I joined Boddunan just a couple of days ago, and was happy with all that i read about this site. I was thinking to myself - finally a site that Indian Writers can be proud of!!
But now, after 2 days of just reading through articles, I am not so sure!
Some of the "Editors" have published articles that are SO grammatically incorrect and have been assigned cash credits of 5-10. While some others, with articles that i would definitely rate higher have such low cash credits.
What I cannot understand is, how can an Editor be one who has hardly any/no knowledge about what he is doing? So, our work is not really being "edited" by professionals as i hoped?!
Also, what is the system of assigning points - just what the "editor" decides/fancies? Aren't there any guidelines to be followed?
I'm a bit confused now. Any answers anybody?
20 Replies
Exactly my sentiments when I joined Boddunan. Anyways I was a bit misled by the statement 'revenue sharing' which in true sense of the term is not as it pays it's author upfront and no revenue is share thereafter on the article submitted.
And when I look at the payment scale, I was shocked to see 100 rupees is what a well written and formatted article gets. I dropped the idea of writing any article here then, though I am in love with boddunan community and thats what keeps me at the forum active a bit.
I still believe writers should be getting more than this. But writers here seem to be happy with the payment so I have stop cribbing about the issue now.
Also, I am undertaking a mentorship program, which hopefully will make the members aware of the earning potential of their writing.
And as far as your original question about moderators and cash credits go, I honestly can't comment on that as I have hardly read articles here but yea, I have spotted a few spun articles and had even notified the admin.
I would like to think that they are doing a decent job.
And when I look at the payment scale, I was shocked to see 100 rupees is what a well written and formatted article gets. I dropped the idea of writing any article here then, though I am in love with boddunan community and thats what keeps me at the forum active a bit.
I still believe writers should be getting more than this. But writers here seem to be happy with the payment so I have stop cribbing about the issue now.
Also, I am undertaking a mentorship program, which hopefully will make the members aware of the earning potential of their writing.
And as far as your original question about moderators and cash credits go, I honestly can't comment on that as I have hardly read articles here but yea, I have spotted a few spun articles and had even notified the admin.
I would like to think that they are doing a decent job.
Kimberley, I am sorry that you feel that way. But several articles with errors have been published in the earlier days when there were no set guidelines. But now we really try to publish articles that are free of any kind of errors, but like Santosh pointed out, if you post links to some with very many obvious errors, we will try to correct them. But please post links here as early as possible.
I also feel that the standard of many articles is not good enough. apart from grammatical mistakes, many are even shorter than forum posts and have very little content. These also do not carry cash of more than Rs. 10/-.
The editors are not full time professional but they are part time and chosen from members. But there is criteria for selection of editors and generally they have reasonable proficiency. Editorial standard may not be as high as expected But we are all learners. Let us continuously improve and raise our standard.
The editors are not full time professional but they are part time and chosen from members. But there is criteria for selection of editors and generally they have reasonable proficiency. Editorial standard may not be as high as expected But we are all learners. Let us continuously improve and raise our standard.
Arun - I think why people are happy with what they get is "something's better than nothing". After, we all know that even the best writers can have difficulty actually getting published. So, this provides a great outlet for both - getting published and getting paid! And, i guess there's nothing wrong about that.
Maybe i just have "great expectations!" :)
Santosh - It was just a general observation. I would not like to pin-point articles. I guess when I joined In I got the impression that this was a site run by professionals who have a set of formal "editors" who would be reviewing our work. Thus, the disappointment. Also, it is a site for/by Indians - that makes it a sentimental issue too - the expectations are more :)
I was shocked to find some articles with grammatical errors to the extent that I couldn't even understand some of them. Ideally, these articles should not even be approved for publishing. But, some of them are given cash credits of 5-10.
Then, how can we justify a very well-informed, well edited, well presented article also getting the same amount?! That is not only discouraging, it will also give writers the idea that they can write ANYthing (as long as it is not copied) and get away with it!
What is worse, this is the internet - there are people/writers from all over who will be seeing our work (isn't it?) and what kind of an impression does this give them?
I am sorry if I am being too blunt. Maybe my expectations were too high. But, I know we Indians can do soooo much better and I just cannot fathom putting up a poor picture about us out here.
I still have hope that things can improve if the issue is taken seriously. And maybe, like Kalyani said, we can point out those posts, not with the intent of maligning the author, but helping each other improve.
But, is there a separate forum for that?
Maybe i just have "great expectations!" :)
Santosh - It was just a general observation. I would not like to pin-point articles. I guess when I joined In I got the impression that this was a site run by professionals who have a set of formal "editors" who would be reviewing our work. Thus, the disappointment. Also, it is a site for/by Indians - that makes it a sentimental issue too - the expectations are more :)
I was shocked to find some articles with grammatical errors to the extent that I couldn't even understand some of them. Ideally, these articles should not even be approved for publishing. But, some of them are given cash credits of 5-10.
