User talk:Mkazukiewicz

Welcome!

Hi Mkazukiewicz, welcome to Wikipedia! Thanks for asking about starting a new article. It's actually ideal for a person writing an article to not be connected to the subject of the article — otherwise you can run into Wikipedia's conflict of interest rules (Wikipedia:Conflict of interest). There's no requirement that you have any special knowledge before starting to draft a new article, just willingness to do research and follow guidelines. Read Help:Your first article and familiarize yourself with the rules for articles about living people: Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons. Happy to answer questions. Dreamyshade (talk) 15:19, 28 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hi! As a followup, here are a few suggestions for additional sources to include in the article you're working on. You'll want to find more like this if you can, to show notability:

Forbes article (2007) - this is useful because it has a fair amount of biographical detail.
NYT article (2007) - this portion could be useful: "Mr. Strassler made his fortune in the oil business, then joined the board of what is now Bard College at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington, Mass., and returned to a passion for Greek history that he first explored as a Harvard undergraduate."
WSJ (2007) - I don't have access to this, but it might have something useful.
Claremont Review of Books (2009) - sometimes reviews can be useful.
Harvard Business School profile (1997) - this isn't ideal because it's not really an independent secondary source (it's meant to be flattering toward alumni), but it could be used as a reference for non-controversial statements.
Harvard Business School note (2007) - similar to above.

Dreamyshade (talk) 01:07, 10 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

This is great. Thanks for this follow-up. You found some of these things I hadn't found. I have to admit, I am a little unclear about what constitutes a reliable source sometimes. For instance, for the list of books in the Landmark Ancient Histories series, is his publisher (Penguin Random House) considered reliable? I would think so, but I thought I saw somewhere that the source should be non-commercial (or some such). (Can you guess I usually tend to overthink things?)

Some other sources I had found (some better than others, but each potentially adding a little more to the pot) include:

• a page about him at writerreps.com (Robert B. Strassler)

• a page about him at Shakespeare & Company (Bob Strassler - Shakespeare & Company)

• a page about the LAH at Landmark Ancient Histories

• his Goodreads page (Robert B. Strassler)

• a page about him at Fresh Fiction (Robert B. Strassler)

I've also attempted to avoid quoting any of these sources directly, preferring to keep the article in my own words and limiting myself only to facts.

Again, thanks for your research. You've gone above and beyond. Mkazukiewicz (talk) 12:56, 10 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Check out Wikipedia:Reliable sources for some background, including that you're expected to consider context. Wikipedia prefers sources independent of the subject (Wikipedia:Independent sources), but yes, for a list of the books in a series, I'd consider the publisher's website to be a reliable source of that information. On the other hand, they may not be a reliable source of information about something like the scholarly reception of a book, since they're motivated to sell books.

The pages at WritersReps, Shakespeare & Company, and Fresh Fiction probably can't be used for much in a Wikipedia article, since they look like self-published sources but aren't clearly published by Strassler: Wikipedia:Identifying and using self-published works - see also Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons#Avoid self-published sources and Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons#Using the subject as a self-published source. However, you could use his own website (Landmark Ancient Histories) in limited ways according to those guidelines. I wouldn't use the Goodreads page for anything - see Wikipedia:Reliable sources#User-generated content. Dreamyshade (talk) 16:16, 10 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Well, I'm slowly moving along, and I'm trying to create a citation for the NYT article you suggested, but I get the message "We couldn't make a citation for you." Is this one of the types of source materials that aren't acceptable? Mkazukiewicz (talk) 15:46, 7 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Ah, that message means that the "automatic" citation tool couldn't import citation information for the article. You can still create a citation for the NYT article using the "manual" option within the citation tool. This page might be helpful: Help:Introduction to referencing with VisualEditor/2. Dreamyshade (talk) 18:17, 7 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Got it. Now that I've finished, how do I get it from my sandbox to being an actual article for review and approval? I must have done this before, since it did get rejected (even though at that time I thought I was just saving a draft for myself.) Mkazukiewicz (talk) 20:19, 7 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Never mind. I see I was not originally editing my page in my sandbox. I'll just copy all my edits into the draft. Mkazukiewicz (talk) 20:22, 7 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, that's a good approach. At the top of Draft:Robert B. Strassler you can click the button to resubmit for review if you're ready. Dreamyshade (talk) 03:01, 8 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

While tidying up the citations just now, I realized there's another way to strengthen it further: you could find and cite additional independent book reviews from reputable publications, at least one for each book, especially reviews that discuss Strassler's editorial approach in some way. I added a couple from the Bryn Mawr Classical Review as examples. You could also create a section that summarizes critical reception of his work. This essay has some helpful tips: Wikipedia:Copyediting reception sections. Dreamyshade (talk) 18:51, 8 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I should also mention: from my perspective, this draft is well on its way! Integrating material about critical reception of his editorial work would contribute to WP:NPOV as well as providing further evidence of notability - see Wikipedia:AUTHOR.

I hope you consider working on other articles as well, as time allows. For example, you could integrate some of the same sources into Landmark Ancient Histories. Dreamyshade (talk) 19:02, 8 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for your follow up. I was thinking on the possibility of delving into the idea of beefing up the Landmark Ancient Histories page as well.

I'm not a professional non-fiction writer (or, at the moment, a professional fiction writer either). As neither, allow me to say that I never truly appreciated just how much work went into crafting the simplest Wikipedia article. It certainly gives one a "warm-fuzzy" feeling about the trustworthiness of Wikipedia. Mkazukiewicz (talk) 11:37, 9 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Great! Few Wikipedia editors are professional writers - I'm not either. But with collaboration and peer review, a lot of articles turn out pretty decent. I published the draft article, since I believe it meets Wikipedia standards now: Robert B. Strassler. Could always be better! Dreamyshade (talk) 19:36, 9 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Awesome. I'll keep at it as time allows. I appreciate all of your help. I've learned a lot since I began this endeavor. Mkazukiewicz (talk) 11:23, 11 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Your submission at Articles for creation: Robert B. Strassler (September 9)

Your recent article submission to Articles for Creation has been reviewed. Unfortunately, it has not been accepted at this time. The reason left by DoubleGrazing was:

This submission's references do not show that the subject qualifies for a Wikipedia article—that is, they do not show significant coverage (not just passing mentions) about the subject in published, reliable, secondary sources that are independent of the subject (see the guidelines on the notability of people). Before any resubmission, additional references meeting these criteria should be added (see technical help and learn about mistakes to avoid when addressing this issue). If no additional references exist, the subject is not suitable for Wikipedia.

Please check the submission for any additional comments left by the reviewer. You are encouraged to edit the submission to address the issues raised and resubmit after they have been resolved.

If you would like to continue working on the submission, go to Draft:Robert B. Strassler and click on the "Edit" tab at the top of the window.
If you do not edit your draft in the next 6 months, it will be considered abandoned and may be deleted.
If you need any assistance, or have experienced any untoward behavior associated with this submission, you can ask for help at the Articles for creation help desk, on the reviewer's talk page or use Wikipedia's real-time chat help from experienced editors.

DoubleGrazing (talk) 14:54, 9 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, Mkazukiewicz! Having an article draft declined at Articles for Creation can be disappointing. If you are wondering why your article submission was declined, please post a question at the Articles for creation help desk. If you have any other questions about your editing experience, we'd love to help you at the Teahouse, a friendly space on Wikipedia where experienced editors lend a hand to help new editors like yourself! See you there! DoubleGrazing (talk) 14:54, 9 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]