Finding Feedback

Young Writer Writes:

I write poetry and some stories, and I have been told a few of them are really good. Is there some place you recommend I send them to get a professional opinion? Someone you trust that won't claim them as their own? If you have any ideas, it would be greatly appreciated.

Finding good feedback is one of the greatest challenges for all writers—but especially for young writers. First and foremost, I recommend that writers of all ages who would like to improve their craft seek out a local or online critique group before they ever send it out into the world. Take your work as far as you can on your own. That will allow you to make the most of professional feedback.

Feedback from a critique group is different from what you can get from your friends, your Mom, or the next door neighbor. The best critique comes from other writers who are as serious about craft as you are. It’s a reciprocal thing—you read their work, they read yours—everybody benefits.

You can find several previous posts on critique on my livejournal blog.

When you are ready for a professional opinion on your work, the biggest problem isn’t having your work ripped off. It’s the risk of being scammed. There are lots of so-called vanity presses, writing consultants, sketchy contests and bogus anthologies who are ready to take your money.  It’s difficult to make money with short stories and poems—especially as an unknown. But you shouldn’t be paying for the privilege of being published.

It may occur to you to send your work to your favorite author for evaluation. While many authors find ways to mentor others—  through blogs,  websites,  school visits, and workshops, most cannot take on the task of reading and evaluating your work.

One way to access professional feedback on your work for a nominal sum is through a writing workshop or conference. There may be workshops in your area through a community college, writing organization, or arts program. Often, writing conferences offer one-on-one consultations with an agent, writer, or editor for a fee. The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators is a national organization whose affiliates often sponsor regional writing conferences. 

A legitimate writing contest can be a way to see how your work measures up against other submissions. But, again—beware! Some contests have high entrance fees or are fronts for vanity anthologies.

InkPop is a networking site for writers and readers sponsored by Harper-Collins which provides an opportunity to have your work evaluated by Harper-Collins editors.

TeenInk sponsors a number of contests for teen writers.

And here’s a site with a list of teen writing contests.

Another way to get feedback on your work is to submit it for publication. Be aware, however, that book and magazine editors are not in the business of mentoring writers. If your work is accepted by a legitimate publication, you will get lots of feedback! In other words, it will be edited. If it is rejected, it is usually through a form letter that doesn’t tell you what is wrong or how to fix it. Most writers—myself included—have a whole file folder full of those.

There are markets that specifically seek teen writers. Here are some links to get you started.

Teen Ink is an online and print magazine written exclusively by teens 13-17. 

This is a Google directory search for resources for young writers and a site that lists best websites for young writers. 

            Again, do your due diligence in checking out any of these opportunities, and  Good luck!        

          

Forming Successful Critique Partnerships

Great—you’ve found a critique partner, or a group, or an ongoing workshop. Yes! You think. This is just what I need to reach the next level.
But there’s trouble from the start. Cassie submits a hundred pages every month, but does a perfunctory read of your 850-word picture book. Roy only shows up when he is on the schedule for critique. Roy’s erotica embarrasses Tom, who writes “clean teen” fiction.
Bitsy gets defensive whenever anyone makes a suggestion about her work, and it always turns into a big argument. She thinks the only person qualified to comment is Miranda, because she’s the only published author in the group. Bitsy is hoping Miranda will refer her to her agent. Of course, nobody ever has any suggestions about Miranda’s work, because it is just PERFECT.
Miranda quits after the first meeting. And within a month or two, everyone else does, too. What went wrong?
I’ve belonged to a number of critique groups over the years. Some lasted for years, others either imploded or were not a good fit for me.
I am currently active in three very different groups. One is online, the other two are in-person.

There are many different ways to structure a critique group, but making it effective and fair takes planning and effort on everyone’s part. It’s important to establish some rules and expectations from the start. You may need less structure than this, but here are some issues to consider up front.