Then, how can we justify a very well-informed, well edited, well presented article also getting the same amount?! That is not only discouraging, it will also give writers the idea that they can write ANYthing (as long as it is not copied) and get away with it!
What is worse, this is the internet - there are people/writers from all over who will be seeing our work (isn't it?) and what kind of an impression does this give them?
I am sorry if I am being too blunt. Maybe my expectations were too high. But, I know we Indians can do soooo much better and I just cannot fathom putting up a poor picture about us out here.
I still have hope that things can improve if the issue is taken seriously. And maybe, like Kalyani said, we can point out those posts, not with the intent of maligning the author, but helping each other improve.
But, is there a separate forum for that?
Arun - I think why people are happy with what they get is "something's better than nothing". After, we all know that even the best writers can have difficulty actually getting published. So, this provides a great outlet for both - getting published and getting paid! And, i guess there's nothing wrong about that.
Maybe i just have "great expectations!" :)
Santosh - It was just a general observation. I would not like to pin-point articles. I guess when I joined In I got the impression that this was a site run by professionals who have a set of formal "editors" who would be reviewing our work. Thus, the disappointment. Also, it is a site for/by Indians - that makes it a sentimental issue too - the expectations are more :)
I was shocked to find some articles with grammatical errors to the extent that I couldn't even understand some of them. Ideally, these articles should not even be approved for publishing. But, some of them are given cash credits of 5-10.
Then, how can we justify a very well-informed, well edited, well presented article also getting the same amount?! That is not only discouraging, it will also give writers the idea that they can write ANYthing (as long as it is not copied) and get away with it!
What is worse, this is the internet - there are people/writers from all over who will be seeing our work (isn't it?) and what kind of an impression does this give them?
I am sorry if I am being too blunt. Maybe my expectations were too high. But, I know we Indians can do soooo much better and I just cannot fathom putting up a poor picture about us out here.
I still have hope that things can improve if the issue is taken seriously. And maybe, like Kalyani said, we can point out those posts, not with the intent of maligning the author, but helping each other improve.
But, is there a separate forum for that?
Well, if they think that, they are totally unaware of the value of their words and the right payment. They deserve a lot more.
But I also appreciate Boddunan for it's effort. It is one of kind site for Indian authors. I know there is a lot to be improved but I am glad that a revenue model exists for Indian authors.
Though I agree that bad grammar and hard to understand English put us in bad light in front of our readers, you should also take into consideration that English is not our native language. So I would give them a bit of discount. But yea, keep improving is the buzz word here.
Also, I have been a editor at an leading freelance company (The stint lasted for only 4 months and then I had to focus and concentrate on my own projects) and we were asked to be very tough on the freelancers. The parameters on which we were to judge articles were as follows:
1.Grammar
2.Proper sentence structure
3.Punctuation
$.Spelling
5.How useful and unique the content is
6.Does the writer have a strong understanding of the subject he has written about
7.Is the content properly formatted for online publishing.
and many more parameters.
We were asked to give detailed feedback to the authors to improve them.
I think Boddunan can also do the same, give detailed feedback to the author submitting poorly written and/or formatted article. Also suspend accounts of authors who keeps repeating the same mistake.
Also, Boddunan can have one super moderator who can check approved articles by moderator, this will make the process more stringent.
I hope what I have said will make sense to some.
@Kimberley, you have done the right thing in voicing out your concerns and there is nothing wrong with keep high expectations! In fact, if everyone did just that then there would be very few problems or in this case, errors in the first place.
It bothers me too that our website has many articles and posts wherein the grammar, spellings etc. are wrong and not error free. But one thing I just wanted to bring out is that ours is a nation where more than 20 spoken languages are used like nowhere else in the world. While speaking or writing English, each individual's mother tongue, the way a particular word is pronounced or written greatly influences our English too. So some of such errors are taken for granted and as long as the message is clear it does not really affect the quality of the article. But that is only rarely. I make it a point to outright reject all articles which are very bad in grammatical sense and do not approve them unless corrected by the authors.
I do like your and Arun's suggestions to provide a feedback forum for such articles and posts, but it might offend people who are really serious about writing but careless about grammar etc. What you could do is send links to any of the boddunan support team if you come across already published articles. We will take action to rectify them.
It bothers me too that our website has many articles and posts wherein the grammar, spellings etc. are wrong and not error free. But one thing I just wanted to bring out is that ours is a nation where more than 20 spoken languages are used like nowhere else in the world. While speaking or writing English, each individual's mother tongue, the way a particular word is pronounced or written greatly influences our English too. So some of such errors are taken for granted and as long as the message is clear it does not really affect the quality of the article. But that is only rarely. I make it a point to outright reject all articles which are very bad in grammatical sense and do not approve them unless corrected by the authors.
