This Month at Textbroker: August
by Keira, Textbroker Editor
There are quite a few things to mention this month as Textbroker keeps growing.
Blog Winners
We had a client who asked us for the list of winners from the last contest so that he could send those authors DirectOrders. We'd like to take this time to remind you that clients do sometimes read our blog, so this means two things for you. First, be professional at all times. You don't want to get blacklisted by someone you've never worked for just because of a comment left on the blog. Second, clients have their own opinions, so even if you weren't one of the winners, your writing may have still impressed one of our clients. Always do your best, especially in a public forum.
UN.CO.VER
Those of you using our plagiarism checker may have noticed that it is no longer working. This program was powered by Yahoo!'s API, and they have begun charging for API usage. Because we cannot support these costs, we will no longer be able to offer this program. For any authors aware of alternatives, feel free to comment on this post so that authors can continue checking their work.
Semicolons and AP Style
AP Style states that you can use a coordinating conjunction with a semicolon outside of a complex list. We will not be adopting this ruling and will continue to adhere to the old rules of standard written English. Please only use semicolons to link independent clauses or in the case of complex lists. You can read more about semicolon usage here:
Textbroker Blog
http://www.textbroker.com/blog/content/the-semicolon-not-a-fancy-comma.html
Purdue's OWL
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/607/04/
Grammar Girl
http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/semicolons.aspx
New Editors
We have hired several new editors this past month. We are hoping that this cuts down on the backlog of orders, and we appreciate your patience during this time.
Office Move
We will be moving to a new office on August 8th. Here is the new contact information:
Textbroker International
9500 W Flamingo Rd., Ste 202
Las Vegas, NV 89147
Phone: 702-534-3832
Fax: 702-553-4256
We will have mail service here until the end of the month, so if your documents are already in transit, don't panic. We will still be able to receive them.
SES in San Francisco
Christina Sas will be in San Francisco August 16th and 17th for the Search Engine Strategy trade show. If you're in the area and want to speak with someone from Textbroker, drop on by.
Delay
We are operating at record numbers all around at Textbroker, but this has put us over a month behind on our ratings. Please bear with us as we try and catch up, and please do not contact us asking to be rated. We rate articles in the order in which they are received, and every email or phone call we have to respond to about ratings is that much less time we can spend actually rating.
Author Profiles
Extended author profiles are set to go live on Monday. You will be able to personalize your profile to show off your talents and background to attract clients and increase DirectOrders. You can add the following information to make your profile stand out:
-A photo or picture to personalize your profile and increase recognition
-Hobbies and interests
-Experience of all kinds, whether in your career or free time
-Education or other qualifications and certifications
-Countries that you've traveled to
-Languages that you speak
Previously, clients had a limited search function. Now, they will be able to search for specific topics, languages or fields of experience.
Orders
Although some levels may seem low, we are always adding new orders, so please be patient with our system. Textbroker is a constantly changing marketplace, and we have no control over what level clients place their orders at.
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email us at mail@textbroker.com or leave a comment below.
posted on 08/05/2011 - 05.12 | textbroker blog | comments: 42
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The clarification and updates are wonderful. Thank you!added by: author BrandyLee on 08/05/2011 - 06.43
Thanks for the blog post.
Forthe plagerismfunction, I use paperrater.com(free) to prescreen my work then do a final run through copyscape (0.05 cents/search).added by: author J_Man on 08/05/2011 - 07.13
Thank you for letting us know about these changes. I'm glad to hear you've hired more editors; I hope they like semicolons as much as I do.
In lieu of UN.CO.VER, I've been using Grammarly.com or PaperRater.com as both grammar checkers and plagiarism checkers. PaperRater bills itself as an academic resource rather than a commercial one so it sometimes looks askance at list-style articles, but it does a good job at spotting typos and asking if I really meant "vary" intead of "very." It also does this at the low, low price of free. :)added by: author Whitney on 08/05/2011 - 07.38
Thanks so much for posting this. We get these questions so many times in the forum that it is nice to see them answered here.added by: author LizPenguin on 08/05/2011 - 08.12
TB - Thanks for the updates & congrats on hiring more editing staff. Keeping us informed helps keep questions to a minimum.
J Man - Thanks for the paperrater.com alternativeadded by: author PJay on 08/05/2011 - 08.23
Am I going to get punched in the face if I point out that one of the sentences in this blog post ends with a preposition? *runs and hides behind bumpy* Sorry, my brain is set in proofreading mode. :~P
Anyway, I love the idea of expanded profiles! I'm going to have way too much fun filling out my new profile! Thanks for all the other info as well. I didn't realize Textbroker was moving their office! :) And I wish I were near San Francisco, at least during those two dates! Thanks as always, Keira, for keeping us informed!added by: author EditingMom on 08/05/2011 - 09.48
Punched in the face? A red pen is much classier.
added by: Textbroker on 08/05/2011 - 10.00
I'm looking forward to the extended profiles. If I were in San Francisco, I would stop by the trade show to say hey to Christina.added by: author Tom Hooper on 08/06/2011 - 12.12
So it's the red pen of doom, is it? I always knew I'd go this way. Go ahead, I can take it like a girl. *hides behind Stormgod instead*added by: author EditingMom on 08/06/2011 - 01.00
Congratulations to Textbroker! All you hear about on the news is economic doom and gloom, and here is Textbroker growing in leaps and bounds. Love it!added by: author JMCM on 08/06/2011 - 10.37
*wonders why his face has lots of red ink on it, then notices that Stormgod has the same mysterious problem*added by: author bumpylight on 08/06/2011 - 10.52
Thank you for the update!
