Dzitya

Reference format

Hi Dzitya. I noticed you were asking about how to format references. Instructions are at WP:CITE, but the basic idea is this (you can see what code I used by pressing the edit button on this page):

Here is a fact I got from a newspaper. Here are some more bits of writing.

Now time for my reference list:

Hope that helps. Feel free to ask if you need any more help. Olaf Davis (talk) 16:25, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

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Welcome!

Hello, Dzitya, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are some pages that you might find helpful:

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I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your messages on discussion pages using four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically insert your username and the date. If you need help, check out Wikipedia:Questions, ask me on my talk page, or ask your question on this page and then place {{helpme}} before the question. Again, welcome! -- PhantomSteve (Contact Me, My Contribs) 16:33, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Incidently, I have done an insy-wincy bit of tidying up on your page. The next step is to work on those citations (which I see that Olaf Davis has mentioned above!). If you are not sure about the citation bit, others (such as myself or Olaf) can do that - but if you could put the actually websites on the page (even if you just type in http://domain.com/page.html) - then we can tidy it up for you!

It's great that you want to contribute to Wikipedia - the more editors the better! However, getting the articles just right can be tricky - but there are lots of people to ask!

If you have any questions, just click on the Contact Me link after my signature at the end of this section.

By the way, when you are writing on a discussion page (or someone's talk page), it is considered good manners to sign your comment... to do this, just add ~~~~ at the end of your comment. That will put your user name (Dzitya) and the date/time at the end. That is what I am going to do now: -- PhantomSteve (Contact Me, My Contribs) 16:33, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Your article

While your article remains on your user space, we can work on it - it won't get deleted!

Don't worry too much about formatting in the article - the way you've put the ancestry.com references is perfect - we can tidy up with no really bother!

With regards to the books, you don't need to look up each book - but if you can find a listing of them (preferably with ISBNs!) then we can use that!

Don't worry - you made a good start to the article, and we'll work on it to get it ready to go on to the main article space!

Oh, when you edit a page, you can see what it will look like by clicking on the Show preview button (see below) - and when you are happy (or ready to leave it, as you're pulling your hair out!) just click on Save page!

I'm working on another article at the moment, so I may not get time to look at yours tonight (I don't know where you are, but here it is 8:17pm) - but I will look at it tomorrow.

Regards, -- PhantomSteve (Contact Me, My Contribs) 19:18, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Hi again, thanks for your message on my talk page!

I am actually working on the article at the moment - I'll leave you a message here when I've done it, so that you can tell me what you think!

It doesn't matter that you need to be a subscriber for Ancestry to access the records - I am a member in the UK, but not with access to the US records - you just make a note that a subscription is required!

I think you did a good job with the article - especially for a newcomer to Wikipedia!

As I said, I'm in the middle of editing it at the moment, so I'll leave a message here when I've finished it (I actually started working on it about 4 hours ago - but then I've had a meal, gone out with my partner to buy paint, etc... and I've just got back!) - You have done a good job with your references, enough that I had all the information I needed to use them in the correct way!

Chat soon -- PhantomSteve (Contact Me, My Contribs) 20:12, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

When I was looking on Amazon, I came across these books by a Marcia Martin (for the other books, which you had on your list, some of them were listed as Marcia Martin, others as Marcia Levin). Could you confirm if they are by our Marcia Martin or not:

• • Southern Nights Jove Publications (Jul 1990) ISBN 978-0515103021
  • The Weigher Baen Books (Nov 1992) ISBN 978-0671721442 (co-authored with Eric Vinicoff)
  • South Of Paradise Jove Publications (Jun 1993) ISBN 978-0515111231
  • Riverbend Signet Books (Dec 1994) ISBN 978-0451180537
  • Dreamseeker Signet Books (Nov 1998) ISBN 978-0451180544

I won't put those into the draft article unless I can confirm that it's the same author!

I've almost done my current editing... nearly there! -- PhantomSteve (Contact Me, My Contribs) 20:28, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

Two comments: Firstly, from the genre of books, I don't think that the above are by our Marcia Martin. Secondly, it says that they lived in Rye, NY - there are two Ryes: Rye City, NY and the town of Rye, NY. Do you know which one is the correct one? (I've put it as the city - if you don't know, no worries, another editor might know!)

I've put up the current edit of the article - including an Author Infobox. It's a shame that we don't have her exact date of birth (if we did, we can have more info in the Infobox).

Let me know what you think of what I've done, and then we'll discuss where we will go next!

Again, let me complement you on your initial draft - even with my imput, there's still work to be done, but I think it's nearly ready to be put on the main wikipedia. Oh, don't worry about the red-links - they are articles that might be created in the future, if not then the red links can always be unlinked!

Just one final question - don't be offended, but I have to ask... the wording is your own work, isn't it? It hasn't been copied from a website? I'm only asking as that is a big no-no. Paraphrasing from a website is OK, as long as it is not too close to the original! To be honest, I've not closely looked at the tribute, but if it is too close, we can rewrite!

Anyway, let me know what you think of how it looks at the moment. -- PhantomSteve (Contact Me, My Contribs) 21:28, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

I think it is a fine idea to develop the article in your own 'sandbox" rather than putting it immediately into article space while it is in an incomplete state. Bio article often get tagged for speedy deletion as "WP:CSD category A7: unremarkalbe person, no claim of notability." At least a couple of reliable and independent sources (see WP:RS) would greatly decrease the likelihood of the article getting deleted. See WP:BIO and WP:AUTHOR. I checked Google News archive and besides the paid NY Times obituary, I only found newspaper article listing the books as new additions to the childrens' collections at various libraries. Reviews would help. I am quite familiar with some of the early books, which were favorites when I was small, and it seems likely that someone would have written something about some of the books and their author. I will be happy to help with the article if you need any assistance. Edison (talk) 21:31, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

I'll be away...

As per the message on my Talk Page, I will be away from Wikipedia for a week - I'll probably be able to check messages most days, but I won't have time to do much (if any) editing. Rest assured, I will continue to help with the article when I'm back! If I get opportunities during the week, I might be able to do the odd bit - but I can't promise anything! -- PhantomSteve (Contact Me, My Contribs) 22:12, 29 July 2009 (UTC)