I need help getting this one to FeltMagnet please.

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   sallybeaposted 7 years ago

   
   I have been using the capitalizemytitle.com tool whenever I create a Hub but it seems that this tool does not get it right all of the time!
   Could someone pease tell me what is wrong with the title below?
   Wet Felting Made Quick and Easy with a Tumble Dryer
   I have received a standardized letter saying that there is an issue with it but I can't figure out what the problem is Apparently there are issues with Grammar too but in spite my putting the Hub through Word, I can't find them.
   I do wonder whether I should be writing Capital letters for products or items which are used within the Tutorials! 
   It seems I have a problem with Grammar and Title case as well.
   There are several words within the Hub such as Batt and Fibres.  Is it Fibre or Fiber because my spell check does not like either of them.

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      Margaret Schindelposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Sallybea,
      
      APA's style guidelines for capitalization (which is what HubPages requires for titles and subtitles) include "Capitalize all words of four letters or more." So the first thing I suggest trying is to capitalize "with" in the title.
      
      If that doesn't work, you might consider trying a slightly different wording, e.g., Quick and Easy Wet Felting Wth a Tumble Dryer.
      
      I don't think product names should be capitalized unless they are brand names. Maybe just using lower case (e.g., batt and fibre or fiber) will work. If the editor doesn't like "batt," you might try "batting," which is the more commonly use term in the U.S. (which may or may not be a consideration for the editor).
      
      I hope these suggestions are helpful. Please let us know how you fare with getting this Hub accepted into FeltMagnet!
      
      Margaret

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         sallybeaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         Hi Margaret,
         Interesting that the with does not come up in the APA Capitilization app that I have been using, it keeps it as a lower case Letter. 
         I really do hate to change a title once I have given it one but will have a got with that one and see what happens although I see once again that the with does not come up again in the App - maybe that is the problem!

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            Margaret Schindelposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            Hi Sallybea!
            
            I'm not familiar with the app you mentioned, but if you google "Title Case and Sentence Case Capitalization in APA Style" you'll see the APA Style Blog post that includes their title case capitalization guidelines for headings 1 and 2. One of them is "Capitalize all words of four letters or more."
            
            Hope that helps!
            
            Margaret

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2. 85

   Marisa Wrightposted 7 years ago

   Incorrect capitalisation won't stop your Hub being moved to FeltMagnet.   I've had a few Hubs moved recently, and in each case, the editor has made minor changes like that.  So it must be something more than that.  Maybe they think it's too long?  How about "Quick and Easy Wet Felting with a Tumble Dryer"?
   
   You say the "specific issues" section mentions grammar:  was there anything else mentioned in that section?
   
   I felt there was too much repetition in the Hub, which could be a problem for Google.  For instance, you have an instruction (within a list) to "add a little water to the balloon".  Then you have a Heading saying "Add a little water to the balloon".  Then you have a caption that says, "add a little water to the balloon".  You don't need all three.  If you give a photo a heading it doesn't need a caption - or if you do have a caption, it should not be the same as the heading.
   
   I felt the first section doesn't work as a bulleted list.   Lists are for sequential steps, or for a series of facts.   That first section is just an introductory paragraph and it feels artificial to make it a list.  Plus you've got so many bulleted sections in the Hub already, I think you need a few ordinary paragraphs to create a balance. There's a couple of places within the tutorial where you're making a comment rather than giving sequential steps, which could be made into a paragraph too.

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      sallybeaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks Marisa I think you have some valid points.
      
      This is the email I received.
      
      Text should be broken up into multiple capsules with clear subtitles. Think about ways you can condense the information in the article so that it is more readable and scannable (especially on mobile). Bulleted lists and table capsules are both great ways to summarize information into a more digestible format.
      • Spelling/Grammar:
      All articles on Network Sites should demonstrate a good command of the English language with appropriately chosen words and readable sentences. It always helps to get an extra pair of eyes on our writing to spot those pesky, missed errors. Perhaps you can ask a couple of friends or colleagues to proofread your article!
      • Other Issue:
      Hey Sally! Awesome article, as usual. Aside from editing for grammar and titlecase, it would be wonderful if you could also please go through and be sure to number all of the steps clearly, to make it easier for your readers to follow along with the tutorial. Thank you Sally!
      