I also use PaperRater. It's not perfect, but it has picked up on things that I haven't noticed, plus, like others have said, it's FREE!added by: author kshort49 on 08/06/2011 - 03.29
I am pretty excited about the extended profiles. There are some subjects that I'm much more knowledgeable about than others.added by: author ChaosMandy on 08/06/2011 - 03.59
Thank you for the updates and for all of the resources. This blog helps me to increase my skills and knowledge, which I humbly know that I need to do.added by: author A-079580 on 08/07/2011 - 12.57
I'd love the ability to PM other writers. Will that be an option if the other writer has opted in?
added by: author Write2Day on 08/07/2011 - 06.07
Will it be a violation of the Terms of Service if I use as my profile picture an impossibly cute little puppy I found wandering around the Internet all alone and sad? I want to express solidarity with the puppies of the world!added by: author bumpylight on 08/07/2011 - 01.21
Thank you TB for your support of the writers and making positive changes.added by: author aprilrose on 08/07/2011 - 05.50
Wow, I didn't notice all of the changes. Glad I read it again. Thanks!added by: author LizPenguin on 08/07/2011 - 08.47
What a wonderfully great surprise upon returning from an equally awesome weekend camping! I am super excited about the extended profiles. And, congrats to TB on all the changes.
Like others, I agree that it would nice to PM other authors. It would also be great if the clients had some extended profile options, too - at a minimum, the opportunity to choose a nickname. It is ifficult to manage and communicate with DO clients when there is no organization system.added by: author Nicole on 08/08/2011 - 02.19
Okay, so... just thought I'd stop by. It's been awhile.
Blog Winners - Congrats! You're probably lucky I didn't participate. (tongue planted firmly in cheek)
UN.CO.VER - If you're posting original content and not plagiarizing, this isn't a big deal.
Semicolons and AP Style - I am currently ditching semicolons and all other forms of punctuation except for the period hyphen and forward slash (j/k)
New Editors - Congrats! It's nice to see that you're a part of the 3 new jobs that were created in the U.S. this year.
Office Move - Well shoot. Now I have to update my Christmas card address book.
SES in SF - Cool. I love SF. I love SEO, too.
Delay - Good to hear about record numbers. I like that. It means more DOs and OOs for me.
Author Profiles - It's Monday, 8/8 and my profile area looks the same to me. :(
Orders - I don't mind if it's slow as long as it's steady. Thanks for all you do TB.
added by: author Neal on 08/08/2011 - 10.22
Really,
I can't believe clients would show so much interest in a creative writing contest. Do they think that fiction and non-fiction are similar? No offense to anyone, and I shan't list names, but at least one of the honorable mentions was completely incomprehensible. That's fine for fiction, but that's not what we do here. Perhaps my inability to follow that honorable mention stems from my incomprehension, but that's never been one of my weaknesses.
I fear that these clients may become disappointed. There's a huge difference between Stephen King and Hunter S. Thompson, and I don't think a good fiction writer is necessarily a great non-fiction writer. Frankly, I;m surprised the clients showed any interest in the contest.
Of course, with my rates, I'm not likely to receive an overwhelming amount of DOs, anyway. Since I was bumped up, I changed my DO rate to 5.5 cents, which adds up to seven and some change for the clients.
I think this only demonstrates our need for my suggestion: a non-fiction contest relevant to the work we do here at TB.
I should, for the record, state that I adamantly disagreed with the contest results. Taking a prompt and turning it into a vampire story isn't creativity; it's a cliche. I'm Sorry, Cath. I'm not downplaying your story, since my own was certainly no better, but I think, in the creativity department, at least, Content Ox's story annihilated everyone's. In fact, I don't even think it was that close. I'd be really curious to know how the contest was judged. Popular vote? Style? Proper punctuation, maybe?
At any rate, it's kind of a shame that clients are going to use the contest as a reference for good content. It doesn't represent what we do here. I don't think it was even meant to.
Anyway, that's just my opinion,
GBadded by: author GonzoBoy on 08/08/2011 - 11.03
Just curious, and perhaps I'm being a bit too anticipatory ;-D, but aren't the 'new' extended profiles suppose to be live by now (August 9)?added by: author WordRaptor on 08/09/2011 - 01.41
Oh seriously, GonzoBoy, most of what we write here is fiction...
Okay, all kidding aside, it kind of sounds like you have a chip on your shoulder about the writing contest. Move on soldier.
When you get right down to it, good writing is good writing, whether it's fiction or non-fiction. As someone who reads voraciously, I can attest to the fact that there are many good fiction writers who write non-fiction. Stephen King actually comes to mind (On Writing is a well-written non-fiction book by Mr. King. You might pick up a copy at some point).
