Is this something that only applies to new quiz-writers? Is there a certain number of quizzes that one has to have approved before one can have more than one quiz submitted at a time?

I can certainly understand allowing only one quiz per category because allowing more would just add to the queue for the same editors, but I'm a little confused why I can't submit a Music, Sports, or Science quiz because I have a quiz submitted in the Geography category.

- Sue

After I made some twenty quizzes, I was allowed to submit more than one quiz at a time. But from last week, I have noticed that this has been disabled. I am now able to submit only one quiz at a time. I was wondering whether there was any reason for this sudden change?

The main issue here is that there are some basic lessons in quizwriting, which authors learn over the course of their first few quizzes (more than a few, for some authors). We have found that nothing succeeds like success - you learn how to do it by doing it successfully, by getting quizzes online.

If a newish quizwriter were to have three quizzes submitted, say, in three different categories, there would be three editors all teaching the same lessons, at the same time. It works best, instead, if an author gets one quiz online, takes what is learned in that quiz and applies it to the next, and so on. After a while, when an author has a substantial number of quizzes submitted and accepted with no changes needed, we can lift the barrier. This method avoids duplication of effort, on the parts of both editors and authors.

If I could go very slightly off topic to pass on a tip I've learnt as a still quite new quiz writer. When you think your quiz is ready to be submitted leave it alone for 24 or 48 hours, then go back and read it again. It is amazing the typos, bad grammar, missed punctuation etc. you will find by looking it with fresh eyes after even a short period of time.

Excellent advice there, Christinap. I totally agree

Thanks for the information. It sounds like there is some magic number of quizzes one must have to be allowed to have more than one submitted once, and that the number has recently increased.

Can someone share with us what that number is now?

It would be helpful, too, if quiz writers could be advised of this in the guidelines, rather than finding out after they've hit the submit button on a quiz they've just finished.

- Sue

It's not the number of quizzes, but the quality of those quizzes.

I don't think I've submitted more than one ever. I enjoy spending some time with composing it and make sure it is perfect

Can't release the "magic number' because there is no such thing. As Leau says, it's a question of quality.

Our editing system is about as far from a 'by the numbers', automatic system as it is possible to be. Over time, with practice and experience, authors learn what flies and what doesn't - quizwriting is much more of an art than a science. As authors gain a certain level of comfort with their own skills, with the guidelines, with what certain categories and certain editors will and will not allow, the whole process becomes easier. This will take longer with some authors than with others. You will know, yourself, when you get there - it's when it's a surprise to get a rejection note, because you haven't seen one in such a long time. When you feel relaxed and at ease swimming in the quizwriting waters. How can we possibly assign a number to such an individual process? Some people get there in six weeks, with a half dozen quizzes. Others take years.

The ability to submit more than one quiz at a time is not really something worth pursuing. I would guess that the vast majority of those who have that ability have never used it - I never have myself. If you are impatient waiting for one quiz to be accepted so that you can submit another, spend that time polishing your quizzes-in-waiting so that they just slide online painlessly when the time comes.

It's always worth getting the quiz ready on Word first, then it's all ready to submit when your previous one goes online.

OK. Thanks for the information. Just to clarify things, I am not writing error-riddled quizzes in 10 minutes. I have read (and followed) the general and quiz-specific guidelines. My browser has a spell-checker and I use it. I do proofread my quizzes and have someone else look at them as well.

I probably got spoiled first time out as my first quiz went online 8 hours after I submitted it.

My second quiz was in the Geography category. It took 17 days to get a response. Rather than wait another 17 days, I'll just pull the quiz and submit the 3 others I wrote while waiting for the first reply and resubmit it when I don't have others waiting.

- Sue

Sometimes you just have to learn to be patient and wait. I waited about 14 days for my last quiz in the Hobbies section to be looked at and go on line.
Some categories just have longer waiting times than others, and that's the way it is. Equally my last quiz went on line the day I submitted it. Check the waiting times guide before you submit, and if you have something ready in a shorter wait category put that one in first. If you pick a category with long waiting times use the time to write your next one or polish up one you've already started.

I've already pulled the Geography quiz.

My main reason for doing so is that I think it may take several back-and-forths to come to an agreement about one question, and the prospect of waiting 17 days per exchange is just too frustrating. I'll readily admit that I've no idea how long it takes to review a quiz, but in this case the feedback I received was sorely lacking.

I have played most of the quizzes in the General category about quiz-writing, and understand the emphasis on providing players with "Interesting Information". For most of the better players, anyway, learning something new is one of the rewards of taking the quizzes.

But when there is a high standard for quiz-makers to provide feedback to quiz players, there should also be a high (if not higher) standard for quiz editors to provide useful feedback to quiz-makers. I do not feel this standard was met with this Correction Message:

Quote:

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Q6 needs to be replaced. Highway-related questions aren't accepted.

