Coffee Lounge

Hmmm... reviewing really is the best way to get gift points. You can rack up the points in a hurry, really. If you're interested in taking that route, let me know. I can point you to lots of great groups who give gp for reviews... some are better than others, but it depends on the type of reviews you like to give: long and in-depth, just a few lines of encouragement. It makes a difference for which groups would be best for you.

If you don't want to do that, there are contests. Some have good prizes. Inked previously gave out lots of gp just for welcoming new people in their notebooks. We may resume that soon.

You can still review really good work, love. Just tell them why you rated the item what you did. If it is a 5 star review, tell them what was so good about it... why was this piece utter perfection? If it's a 4 star review, just tell them what you liked and what they might improve. You don't have to be an awesome writer to have an opinion. Sometimes it's as simple as "this character just didn't interest me that much... I didn't really care what happened to him" or "there was too much description sometimes... it dragged down the flow of the story a little" or whatever. If a piece is super good, how will the author know that unless someone tells them?

I hope you get lots of feedback for your essay! I would offer to review it myself, but I'm super busy during the week. I'd hate to say I will and then forget or something. Have you posted it to "Please Review"  or "The Shameless "Plug" Page"  yet? That might be an easy way to get some exposure. And don't worry about offering gp. They will get some gp for doing the review anyway because they have never reviewed your work before.

Anyway, if you feel like a newbie, you are still a newbie. Don't be shy about asking questions or asking for help. Drop a note here any time!