Anyway, as I view the next to last paragraph of your diatribe, I notice that it's not really a chip on your shoulder, but a boulder.
Please remember that people don't really care for sore losers.
Nealadded by: author Neal on 08/09/2011 - 07.47
@bumpylight - Yes, I believe it would be a violation. Not only that, it would force all of the other authors to use cute puppies as well just to keep things fair.
Nealadded by: author Neal on 08/09/2011 - 07.51
I retract my previous statement regarding expanded author profiles. They're there!
:)added by: author Neal on 08/09/2011 - 07.53
Thank you for the update concerning ratings and all other aspects of TextBroker. I am thrilled about the extended profile, and I am excited for the ratings to go through where I may begin working again. Things are difficult at the moment.
added by: author SLE on 08/09/2011 - 09.56
The extended profile feature appears to be live now! I just uploaded a cute puppy picture. However, be warned that if the image cannot be proportionally reduced to 100 pixels horizontally by 133 pixels vertically, there may be an ugly black bar next to the image, at least as it appears in the writer's own profile view. It might be best to crop and adjust the image first to be 100 by 133 pixels.
It appears that either a JPEG or a PNG image format will work. I'd imagine that the standard GIF image format will also work.added by: author bumpylight on 08/09/2011 - 12.31
It appears that the new profile only allows me to list one type of writing. Is there a way to select more than one type of writing?added by: author Write2Day on 08/09/2011 - 05.17
Having some issues with new profile. Under the Travel section, not all of the towns I try to look up will show up. In fact, most of the time I just get a blank drop-down menu. The Search button doesn't work for me. Also, I only see the name of the city I am looking up and don't know what state/country I am selecting until after I've selected it.
It would be great if we could select more options under Industry Experience and Type of Writing!
Under Interests, I can't get rid of the example text under Description.
Thanks! :D I do like filling out profiles.added by: author EditingMom on 08/09/2011 - 07.47
Okay, first of all, I really love the new landing page for authors!! However, please withhold the red pen of doom, but....the word "hopefully" is used incorrectly on that page, according to the AP Stylebook.... *runs awaaaaay*
Is the model on that page one of our lovely TB editors? :)added by: author EditingMom on 08/10/2011 - 09.54
I am having trouble editing my profile. I cannot enter anything for the maximum number of 500-word articles per week (Your capacity)added by: author A-060020 on 08/10/2011 - 10.27
If the puppy can write, insert his picture. Make sure you include his star or bone rating.added by: author ERNESTO on 08/10/2011 - 01.20
Hi. I want to make this comment then I will return later to finish! Just to tell you I use the http://dustball.com/plagiarismchecker and it is so accurate! Also the page rater mentioned by the only comment I have time for. Thanks so much for all that you do! Katadded by: author A-027766 on 08/10/2011 - 04.07
Hi Everybody, Thanks for all the comments I have just enjoyed reading. As for the Profile thing---I am having probs getting certain tabs to work like the # of 500wd articles I can do a week---when I enter a # it doesn't show up??
Plagiarism---There's a very simple rule to follow---if it's somebody else's words use cuotes (" " or ' ') and reference the author's name as well---that way anybody who reads your piece knows which thoughts belong to whom---somebody else or you!
Hope that helps somebody.
Kudos to everybody at Text who work so hard behind the scenes everyday--without you I know where I would be---God Bless all those Textbroker folks.
It could be helpful to have a section in the forum where authors can communicate with authors (author to author) since we would feel more like a community of people working alongside the behind the scenes staff and it would also cut down on emails to Text since the answer to some problem could be answered by another author there. Since most forums of this type have a moderator, how aboout if a Textbroker author to author had a section where a staff member could offer input regarding any postings there as well--that way authors would know if we are helping others or steering them in the wrong direction.
Thanks for your time
benson13added by: author benson13 on 08/11/2011 - 09.20
I'm glad about the new profiles.
But I can not get it to accept any data for industry experience.
You also need to give some instructions as to how to select more than one type of writing you like to do (hold down Control key while clicking to select). I would prefer there an interface where you put a check in various boxes. I am disabled with only one useable hand, andI had to have another family member hold down the control key while I used my one good hand to select the categories and click. Please change that so that other disabled people do not have the same difficulty. Thank you. I've really enjoyed writing here so far, although new.
added by: author BernieF on 08/11/2011 - 11.46
Keira,
Thanks for the update! I had no idea expanded profiles were in the works as I haven't been on the forum in a while. I logged in to get some orders and...BAM--nw profiles! I will have to get to work on updating mine! Thanks to all the authors that participate in this forum for your advice!added by: author AnthonyS on 08/11/2011 - 12.08
Hi Kat,
I noticed the other content checker another author put here and I tried it. It was not that simple to figure out, so I searched for a different one and I use the same one you do. It is easy to use and quick.
The URL is http://www.dustball.com/cs/plagiarism.checker/
Textbroker gave us a great one a while ago but I cannot find that blog where they gave it to us. :(
Have a great day everybody!!
Maryanne M.added by: author Maryanne on 09/17/2011 - 10.43
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