the pen symbol next to your story title on your My Page. This will will take you to a page where you can edit your text. Edit your Reading Test first before you edit text to ensure that the Reading Test is still relevant.

A reader was assigned to my story but removed the assignment or didn't review, do I lose my Reading Credit?

If a reader removes a Reading Assignment or does not review in four days you will not lose your reading credit. Your story will be reassigned on the same credit. The system is reader-led and writers may sometimes get more than one reader assigned on one Reading Credit during busy periods when readers are requesting assignments. If a bonus-reader (more than one reader) is assigned on a credit, and they do not review for any reason then they are not replaced as their review would have been a 'bonus one'. The system's main automated rule is that one Reading Credit will always keep being assigned by the system until the story receives one review in return for the Reading Credit.

My Membership & Membership Details on YouWriteOn

Are my personal details completely confidential on YouWriteOn?

YouWriteOn complies with the UK Data Protection Act and all your details are completely confidential on YouWriteOn.

How do I edit my personal details on YouWriteOn?

To edit your personal details on YouWriteOn, click on the edit button next to 'Personal Details' on your My Page. Your My Page is confidential to you.

How do I change my contact email address, or display/choose not to display my email details on YouWriteOn?

To edit your email details, or display/choose not to display your email address publically, click on the edit button next to 'Personal Details' on your My Page. This will take you to a page where you can edit your email contact details, and choose to display or not display your email details. By default your email address is not displayed unless you choose to display it. Your My Page is confidential to you.

How do I add a bio to my page?

To add a bio about yourself to a publically viewable page, login and then click on the edit button next to 'Your Bio' on your My Page.

How do I delete my stories / cancel my membership?

To delete your stories on YouWriteOn, login and click on the pen symbol next to your Story Title on your My Page. This will take you to a page with a function to delete your stories. Once you have deleted your stories, if you wish to cancel your membership then click on the cancel membership button on the same page.