Who will be in the group? Can anyone join or are there criteria as to genre, audience, or experience level? Is the group open to the public, e.g., new members can join at any time, or closed, to maintain continuity? Is there a limit as to size? How are new members admitted? Does the group have to agree or can any member invite someone? Do prospective members have to submit a writing sample?
Some groups include a mixture of new and established writers, which allows more experienced writers to mentor newbies. But there’s also the risk of losing pro-level writers who are not getting value back in the form of helpful critique. Long-lived groups depend on reciprocity—where all members have their needs met. I think it’s best to seek group members who exhibit the same level of focus and professionalism about the work.
It is not necessary for all members of a critique group to write in the same genre, but it is necessary for all members to take submissions seriously and offer useful critique, whether they write that genre or not. It is not helpful for another member to throw up his hands and say, “Well, I don’t feel qualified to read this because I just don’t get science fiction.” Good fiction, no matter the genre, has more commonalities than differences.

How will the work be submitted? Will it be distributed in hard copy to members for review at the next meeting? Emailed to members ahead of time? Read aloud at the critique meeting? There are pros and cons to each method. For instance, reading work at the meeting means there is little work to be done outside of the meeting, except for the writing. But it also means that time at the meeting will be taken up by reading. You may need to limit the number of works critiqued at a meeting, and the length of each work critiqued.
If submissions are read aloud, a good or bad reader can affect how the work is perceived. And “hearing” a work is different from reading it.

What will the process be? Will you meet in person or submit critiques online at your convenience? If in person, will critiques be written? Verbal? Both? Do members want line edits or global feedback only? Can a member submit every month or is there a schedule? Are all group members expected to critique every submission? At the meeting, will you go around the circle, making sure everyone is heard from, or will it be a matter of who speaks up? Is the author expected to remain silent during the critique or not? You may think, why shouldn’t the author be allowed to speak? But it can shut down feedback (not to mention take up a lot of time) if the author argues and defends and explains every point. Will there be a discussion leader at the meetings? That can help keep the meeting on track, on time, and discourage off-topic side conversations. Is it the same leader at every meeting, or does it rotate? Is social time planned into the meeting, or is it all business?

What are the expectations of group members? Will the group meet at the same time and day each month or will it vary depending on member schedules? Are all members expected to be at the meetings, except in unusual circumstances, or can they come and go, depending on their interest in the work at hand? If members don’t attend the meeting, are they still expected to forward critique to the submitters for that month? Are all members expected to submit, intermittently at least? (This may seem obvious, but I once belonged to a group that broke up because some members critiqued, but never submitted.) We learn both by giving critique and receiving it.
Finally, it may take several tries to find a group that is a good fit for you in terms of membership, process, genre, and work ethic. One group may be primarily a social group, another may be a nest of literary barracudas, a third may focus almost exclusively on a genre that you don’t write. If you write novels, a monthly critique meeting with a ten-page limit is not going to work well for you in terms of getting feedback on the entire work.
Be persistent. If you want critique, find a path that works for you, even if it means organizing a group yourself.

Critique Links
You will notice that a lot of these resources are related to science fiction and fantasy writing. That’s because SFF writers have a long history of workshop critiquing.
Longridge Writers Group
This site covers rules of critique as well as guidelines for managing critique group problems
http://www.longridgewritersgroup.com/rx/st01/starting_a_critique_group.shtml
Turkey City Lexicon
Site directed at science fiction and fantasy writers, but all writers will see themselves here (and have a good laugh too)
http://www.sfwa.org/writing/turkeycity.html
http://www.fictionfactor.com/articles/critiquing.html Tips for the actual process of critiquing
James Patrick Kelly’s article on Writing Workshops
http://www.sfwa.org/bulletin/articles/workshop.htm

When and Where to Find Critique

In  a previous post, I discussed the benefits of getting feedback on your work before you take it to an agent or editor. 
There are a number of ways to get feedback on your work, including hiring a freelance editor or signing up for a writing class or paid workshop with a writing professional. But here I’m talking about peer critique—a reciprocal process where writers read and critique each other’s work and so improve through the process.

When should you seek feedback/critique on your work?

For some writers, early critique can be a story killer. Writing a first draft and revising it are two separate skills. Those writers will want to finish the entire project and do a first revision before showing it to anyone else.

For others, early feedback can help set them on the right path. The right critique group can help them see the potential in their story.

