Comments on Wylie-Merrick Literary Agency: Critique Groups Two

Writers groups are great for the novice but since ...

2008-08-01T10:17:00.000-07:00

Writers groups are great for the novice but since they consist mostly of novices they do little for the more advanced writer. Novices make all sorts of mistakes they're not aware of and a writing group can help point those out. But it is hard to find critiquers who aren't just focused upon grammar and spelling.

I've belonged to CritiqueCircle.com since it started but I've found little help from the feedback I've gotten lately to bother much with it.

I had once been part of a writers' group. This wa...

2008-07-28T14:31:00.000-07:00

I had once been part of a writers' group. This was when I was writing a science fiction novel and the group was all science fiction writers. While everyone was in the same genre, not everyone was at the same level or had the same drive. We had two published authors, a couple wannabe authors (myself being one), and then an odd sort of people. The group formed out of a science fiction writing class (joined after it had formed and didn't take the same class as the rest) and met weekly. But some of the members wrote very little and mainly just like critiquing other members' work. Usually in a highly critical detailed way. It was as if they were on a ego trip and were more wannabe editors than wannabe writers. Still other members were HORRIBLE writers. One writer I couldn't even finish a single page of what he wrote. He called it experimental. I called it just mental.

I eventually left the group as I needed quicker responses from readers. Some days I would pump out a complete chapter and then it was the decision, "Do I wait to hear back from the group or press forward?" The group really didn't like getting more than a chapter from each member. For a bit, I just kept plugging away and giving the group a chapter a week while advancing on with the story. Eventually, I found my first beta reader (a grad student getting her doctorate in genetics) who kept up with me excellently. She would buzz through a new chapter and give me feedback the same day I gave the chapter to her.

Now I suppose if I was less prolific of a writer, the weekly meetings would have been more than enough. In fact, it seemed some members of the group took a couple months to just complete a single chapter. It probably all boils down to what works best for you. Writers' groups didn't for me but they might for someone else.

Thank you for the posts on Critique groups - I was...

2008-07-28T13:36:00.000-07:00

Thank you for the posts on Critique groups - I was one of the folks who had questions about online groups and whether those counted as published material. You're answers have been very helpful.

These are also some great ideas on finding beta readers.

The Beta reader...You hit that nail smack on the h...

2008-07-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

The Beta reader...You hit that nail smack on the head. And as Scott has suggested, their most important role is asking questions and/or deciding whether their own questions were sufficiently answered by the manuscript. I have a beta reader I trust immensely. She cuts right to the heart of the story and if something does work for her, she tells me. For her, it's all about the story. Fortunately, she is a quick reader, so I don't have to worry about the slow response rate.

I tried a critique group once, and it just didn't work for me. It wasn't a good personality or genre mix.

What I use beta readers for is to answer the follo...

2008-07-24T18:36:00.000-07:00

What I use beta readers for is to answer the following questions. What's working and what isn't? How the characters developing? Do you like the characers? Do the characters "breathe"? Breathe as seeming to be like real people. Are they interesting or boring? What do you expect to happen next? Is there anything that didn't make sense? Anything that destroyed the suspension of disbelief? How engaging is the story?

In the past, I have found my beta readers by asking my professional colleagues if they like the genre the book is in. If they say they do, I ask if they'd be a beta reader for me. I have ones that are into mysteries, others that are into science fiction, and still others that are into thrillers. I find these better as beta readers than family and friends.

Another way I have considered to get a good beta reader is from newsgroups. For example, rec.arts.mysteries. In addition to the benefit of being able to discuss your genre with them and after you are accepted as a regular, you can solicite and select a good beta reader from them. These people love the genre, are very well read in it, and know all the cliches. In fact, you can find out just how original your idea is by asking such a group. They will likely give you a list of books that have done the same idea and you can then read them to see how other authors have done that idea. By the way, I'm not sure there's a newsgroup for thrillers, but rec.arts.mystery has a lot of thriller/suspence readers so it is a good place to mine for a beta reader for that genre as well.

However, the biggest problem with beta readers is slow response rate. Your beta reader needs to commit to reading what you send quickly to get you quick feedback. This way you can make changes and progress forward. So when you hunt for one, you need one that is a fast reader and isn't too busy. If they use phrases like, "I will try to squeeze reading your stuff in my busy schedule", look for another beta reader.