Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How does it work?

A:

WriterQ is a place to share, promote, and "listen" to your writing, whether you're a beginner or a seasoned pro. You write the words and others will read them back to you; simply click on the recordings. You can share stories, non-fiction, poetry, performance writing, and more. You may critique others' works, create audio books, learn to write and track your progress, build private writers groups, make friends, or simply listen and read. It's free and it's fun.

WriterQ is similar to You-Tube, only instead of videos, members share their writing and create audio critiques. And this can be as public or as private as you want it to be. You may submit your work for the general public to see, and to critique, or you may submit your work for only your friends to enjoy.

WriterQ is unique, however, in that members will voice-record each others' works -- so that each work can be heard out loud, as read by an actual human being. There is much to learn from the human voice: its lessons are invaluable to any author, and will tell you far more than than any comment or critique. You will hear readers stumble on awkward sentences, mispronounce words, sigh with boredom, or even laugh and delight at the material you write. You will get other feedback in the comment and polling sections. WriterQ polling is based on five specifics of good writing -- all of which helps you to improve a work, or to help you become a better writer.

Finally, writerQ utilizes a simple credit system in order to give every writer's work a "best chance" at getting attention. In effect, members will earn credits for participating in other member's works, then use those credits to submit their own works. For example, if you want to submit 5 pages of writing, you must have 5 credits. YOU DO NOT BUY CREDITS. You simply earn them by voice-recording the works of other members. And this is easy, because the voice-recorder is built into the website; you just push buttons and speak.

Continue to write works, listen to your work, record other members' works, join private writers groups, make friends, be happy, and so on. It's all about having fun and learning to be a better writer.


Q: What about my copyright?

A:
Your work is your work. It belongs to you. When you submit your work to writerQ you continue to hold all rights to your property. By making a submission you are simply allowing the writerQ community to voice-record, comment on, share links to, and enjoy your work within the functionality of the writerQ website. Nobody else -- not even writerQ -- will own your work simply because you posted it on the writerQ website. For more specifics on this topic, please see our Terms of Service.


Q: How do I submit a work?

A:
Click on SUBMIT A WORK, found in gold letters along the left panel. This will take you to the Work Submission Tool where you will see how many credits you have and how many words you will be able to submit. Then you may either type, or cut and paste, your work inside the text-box. On the left you'll find a column of choices, whereon you'll upload your works cover, title your work, and choose your work's category and subcategory. You may also want to add a label or link it to an earlier work. And finally, you'll choose to show your work either to the general public, or only to your private writers group. Click SUBMIT and your done.


Q: I can't record a work. What am I doing wrong?

A:
If you are having trouble recording a work, or even finding the recorder mechanism, please consider the following issues and resolutions:

1) Above each work, you will see the following recording bar mechanism:



If you don't see this function, you may a) already have recorded this work and may not record the same work again, or b) five people have already recorded the work and no more credits are available for that work, or c) you don't have Flash installed on your machine -- keep reading.

2) In order to record directly into writerQ, you must have a Flash Player installed. Most people already have Adobe Flash installed on their computers. If you are able to watch You-Tube videos, you probably already have Flash installed. If not -- you may download and install Adobe Flash Player from the Adobe website: Get it from Adobe

3) You cannot record directly into the browser of a mobile device; the technology is simply not readily available. This includes tablets, pads, pods, berries, cell phones, etc. However, we DO offer a resolution: You may voice-record a work onto your mobile device, or other device to your mobile device, and then upload the audio file onto the writerQ work page you are reading.

Above each work, you will see a link, ". . . rather upload a file?" Here you will be able to browse your device and upload the recording. The recording will appear just as if you had recorded it directly. You will also earn the same amount of credits.


Q: I don't want my age to show in my profile. How do I remove it?

A:
You may change your age display and birthday display preferences in your Privacy Settings, which are accessed in two ways. 1) At the top of your Profile Page, simply click on the link "Go to Privacy Settings", and 2) Click on My writerQ in the left panel to view the drop-down list. Then click on My Account, which will take you to your account page. Here, along the tabs, you will find your Privacy Settings folder.


Q: Why can't I find my friend in the search bar?

A:
Members are "searchable" so long as they have a work in the Public Library. Search the user name, and the user's work/s will appear.


Q: How many words or pages may I submit?

A:
This will depend on how many credits you have. The more credits you have, the more words you may submit. You need 3 credits to submit 3 pages, for example.

Minimum submission is 25 words (1 page).
Maximum submission is 1300 words (5 pages).

But we urge you to visit our easy-to-understand Credit Chart which is located at the top right corner of the site just beneath the Logout button. Here you will see exactly how many words equal how many pages, and how many pages equal how many credits and vice versa. And remember, you can always earn credits by voice-recording the works of other members.


Q: Where can I see how many credits I have?

A:
1) Along the Welcome! phrase at the top right corner, above the Logout button.
2) In the middle of the Work Submission Tool, the page on which you submit your work, just above the text box.
3) Informative pop-ups pertaining to your credits will appear whenever you submit or record a work.


Q: Where can I see the works I've already written and recorded?

A:
You can see all the works you've written and RECORDED in your profile. You can access your profile simply by clicking on your user name, on your works, comments, audios -- wherever your user name shows up in blue. You can also see your profile page by going to My writerQ (in the left panel) and then My Profile. Here you will see tabs: Works I've Written, Works I've Recorded, My Subscriptions.


Q: Am I allowed to use cuss words and other foul language? And what about sex scenes?

A:
If you are under the age of 18 we discourage submissions containing foul language and sex scenes. Some subject matter can be delicate and may require both social and writing experience before trying to tackle in words. Also, remember that the writerQ "Adult" categories can only be accessed by members 18 and older. If you are a minor, we strongly suggest that you talk with your parents and/or teachers about this subject, as well as revisit our Terms of Service.

As for the rest of us --- the short answer is Yes! Express yourself! For indeed foul language and sex scenes are found in just about every bookstore and library in the world; in the pages of all kinds of great literature and by celebrated authors everywhere. Just keep in mind that writerQ is a public place. So while you're cussing and expressing, also be sure to categorize, label, and share your works APPROPRIATELY. While the team at writerQ does not advocate a strong censorship, we DO believe in "compartmentalization" -- everything in its proper place. In this way we can ALL enjoy a safe and friendly community. (For more on this subject, please read our Submission Guidelines and Terms of Service.)


Q: How do I change my password?

A:

1) In the left panel, click "My writerQ". This drops down a list of new options.
2) Then click on "My Account", which is all the way at the bottom of this list.
3) Under My Account you will see a button near the center of the page "Change Password".


Q: How is polling calculated?

A:
When listed in the Top Rated categories, polling results are based on a calculation of the average answer for the poll, multiplied by the number of respondents to the poll in the last 45 days. For example:

Writing A has 1 vote of 5 from 90 days ago and 2 votes of 8.
Writing B has 2 votes of 7 and one vote of 4.
Writing C has 4 votes of 9 from last year.

Writing B will come first, followed by Writing A, Writing C will not appear.

Writing A = 2 votes * 8 = 16
Writing B = (2 votes * 7) + (1 vote * 4) = 18
Writing C doesn't count because all of the votes are too old.