Written by: the3dreamers, Ariel_Paiement1, ChayAvalerias , Tegan1311, Twin_Cities & SapphireAlena

Special thanks to DawnStarling for her feedback and encouragement.

Special thanks to our Official #NBR GIF producer: the3dreamers

Congratulations! 

You have finally made it to the "big time," the spotlight for The Next Big Recognition, the best writing community that Wattpad has to offer.

By now, you've realized that #NBR reviewers are simply amazing. Many of these individuals put a lot of time and effort into their reviews to help make a contribution to the spotlighted author's work and writing. This week you will receive a series of recommendations, editorial support, and other commentaries. On average, you might get 40 or more reviews which can range as much as, or more than, 25,000 words. (Yeah, that's a lot.) So, the whole process can be a little overwhelming.

We (a group of #NBR Triple Crown Reviewers + friends) have created some guidelines that will make your spotlight week spectacular! As committed reviewers, we drew from our experiences of being spotlighted and of writing reviews. We hope our strategies and suggestions are helpful as you prepare for your big week.

Check List: What to Do Before Your Spotlighted Week

#1.  Prepare your chapter for review 

Okay, you just got the PM from Dawn that says your spotlighted week is coming up. Don't panic! This is all going to be a good experience. Remember, you've been waiting for this moment to shine. Here are some strategies:

√ Write up a good description: 

Use the description and summary posted on the previous #NBR rounds as a model to create your own write-up. Send this to Dawn already formatted. (We all know how crazy busy Dawn is, so try to help her out by being organized.)

√ Prepare your chapter for review:

 You definitely want the #NBR community to know that you take your writing seriously. So fix basic misspellings and typos and other common errors like missing words that happen on a first draft. This way the reviewers can focus on other things in your chapter.

√ Follow chapter guidelines:

Please make sure that your chapter meets the guidelines of #NBR. Is your chapter over 2800 words? If so, please have a cut of note in your chapter so reviewers know where to stop. Does your chapter have a little bit of violence that might be troubling? If so, please warn the readers about this in your summary. Do the characters get a little too frisky? Make sure you give a warning so that reviewers who might be uncomfortable with the work will be able to determine whether they want to read it or not.

These hints will help facilitate a wonderful review.

#2. Ask good questions 

@Twin_Cities said, "I think the quality of reviews you get is much more useful to you and in-depth if you pinpoint the areas that you need to focus on! Most reviewers will cover the general questions (did you enjoy it, how can I improve, would you read on) besides, so you're actually getting more from being spotlighted if you ask about specifics." Here's some pointers:

√ Be specific and pointed about what you need help with.

√ Don't be vague. Make sure your questions for the other #NBR members make sense and aren't too wide or vague.

√ Read other's questions. One way to get ideas about good questions to ask is to look at some of the questions from previous spotlighted authors.

Preparing good questions is an essential step for getting amazing feedback.

#3. Be willing to receive feedback that isn't what you asked for

This includes grammar! Yes, grammar is important; it can make or break a good idea. So if someone gives you grammar advice, please do not tell them not to. They are just trying to help you. The same is true for other topics that reviewers may notice that weren't pertinent to your original questions. Consider their insights as an opportunity to learn and improve.

Check List: What to Do During Your Spotlighted Week

It's smart to remain interactive with reviewers. Feel free to challenge their opinions, ask for clarification, pick their brains. Utilize the long awaited moment to really squeeze as much feedback as you can out of everyone. Doing so will help maximize the quality of your reviews and your spotlight experience. Here are some other things to do during the week:

#1. Acknowledge your reviewers 

Many reviewers spend a lot of time reviewing. Their commentary (yeah, even the ones you don't really agree with) should be seen as a gift they are giving you. Here are some ways to respond:

√ Say thanks. Be polite like Momma always said and say thanks. Most reviewers really just want to feel that they made some contribution to your work even if you don't take their advice.

√ It's Okay if you fall behind. Simply post that you will give feedback as soon as you can. We all will understand. Life can be busy.

√ Thanks-plus. You can always just say "thanks" to the reviewers, but if you want to give a reviewer that warm-and-fuzzy-feeling inside, try giving feedback in this way: Thanks + something you liked about the comment or would consider later. Example: "Thanks! I never thought about dialogue tags before, Amber. I'm definitely going to look into that during my revisions." We are certain this will make the reviewer perform a happy dance and feel all giddy inside!

#2. Ask follow-up questions

You will get a lot of interesting ideas from the reviewers. Sometimes you will want to learn more about what a reviewer says. Don't be afraid to ask that person follow-up questions. This can actually lead to wonderful author-to-author relationships. This is what makes #NBR an amazing community!