      I would love to get it right so that i know what to do next time.
      
      I use the bulleted list because that is what they asked for last time.
      This time they asked to number all the steps.
      I agree with you about the two captions but only did that because they always say that you should have pictures etc., with 'headings'
      I don't agree with the Title change. I think it better to have the how to in the title but perhaps you can can see what it is that that are really asking me to do!  I do agree with you about the bulleted list and I will change that.  Thanks for doing that for me.

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         Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         The mention of grammar and spelling is in the generic part of the email so it may not even apply to your Hub.  The bit that comes after "Other Issues" is the part you need to act on.  The rest is just a list of things you should cast an eye over.
         
         I don't know who told you that pictures needed headings.  I very, very rarely put headings on my pictures!   In fact, they are not a good idea as they compete with the main headings (which I think they do on your Hub a bit).
         
         Headings on pictures are recommended when you are detailing a process, and you START the section with the Heading for that step, then the photo, then the instructions. The only way you can get the heading above the photo is to put it in the photo capsule INSTEAD OF in the text capsule.  That may be where you've been told to put a heading in the photo capsule. 
         
         Yes, HubPages does love it when you can put a bulleted list at the top of the Hub but only if it is a list of facts or a list of instructions!  That's because bulleted lists are only useful if they're likely to answer a question that someone is searching for on Google.  If the list can't do that, then it's not worth including.   I'm not sure how you would create one like that for this Hub, I'm sorry.

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            Margaret Schindelposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            Hi Sallybea,
            
            Originally I just tried to answer the questions you asked, but I just searched for your Hub so I could review the entire article.
            
            I agree with Marisa that the titles of the photos are redundant and Google could well view them as keyword stuffing. I suggest removing them. I also suggest removing the subtitle "Time is Money!" and just starting in with your introductory text.
            
            There are issues with capitalization throughout this Hub. The APA capitalization rules apply only to Heading 1 and Heading 2 titles. Everything other than titles should be in sentence case, not title case. So, except in the titles, words like wool, batt, felt, fibre(s), tutorial, etc., should not be capitalized. This also holds true for your bullet points.
            
            I suggest removing the photo titles "A Few More Items," since all those items are also in the photo that immediately precedes it. You might also consider removing a few more of the photos for things that are easy to visualize. This would help to shorten this very long hub and potentially make it less intimidating for readers.
            
            I haven't had time to review the entire Hub in detail, but I hope these suggestions are helpful!

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               sallybeaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

               Margaret you have been very helpful thank you.
               This can be a very confusing platform to write on if I don't always understand the guidlines in order to get it it right.  Heaven help someone who has difficulty in writing in a second or third language.
               I sometimes think it depends on which Editor is reading it whether I get the same answer.
               I have wanted to know for ages whether I should be using sentence case.or lower case for the lower titles but this is not one of the things which was pointed out to me be wrong so I continue to do it wrong:)    It seems to me that this is a bit of a hit or miss affair and I don't like that at all.   I want to get it right the first time and not have to keep going back again to change it without knowing whether what it is that I need to change. 
               As for the capitals within the text I do it because Grammarly sometimes wants me to capitalize a word - for instance it shows the word Fibre as being incorrect without a capital. Word does not change capital letters to lower case even if I write them that way.
               I appreciate your help and will go back and take another look at it.
               I think I need a definitive answer from an Editor to know exactly how they want it done so that I can do it the right everything so I don't waste my time or theirs..

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   Marisa Wrightposted 7 years ago

   I wonder if maybe you should stop using Grammarly and trust your own writing more. You are a solid writer with a good command of English so I'm not convinced you need it.  The trouble with grammar correcting software is that it can often over-correct, making language sound stilted and taking the natural cadence out of it. It also makes mistakes sometimes, such as giving Fiber a capital F! 
   
   Titles are always in title case, whether they're titles or sub-titles.
   
   The more I think about it, the more I agree with Margaret that the photos shouldn't have headings.  I wonder where that piece of advice came from because I've never heard it before - I do know that Writerfox used to say photos should always have captions, I wonder if that's where the confusion lies.

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      sallybeaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Marisa,
      I removed the title this morning and changed all the subheadings to sentence case instead of Title case.   So far I have not removed the capitilization in the paragraphs but might still do that.  I have submitted it again to see what happens.
      
