Posted: 07 Apr 2014 03:00 AM PDT
I had the
darndest conversation with an online acquaintance. When I remarked how
important critiques were for a manuscript, she sniffed and said it
wasn’t nice to put down another’s ms.
I said, “But...but, you gotta have critique partners? Someone to read your words.”
She came back with, “My family said my book was good. I don’t need someone else to point out grammar or punctuation mistakes.”
I
dropped the conversation thread after that. Well, actually, they kicked
me out of the forum but, as Alton Brown would say, that is another
show.
It is simply this: critique partners/betas find the problems before you self-publish, before you hit the send button to that agent or editor.
Betas or critique partners
look for sneaky typos, flow, grammar, incomprehensible sentences.
Sometime it is how long a sword should be, where Stonehenge is located,
and what season it is in Australian when it’s winter in the US. Plot and
believability is crazy-important. You want to know what is going on in a
reader’s mind at a critical point in the manuscript. They see the
places you missed, give second opinions so the writer can compare them.
Writers need someone to read their mss. Even experienced ones. Look at
the acknowledgements on any famous book.
But how to find these elusive creatures?
Here are the rules to finding and being a good critique partner:
Genre. If you hate fantasy, then I doubt critiquing it will appeal to you. Find someone with the same interests.
Experience. The
person closest to your writing knowledge. Critiquing a ms that is way
below or way above your level is frustrating for both of you. Don’t do
it. If you can't find a person who is close to your level of expertise,
pay an editor to read your ms instead.
Publishing experience. This
is a bonus. If you can find someone who knows what makes a good
book—plot, character arcs, structure—then this is you Pearl of Great
Price. You want someone who knows what makes a book come alive.
For the one reading the ms, I
say the most important aspect is be genuine. Be honest. Give what you
can in time and expertise but don’t be cruel in your remarks. That is no
help to anyone.
My
hardest task is telling an author the truth, that I don’t find their ms
interesting. I hate using the phrase, “This isn’t for me”, but it has
happened.
So, preaching is over. Time to begin the search. Here are
some sites to try:
Twitter
Tomorrow, we go back to critiquing. Send your queries.
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