#3. Be patient on revising

While we feel that it would be just fine for you to change small things like misspellings, tense shifts, and rewording a few lines here and there during the review period, please don't make major revisions during the review week. Here are reasons why:

√ Some reviewers take a long time to write their reviews, as long as 2-3 days. These reviewers will read through the chapter multiple times before finally putting their ideas into their tailor-made reviews for you. So, making major revisions before the review week is over can really throw off these reviewers.

√ Some reviewers start late because they had had a busy week. Making major revisions based on the reviews that were posted earlier in the week prevents those later reviewers from being able to make their own unique contribution to your story.

√ Be assured to get all the different perspectives by holding off on revisions until all the reviews come in.

We know that you can sometimes get inspired to start revising immediately, but please be patient.

CheckList: What to Do After Your Spotlighted Week

#1. Please submit your set of winners in a timely manner 

As a spotlighted author, you have agreed to support the whole idea behind the contest. So, please give your winning picks to Dawn in a timely manner. (If you think you will be short on time, please ask Dawn to move your spotlight back a week or two.)

#2. Reach out to your winning commentators

When the week is over, this doesn't mean that your connection with the winning reviewers is over. Remember that the #NBR rules ask you to dedicate a chapter to them from your book. After all, reviewers put in a lot of time to support you, and their comments had an impact on your thinking.

#3. Build relationships

 This is obviously NOT an #NBR requirement, but why wouldn't you want to stay in touch with your top reviewers? Here's some ideas to consider:

√ Amber Boyd (@the3dreamers): "I've redone covers for two authors (as I have a marketing background) and re-reviewed chapters for them after their spotlight was long done. Your top reviewers can be your new best friends if you reach out and say hi."

√ Chayton (@ChayAvalerias): "I've had great conversations about writing with @Sydney-C-Grey, got an awesome book cover made by @HeavenlyHash333, and dedicated a poem to Heavenly's book, Numbering the Stars."

As Triple Crown reviewers, we all have similar stories about relationships we built with #NBR authors after our reviews.

CheckList: How Should You Pick Your Winners?

Some say, choosing the winning reviews can be nearly impossible. Here are some strategies we've used to select our winners.

@the3Dreamers:

The week my book was spotlighted, life happened. I found myself taking my daughter to the hospital and dealing with bad news from doctors. So I called in the cavalry.

I sent a PM to a couple of my readers and asked for help. They read every #NBR comment and gave me a list of what they thought were the top ten comments made. After reviewing their lists, I had no problem choosing my winner with my readers having done the bulk of the work for me.

What I found was my helpers who had read every word of my book, had a pretty good take on what could help me. I rewarded their efforts with a dedication in a chapter, and the #NBR got their chosen winner on time.

The bonus: An indirect review from my readers when they explained why each comment had merit.

@Ariel_Paiement1:

For me, there wasn't much of a strategy. I read through all of the comments I got and picked the one who was:

a) the most blunt

b) the most detailed in feedback

c) the most relevant to the chapter

So no real strategy, I don't think. Really, the first two were the ones I looked at most.

@ChayAvalerias:

I'm an old-fashioned, print-it-out-and-read person. I use a desktop computer and scroll through the comments. I unlock all the "Replies" until all of it has been expanded. I highlight everything and copy it. Then I paste it all into a Word document. I print the pages (2 sheets per page) and read everything. I use highlighters of different colors to highlight common ideas like character, style, plot, etc. That gives me a big overview of all the comments. Then I determine which comments made the most contribution in each of these categories. I choose my winners from there.

@Tegan1311:

When I was spotlighted, I went through the comments once a day even if I only had like 15 minutes. I replied to as many as I could. The once a day check made sure I didn't get overwhelmed or backed up. I gave in-depth reviews an in-depth response while a simple "this was good" got a simple "thanks."

For choosing my top 3 comments, I looked for who gave in-depth comments. Ones with the good and the bad, suggestions on how to improve, edits, and answered my questions as well as the #NBR topic. Out of these, I picked the 3 comments that were the most well-rounded and made my chapter better.

@Twin_Cities:

I replied to comments as I got them as much as possible, which was easier at the beginning of the week! There was often a spike of comments towards the end of the week, and it got harder to keep up. So I had to spend a couple of hours afterwards going through all the comments. Normally, whenever a comment made a significant impression on me, I'd note the comment down on a document, and then afterwards I already had the runners-up in one place to deliberate over.

Of course, this was back in Round 13. A lot of talented reviewers have joined since then (some of whom have written this document with me *swoons*). So I appreciate that it has definitely gotten more difficult to pick winners now, and, wow, it was hard to pick a winner even back then.

We hope these guidelines help as you prepare for the spotlight. We are so happy to have you as a member of this wonderful writing community.

Best wishes,

Amber Boyd (the3dreamers)

Ariel Paiement (Ariel_Paiement1)

Chayton Avalerias (ChayAvalerias)

Cheryl Tegan (Tegan1311)

Twin Cities (twin_cities)