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I read the Geography guidelines before I wrote the quiz. There was nothing to indicate that highway questions aren't allowed. I re-read the Geography guidelines before I re-submitted the quiz, Still nothing about highway questions. I even used Control-F to search the guidelines for where it said that highway-related questions were unacceptable. It didn't say anything about highways.

A review of other Geography quizzes turns up several with highway questions, and there is even a whole category devoted to U.S. Roads and Highways (category 16614). So I'm completely at a loss as to why my highway question can't be accepted. I really think the editor should have provided more explanation as to why my highway question wasn't acceptable, especially since it's going to take over a week to get a response.

I'm probably getting too upset about this, which is another reason I pulled this quiz - to give me time to look at this less emotionally.

A final reason for pulling the Geography quiz is that about 2 weeks ago, I posted a question about which Music category was the right place for my next quiz. Agony was extremely helpful with this, and in the course of discussing the quiz with me has probably done a significant part of the reviewing process. I implemented the suggestions she gave me, and had hoped to get the quiz submitted before she totally forgot about it.

- Sue

That certainly sheds a different light on things, doesn't it?

Another reason I have so much respect for Editors giving of their time and themselves. Being put into a bad light like that, not kosher.

Omitting reference to questions 1 and 2 was done in the interest of brevity, with no malice intended. I can see, however, how "with this Correction Note" could be interpreted to mean that I was posting the entire Correction Note, which was not my intent. I apologize to the editor in question for any misunderstandings caused by this misleading wording.

I agree that the rest of the Correction Note was helpful. I certainly did need to fix Q2 where I had cut instead of pasted the last bit during the last of a dozen or more read-throughs.

I'm not going to post any more on this here; I think I'm just digging myself deeper.

If TPTB want to look at my Music quiz, great. If not, sobeit.

If someone wants to post or PM me with an explanation for why highway-related questions aren't accepted, I'd be interested in reading it.

- Sue

They also say in the guidelines (in some categories, at least) that if an editor feels a question is too trivial, they can say "no" to it.

These editors have edited hundreds of quizzes and know what they are doing. They are all very kind - I've felt like some are "nicer" than others, but that's probably just because of how they came across, or because I really DIDN'T want a correction notice! But overall, they are great!!!

Best thing to do, if there is something in a rejection note that you do not understand, is to write directly to the editor involved.

Sadly, sometimes the guidelines don't get updated as fast or as completely as they should be. So, reading the guidelines, while absolutely necessary, is no guarantee of a perfect quiz. In your first few quizzes, especially, the aim should not be to get them accepted without rejections (rejections are no big deal, really), but to get a feel for what can and cannot work in a quiz.

I've edited several quizzes lately that had too many throwaway answers in them. Occasionally you get a good silly incorrect but for the most part they should be relatively plausible. Writing a quiz on some obvious topic is harder than it would seem however.

Say you want to write about Mustard or ketchup. We have quizzes on both of those but I'm just thinking of questions that would be creative and those we would not allow. There is no list of questions about mustard you cannot ask but I might just say, 'these questions aren't really informing anyone of anything, sorry.' I mean if you ask: What color is the mustard I put on my hotdog? yellow hot pink blue and red being the choices.
Then the information being; Mustard is yellow because the plant is yellow.

Now if you give me the origin of mustard in your questions, or the percentage of mustards that are indeed yellow, you can still have fun but not submit a quiz with wasted answers. You could give me information on how to get mustard stains out of clothes or something. The sky's the limit.

I'm trying to say that we are human here and trying to show you what's not working in your quiz. There is no pat answer for that. Bear with us when we try to explain why this is so.

Yeah, usualy I don't have a problem with this, but now I have two quizzes waiting to be submitted while I have one submitted. I want to know if I should put "Please do not delete" in the title just in case?

As long as they're being submitted within the next little while, 'DND' really isn't necessary for a fair bit of time.

Just because the guidelines does not say that you cannot have a highways question in it does not mean it is allowed. If the editors were to write down EVERYTHING that was not allowed, there would be too many things to write. They would have to write that highways questions aren't allowed, that capital cities are not allowed, etc.

I took a look at the U.S. Roads and Highways category. It could be that this question was not accepted because this category is in "World" and NOT "Geography." Therefore, putting a world question in a geography quiz is not allowed. It is like putting a question about a TV show in a video games quiz. It really doesn't make sense to have a completely different category question in your quiz.

I hope this helps. :-)

That's an interesting point, Swami. Sometimes you *really* need to think about the category (although the Editors are ever so helpful with putting it in the right category - it took me ages to realise that you could narrow it down to the right place after choosing the main and sub ones... ) I started writing a quiz about an island. Geography, right? Wrong! When I started to write the quiz I realised it was actually General: (Country the island belonged to) Specific.