In order to make the most of a critique opportunity, I think it’s best to honor your readers with fairly polished work. You don’t want your expert readers to spend their time on line edits, grammar and spelling. Take your work as far as you can on your own—then seek help from others.

If you are actively publishing, deadlines must be considered also. If you want the benefit of critique before you submit your final manuscript to that editor or agent, that timing will be a factor.

Where can you find feedback?

Writing organizations, such as the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, the Romance Writers of America, the Mystery Writers of America, and the International Women’s Writing Guild often sponsor local chapter meetings and online and in-person critique groups.  These groups may require membership in those organizations, but should welcome visitors for a few meetings.

A Google search on “writers Cleveland OH” turned up links to the Lit, a home-grown writing organization that sponsors book clubs, workshops, and classes, the Ohioana Library, which focuses on Ohio writers, and the Ohio Center for the Book, associated with Cleveland Public Library.

            Local libraries and bookstores often host writing workshops and meetings, and may know of writers meeting in your area. Sometimes a workshop can grow out of a writing class or program. One of my first critique groups grew out of a fiction-writing class I took at a library. We continued to meet for more than ten years.

Some writers don’t belong to a formal critique group at all. They may have a few trusted readers who provide that service. It may be tempting to ask your spouse or siblings to read, since they are conveniently at hand, and may be willing and interested. As a writing professional, however, ask yourself whether they are the best readers for your work. And whether the feedback from that reading might damage a valuable relationship.

Future post: Strategies for Successful Critique

Links to Writing Organizations

Here are some links to get you started.

Local Writing Organizations by state on Squidoo: http://www.squidoo.com/localwritersassociationsbystate

List of  National Writing Organizations on Novelspot:

http://novelspot.net/node/1154

And ebook crossroads:

http://www.ebookcrossroads.com/writers-associations.html

Some Genre-Related Writing Organizations

http://www.mysterywriters.org/

http://www.rwanational.org/

http://www.sfwa.org/

http://www.scbwi.org/

The Importance of Critique

When advising aspiring writers, I always suggest that they find a way to get feedback on their work. There’s only so far you can take your work all by yourself.
And better you deal with that adverb addiction or propensity for purple prose before your work goes to an editor or agent. They most likely won’t offer critique—they’ll just say no.
You may be tempted to send your manuscript to an author you admire and ask for feedback. But as I pointed out in a previous post, most authors simply cannot take this on.

That said, finding the right kind of feedback is easier said than done. First of all, you have to be honest with yourself about what it is you want. And then you and your critique partners need to be on the same page, so to speak. If you want somebody to tell you what a genius you are, well, there’s always Mom (you take after her, after all.)
If you want to improve as a writer, you’re looking for something a little more directive than that. Something that will let you know very clearly what is and isn’t working, without breaking your writer’s heart.
What is often overlooked is that critiquing other writers’ work and hearing other viewpoints and voices also helps you grow as a writer. One important lesson to learn, early on, is that readers bring their own tastes, skills, and sensibilities to the table. And that not everyone will connect with what you write.
More than that, writing is a lonely and potentially soul-shattering business. Spouses may be supportive, friends empathetic, but sometimes only another writer can understand what it’s like to receive a seven-page editorial letter on the novel it took you five years to write. Or have your heart’s work rejected for the sixteenth time. Or have an agent tell you, “I didn’t love it.”
They can answer those questions that begin with, “Is it just me or…?”
Only another writer knows that your troubles aren’t over when you find an agent; when you find a publisher; when your first book is successful.
Other writers can help you recognize and celebrate your successes—even if that success is a personal note from an editor or agent scribbled on a rejection. Your spouse may say, “Um. But it’s still a rejection, right?” Your critique partners will know that it represents progress along the continuum to publication.

I used to belong to a critique group that had a little Snuffleupagus totem we passed around to the writer who’d received the most humiliating rejection that month. For example, it might be the one who had been rejected by the publisher with the lowest standards, had received the most impersonal, crooked, multiply-copied form letter or the most caustic scribbled remark. Like the newspaper editor who scrawled, “I DON’T THINK SO, MRS CHIMA!!!” across the article I’d submitted on spec. Or the editor who told my friend, “If it were possible to publish everything, we would have published yours.”


In a future post: where to find critique.