      However I was reading this https://yoast.com/image-seo/ and wonder if I was wrong to do so.
      
      I think I am even more confused now, when is a heading a heading in one of my Tutorials - when I write Step 1 for instance!

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         Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         That Yoast article doesn't even mention headings. It mentions alt tags and title text, both things you can't use on HubPages. 
         
         As Margaret says, you use capitals on H1 and H2 titles. That means the heading of each text capsule and the title of the Hub.

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            sallybeaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            Apologies, I was still thinking about what was said about removing my 'titles' or 'headings' on my images.
            I think I am having a problem because I don't understand basic computer speak.  When is a title a title and when is a heading a heading?
            I do notice from looking at one of yours for an example that I have now corrected mine with incorrect headings or titles  throughout the hub.. I think have the title correct and the heading below right and that is about it.
            I understand now that I have to have words with more than four letters in capitals in the titles or headings but to be honest I was using the app and it was giving me the correct answers but the app is only good as the info you put in when you understand what it is that is required.
            Please would you take a look at the capitalization link I put in above and if you don't mind, could you please explain to me how I should be using it please. 
            I also notice that you also use capitals for certain things as I do except mine are products or a technique called Wet Felting and yours are things like Stellar Hubs etc.,

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               Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

               No need to apologise!   Yes, computer jargon is confusing.  What makes it worse is that HubPages' jargon is often different again.
               
               One idea that might help you remember:  A heading comes at the head of something, i.e above it.  So the caption underneath a photo isn't a heading.  It's a caption.   As that Yoast article says, having a caption is a good thing.
               
               A heading and a title are the same thing, BUT that Yoast article was talking about "title tags" not titles.  Just like a hat band and a hat are not the same thing, a title tag and a title are not the same thing.
               
               I capitalise "Stellar Hubs" because it's an official feature of HubPages. If I was just talking about wonderful articles on another site, I might say they were stellar articles but I wouldn't use a capital.
               
               In general, I don't use capitals much in my text.  I'm not sure why Wet Felting would have a capital.  It's just an activity.   I don't write "I'm going to do some Ballet now", or "I'm going to do the Washing", so why would I write "I'm going to do some Wet Felting"?   Capitals are for people's names, place names, organisations, and official names for things.

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                  sallybeaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                  Thank you Marisa.

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                     Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                     I just took another look at your Hub and I'm completely perplexed about your use of capitals!   I am sorry you're having so much trouble with this.
                     
                     I think it might help to do some reading about when to capitalise.  You are doing it far, far too often.  The places you need to use capitals are really very limited:
                     
                     http://www.skillsyouneed.com/write/capital-letters.html
                     
                     I have no idea why Grammarly should capitalise Fiber because that is just plain wrong. I can't imagine a single time when it would be correct, unless (a) it's in a title/heading or (b) it's part of a product name, like Google Fiber. 
                     
                     I see you're capitalising things like Bamboo Blind.  Ask yourself, are you telling your readers they must go out and buy a brand called Bamboo Blind?  Or can they just use any old bamboo blind?  If it's any old bamboo blind, then it doesn't need capitals, except when it's in a title/heading (not a caption).  The same with Batts - it is a surname which may be why Grammarly thinks it should have a capital, but you are just talking about wool batts and I can't think of any reason why that would need a capital.
                     
                     If you're unsure about a word you can always Google it. For instance, I wasn't sure whether Polystyrene was a brand name or not.  Turns out that it's not, so it doesn't have a capital.  If you'd said Styrofoam, that's a brand so it would have a capital.

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                        Margaret Schindelposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                        Hi again, Sallybea -
                        
                        Marisa has given you excellent advice!
                        
                        In addition, one of the things that may be adding to your confusion about titles/subtitles/headings is that the field in the HubTool where you can enter a capsule's title is labeled "Capsule Subtitle" for some reason.
                        
                        Let me try to clarify title case vs. sentence case for you.
                        
                        When you edit a text capsule, there are two text entry fields (areas). The first is the "Capsule Subtitle" field at the top of the capsule, where you enter the title of the capsule. That title must follow the APA style guidelines for capitalizing titles/headings (for which I gave you the link earlier in this thread).
                        