I do like your and Arun's suggestions to provide a feedback forum for such articles and posts, but it might offend people who are really serious about writing but careless about grammar etc. What you could do is send links to any of the boddunan support team if you come across already published articles. We will take action to rectify them.
Arun - I completely agree with everything you said (That rarely happens, blunt that I am :) )
If Bodunnan could learn from your post - that would be super. And, I would like to stress: the idea is to IMPROVE and not discourage anyone.
So, your suggestions:
1. To give detailed feedback to the author submitting poorly written and/or formatted article.
2. suspend accounts of authors who keeps repeating the same mistake. (or even issue warnings)
3. To have one super moderator who can check approved articles by moderator,
make complete sense!
Yes - English is not our native language, but yet we have so many Indians who are extremely good at it and that's what I wish we could display here. Right? I dunno! :)
If Bodunnan could learn from your post - that would be super. And, I would like to stress: the idea is to IMPROVE and not discourage anyone.
So, your suggestions:
1. To give detailed feedback to the author submitting poorly written and/or formatted article.
2. suspend accounts of authors who keeps repeating the same mistake. (or even issue warnings)
3. To have one super moderator who can check approved articles by moderator,
make complete sense!
Yes - English is not our native language, but yet we have so many Indians who are extremely good at it and that's what I wish we could display here. Right? I dunno! :)
@Kalyani - In my personal opinion, if anyone who considers himself a serious writer will keep improving himself everyday with whatever he can learn. So I don't think that will offend anyone.
Also, did you know, writing online is completely different than writing offline. Well I learnt this the hard way when initially my articles used to get rejected and the reason being they are not fit for online publishing (Everything else was perfect).
And by not fit for online publishing means that they are not easy on the eyes of readers. And if you looking for what is a fit for online publishing post, you should read kimberly's para above or infact your own post. A reader will be more likely to read it.
I hope that makes sense.
Also, did you know, writing online is completely different than writing offline. Well I learnt this the hard way when initially my articles used to get rejected and the reason being they are not fit for online publishing (Everything else was perfect).
And by not fit for online publishing means that they are not easy on the eyes of readers. And if you looking for what is a fit for online publishing post, you should read kimberly's para above or infact your own post. A reader will be more likely to read it.
I hope that makes sense.
Arun - I completely agree with everything you said (That rarely happens, blunt that I am :) )
If Bodunnan could learn from your post - that would be super. And, I would like to stress: the idea is to IMPROVE and not discourage anyone.
So, your suggestions:
1. To give detailed feedback to the author submitting poorly written and/or formatted article.
2. suspend accounts of authors who keeps repeating the same mistake. (or even issue warnings)
3. To have one super moderator who can check approved articles by moderator,
make complete sense!
Yes - English is not our native language, but yet we have so many Indians who are extremely good at it and that's what I wish we could display here. Right? I dunno! :)
A smart girl completely disagreeing with me has also rarely happened, such a flirter that I am, oops I mean blurter that I am. (Smart people like honesty ryt? ;)
And my suggestions can be attributed to you since you brought the issue up.
And yes, we Indians can speak and write in impeccable english, we just have to avoid being lazy and keep in mind the small details.
I am sure with little collective efforts this place can be very rewarding for everyone.
@Kalyani - In my personal opinion, if anyone who considers himself a serious writer will keep improving himself everyday with whatever he can learn. So I don't think that will offend anyone.
Also, did you know, writing online is completely different than writing offline. Well I learnt this the hard way when initially my articles used to get rejected and the reason being they are not fit for online publishing (Everything else was perfect).
And by not fit for online publishing means that they are not easy on the eyes of readers. And if you looking for what is a fit for online publishing post, you should read kimberly's para above or infact your own post. A reader will be more likely to read it.
I hope that makes sense.
Well said again Arun - Kalyani, I will send you a PM shortly about "some" of the concerns.
Arun is right when he said that "a serious writer will keep improving himself everyday with whatever he can learn".
I used to write for Triond before I joined here (no great achievement, but still...)There was one writer there, who pointed out to me a couple of mistakes I had made in one of my articles. So, I went back and edited it(and found that there were so many more mistakes) and thanks to her, till today I am very conscious about capitalizin my i's (well most of the time!) :)
I, too, hope the same. I would like to see Boddunan gaining more trust among the authors.
And you write for Triond, well I am on Triond too but it's been around a year since I logged in there. Over the time I have learnt that it is best to write on your own site.
And yea, a serious writer always Cross Their T's and Dot Their I's which you do so don't worry about capitalizing them much.
And you write for Triond, well I am on Triond too but it's been around a year since I logged in there. Over the time I have learnt that it is best to write on your own site.
And yea, a serious writer always Cross Their T's and Dot Their I's which you do so don't worry about capitalizing them much.
Topic Author
K
kimberly Dsouza
@kimberlyds
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Sunday, 17 July 2011 22:34
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