Critique Group
Critique Groups: the ups, the downs, and landing somewhere in between
I joined a social media challenge for December where one of the topics is Critique Partners and Feedback. As I began planning my posts, I found I had a good deal to say about this topic, so I thought I’d write on my blog.
Feedback is critical to a writer’s process. It helps them grow, develop their voice, understand what a reader will expect from a story, and overall hone their skills. I speak from personal experience. I (for one) relish the process of gaining honest but constructive criticism on my stories. However, I have been told that I am not the average writer when it comes to such things.
Perhaps my enjoyment stems from years working in a corporate environment and in project teams to deliver a product. Feedback is something that comes with any business, whether it be a corporate job or something creative you’re planning to take to market. Therefore, I maintain that in writing, it’s necessary and will end up creating a much better product in the end. Although, that stance comes with a warning. Finding the right criticism can be a huge challenge.
Let’s first talk about where a writer might go about getting feedback
Local or Online Groups for Critique & Feedback
Critique groups are an age-old way of gaining feedback on your writing. I’ve participated in a number of these. Some have more strict rules than others, but if you can find your tribe, this might be the way for you to go.
I’ve participated in some that allow up to 10K words per submission and others that only allow 3K. One I joined limited each critique delivery to 3 minutes. Many can span genres, so you might find Mystery Writers, Romance Writers, and Sci-Fi Writers all in one group. Others might limit the genre. The rules of the group are something that almost becomes a culture, but there is one universal rule I’ve found in every critique group:
Don’t defend or argue against the critiquer.
You might find this kind of group on meetup.com or by asking around at your local library. I tried several before I found one that works for me. If you try this route, listen first, get a feel for the group, then give before you receive. It will establish a sense of community and make the experience more rewarding for everyone.
These days, they’re all likely meeting online, but my favorite way to meet is in person. There’s just an energy that buzzes around the room when a bunch of writers are locked inside and talking about the craft.
I have one challenge with these regular groups. My group accepts between 3k and 4k words per submission. We meet every 2 weeks. I write much faster than that. So, if I have a 95K word novel, it will take me 26-28 sessions to get through that novel. That’s a year or more.
Online Critique Platforms
There are a number of these out there. I’ve tried Critique Circle and Scribophile. I find that these platforms are a good way to get the basic intuition as to if a story will work or not. It also allows you to see what others are saying about a story (yours or possibly another’s) in an inline manner. Given that I’m someone who learns from seeing examples, this was immensely helpful in my early days when I wondered if the piece I wrote held any intrigue.
The way these platforms typically work is that you critique stories to earn credits so that you can post your own story to get it critiqued. Simple enough, huh?
I found 2 challenges with these platforms:
- Written feedback only gives you partial understanding of how the story is working. If you talk to any communication instructor, s/he will tell you that communication is less than 10% actual words and mostly body language, etc. I found that accurate in this case. My delving into the online world lasted about 6 months before I went in search of a group.
- It’s a lot of work to provide well-thought-out feedback on someone’s story. When that effort is not reciprocated, it makes it not seem worthwhile. Note: This can be resolved with putting in the effort to make connections. However, it never resolved #1 for me.
Critique Partners
I must say, if you can find the right one, this is a goldmine. It took me a long time to find someone who thinks about writing and stories in a similar way as me. But once I did, it’s an absolutely brilliant experience.
The pros of using a partner for feedback:
- They help you work through specific questions or problems you’re having.
- It’s a one-on-one communication path rather than a group, so you can tailor what feedback is desired and delivered.
- It can also be more flexible in schedule.
- It builds a trusted relationship (assuming the writers are both putting in equal effort)
The challenge:
- Finding the right one. <<That’s a heavy statement.
- Understanding yourself as a writer: To effectively partner with another writer, you need to be clear on your own goals in writing. This will help you help them to give you appropriate feedback.
- Aligning schedules. This is relatively minor though if both parties are interested.
- Asking. So, you’ve found someone you think might work. Now, you have to build up the courage to ask them and discuss how it will work. This is the “putting yourself out there” part, and it can be hard… But trust me, it’s well-worth it.
“I need a partner pronto!” you may be saying. I stumbled on this forum that appears kind of promising for that: Critique Partner Matchup. If anyone out there is on it, leave me a comment below. I’m curious if it works well.
Paid Beta Readers
This is an option, and one that I have used. If I’m going this route, I typically head over to fiverr.com and search for Beta Reader. It helps to include the genre in your search terms too. I’ve had some great success with this. It works faster than most other methods and can get you some really thorough feedback. The one drawback…you’re paying for the service. If you view your author career as a business though, that might not be an issue.
Feedback through developmental editing
This is the crème de la crème, and probably the way to get to the end product the quickest. It’s probably one of the most thorough ways to flesh out your story and craft it in a marketable way.
The Pros
If you find the right developmental editor, they will help you craft your novel in a way that’s the most marketable. In theory, the service should pay for itself in the end. However, reaching the right readers will be your next challenge. And that can be expensive too. Most of us are on a budget, so if you’re not prepared to sink equivalent or greater dollars for marketing, this might not be for you.
The Challenges
- Cost: Developmental Editing, according to the Editorial Freelance Association, costs for a 95K word fiction novel could range from $2,850 to $3,705. Keep in mind: this does not include copyediting and proofreading.
- Finding the right one can be hard. You want to ensure the editor has experience with your genre and credentials to help you craft your story toward your market. For this, I’d recommend going to a local professional editors association or through EFA (linked above) to find someone with the correct credentials. If you live in the Minneapolis area (or even if you don’t), check out the Professional Editors Network. There is a directory on there that I’ve had good luck with for copyediting.
In Summary
Finding the appropriate feedback mechanism, whether it be a critique partner, in-person group, online group, beta reader, or editor, is a strongly personal journey. Any of the options listed can help you develop the logic within your story. I’ve tried all of them at one point or another. What I find works best for me is a combination:
- An in-person group (aside from Covid times) to get the writer’s energy that comes with the group environment
- A partner for things I want to dive deeper into, brainstorm on, and basically offer moral support in getting it done
- Paid beta readers for things I want to drive more quickly toward production
A related resource…
If my blog about critique support has been helpful, perhaps you’d like to look at this article about ensuring the point of view you use in your writing matches the expectations of publishers. I find that romance authors have to tune into this more closely to deep POV than many other genres, so Beth’s article is worth the read for all genres.
An Author’s Guide to Point of View Writing
by Paranormal Romance author of The Guardians’ Trust Series, Beth Linton.
Share your feedback!
What are your thoughts? Did I miss anything? Do you have a similar experience or different?
Comments (1)
Great post as always. I couldn’t agree more about finding the right partner!