                        The second is the large unlabeled field underneath where you enter the body of the text.*  The body of the text capsule must be in sentence case, i.e., the only words that should be capitalized are 1) the first word of a sentence and 2) proper nouns (as opposed to common nouns).  A proper noun is the name of a very specific place, person or thing, e.g., the United Kingdom, British Airways, Aston Martin, a Dell computer, Merino wool (because it is named after the Merino breed of sheep from which it is sheared), Queen Elizabeth, Sally, Marisa, Margaret. Proper nouns are always capitalized regardless of where they appear in a sentence
                        
                        Here's an example of how to apply title case to the title and sentence case to the body of one of the second text capsule of the Hub you asked for help with, "Quick and Easy Wet Felting With a Tumble Dryer:"
                        
                        A Little About Wool Batts
                        
                        - A drum carder is used to make a wool batt.
                        - Working with a batt is a bit like working with a blanket of fibres.
                        - In a batt, you will find several layers of fibres which all lay in different directions.
                        - Most will be similar to the ones which were used in this tutorial.
                        - The batts used in this tutorial consisted mainly of Merino wool, silk threads and a smattering of metallic thread which leave a delightful sheen when the item was held up to the light.
                        - The batts can easily be torn apart in small or large chunks and can be used just you need them
                        - A wool batt really does make the process of laying down the fibres very simple!
                        - Flat projects are a breeze and so too are projects which can be made just like this one.
                        - If you want to increase productivity and save time and energy this is definitely the way.
                        
                        The Use of Titles and Captions in Photo Capsules
                        
                        Again, this is intended to help clarify what Marisa explained to you if you are still confused.
                        
                        Photo capsules have the Capsule Subtitle field, where you would enter a title if you needed one for some reason. In general, it is advisable to leave that field blank,
                        
                        Since you are using your own photos, you may enter your name in the "Name of source (optional)" field or leave it blank and leave the "Source URL (optional)" field blank.
                        
                        [b]The one field that matters is the last field, "Caption (optional),"[\b] where you can enter a caption that describes what you want the reader to see/notice in the photo.
                        
                        I hope this, in addition to all the great advice you got from Marisa, will help you comply with the editor's requirements.
                        
                        * FYI, the formatting tools in the main text entry area for text capsules allow you to format a line of text as Heading 2 to create a subtitle. Since you aren't using subtitles, however, you don't need to worry about that option.

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                           sallybeaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                           Thank you for taking the time and trouble to explain this in so much detail.
                           I had one of my recent hubs edited so I should be armed with all the info I need to do it correctly. 
                           I note that they have retained the titles on all photos.  I edited them out in this Hub which I asked people to review.  They also kept all the capital letters in.
                           I think I prefer the photos being untitled and the info inside a text link but only time will tell whether this is the right thing to do.  It is interesting to note that the score went up after doing the edits I did do.
                           It should be interesting to see if this one goes through the process unscathed.

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                        sallybeaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                        Thank you, Marisa.  It is an excellent explanation and I am not sure why I even began writing the letters in capitals.  I  think it was the idea that those things were required as being items which were needed to be used in the tutorial. Sometimes I feel they look most odd when they are not capitalised but perhaps I am going to have to get used to it.
                        I note that you use the word fiber.  The spell check does not like that one bit.
                        I do appreciate the help you have given me, thank you so much.

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   Marisa Wrightposted 7 years ago

   I would spell it fibre, but I'm trying to use the American spelling (I think)

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      sallybeaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks, I have just seen that the hub in question was edited.
      It now has an interesting mix of capitals.  I think I will have to go back and change the capitals which have been missed and go from there.
      It has been an interesting if public view of showing my incompetence but I am grateful to at last understand what is required to get it up to standard.

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         Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         Incompetence is a strong word!   We all have our blind spots!   
         
         If a moderator has already edited the Hub then even if you think some bits aren't quite right, I wouldn't touch it again.   If they are happy with it, then that's good enough.

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            sallybeaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            Thanks Marisa.

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            Margaret Schindelposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            Once again, I concur with what Marisa said. Has the article been moved to FeltMagnet since the editor made her or his edits? If so, congratulations!

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               sallybeaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

               Yes, both articles were moved this morning.
               
               Thank you, Margaret.

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                  Margaret Schindelposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                  Wonderful news! Congrats!

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                     sallybeaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                     

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                  Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                  Yahoo!

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                     sallybeaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                       Thanks, Marisa.

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