As a last resort I posted a link on the Fresh Squids Forum and asked for help and got some good suggestions which I implemented. I’m delighted to report that the page was awarded a Purple Star yesterday.

Even though I don’t think this is one of my best lenses, I’m sure it wouldn’t have got a Purple Star without the help I received from my friends on Fresh Squids. The moral of the story is don’t be afraid of asking for help or a critique no matter how experienced you are.

Even the most experienced and brilliant writers and webmasters can have problems writing a new article for a web page. Sometimes, the subject doesn’t come together well for you or the writing doesn’t flow properly. When this happens, it often doesn’t read well either. Before you cut your losses and delete a lens, ask for help and you’ll find plenty of people on Squidoo or are willing to advise you on how to improve it.

I’ve also got a reputation for being blunt in my critiques of people’s lenses. I won’t say something like “You’ve made a good effort but…” when I look at a lens and think it’s terrible without any redeeming features. I cannot bring myself to utter false praise. One reason is that it calls into question my own judgment. People reading it will assume I really think it is a good effort when it’s plainly not. The other reason is that I don’t think false praise helps the person improve.

I always try to offer advice on how to improve the page and the writing when needed. I don’t just say, “It’s rubbish.”

Now I’m an Angel, I have to be more cautious in my approach although I still won’t give false praise to a hopeless piece of work. The reason for my caution is because, as an Angel, I have the reputation of all Angels to consider.

Even when I don’t bless a lens, I sometimes write privately to the lensmaster (when they have contact enabled) to make suggestions for improvement that would make the lens eligible for a blessing or at least 4 or 5 stars.

Helping new Squids is the part of Squidoo that I have always enjoyed the most. I’ve got great pleasure from seeing some lensmasters do a reasonable to good first lens and then go on to become great lensmasters. Some of them are now Giants. It’s great to spot talent early and see that person go on to meet or even exceed your expectations.

If you want to know what I look for when I’m deciding whether to bless a lens, take a look at my Angel in Disguise.

My Coaching Lens for Stazjia's Stars

Because I made the Giant 100 Club last time, Wiwon, the group I joined to help me, has made me one of the coaches for people hoping to make Giant or the Giant 100 Club next time, deadline September 30, 2009.

Stazjia’s Stars is one of the small coaching groups. I have six members, which is about average for each group. In SS we are still getting to know each other but have started reviewing each other’s lenses and that seems to be going well.

I think giving critiques on lenses helps the owner of the lens and the people doing the critique. Obviously, the owner gets suggestions for improvements but how does it help the other people?

They have to look at the lens with a critical eye. They need to assess it for attractiveness and how it reads. Does it encourage people to read it? Is the lens easy to read on a screen or are there great blocks of text that make it difficult? Are there enough illustrations to brighten it up, make it look attractive and help the meaning of the text. For example, a lens about a flower is always helped if the reader can see a picture of the plant in question.

The Wiwon Team

Sometimes the problem can be that the text doesn’t flow well from beginning to end. When writing about most things, there’s an optimum order to impart the information. If it’s written in the wrong order, it feels disjointed and jumbled. Sometimes we don’t always realize what’s wrong with the writing but we know there is something stopping us enjoying it.

When people write a critique, they have to assess all these things and others too, sometimes. They then have to formulate a way of writing their opinions of what’s wrong. Saying, “it reads funny” doesn’t help. You have to work out why before you can give the critique. Then the person doing the critique should make suggestions for improvements.

While they are doing all this, they are learning more about how to make good lenses.

Remember, lenses are just Squidoo’s name for web pages and so this method should apply to any page of content or even a sales page.