Answers to a Writer’s Questions, Part 1: Getting Feedback on Your Writing
July 3, 2007 by Lillie
Table of contents for Answers to a Writer's Questions
- Answers to a Writer’s Questions, Part 1: Getting Feedback on Your Writing
- Answers to a Writer’s Questions, Part 2: Children’s Book on CD
- Answers to a Writer’s Questions, Part 3: Marketing a Children’s E-Book
In this series, I am going to answer specific questions posed by a reader in a comment to The Value of Writers Groups. Although the questions are specific to one writer, many other writers probably have similar questions.
Patti McQuillen wrote:
I am the webmaster of Gaslight Writers, a writing group for adults in the Louisville, Kentucky area. I am also a beginning writer and would like to know the best way to proceed. I have some short stories in the works, yet do not know how to get them reviewed to see what changes are needed. I am letting members of the writing group read and offer feedback, yet I really hope to get the feedback of other published writers.
The name of the writers group caught my attention because I work with GASLight Publishing, LLC, owned by friends Ken and Grace Anne Schaefer. But Patti raised some good questions, and I would have answered them even if I didn’t like the name of the group so much. 
Having fellow members of the writing group read and give feedback is a good first step. Here are a few more ideas to consider:
- Form a critique group of a few writers who meet regularly to read and critique each other’s work. For several years, three other writers came to my house once a week. We each brought three copies of a chapter of our current work-in-progress and distributed them to each of the other members. Then we talked about the chapters from the previous week. We went around the table and gave our feedback, and we returned the copy of the chapter with our comments. This worked because we all wanted honest feedback, and we trusted each other to give it. Each of us had different strengths, so together we gave a comprehensive evaluation of the work. If one person didn’t like something, the writer considered her suggestion and decided whether it had merit or not. If two people commented on the same thing, the writer considered the suggestions very carefully. And if all three pointed out the same concern, the writer knew she had to change it. It’s not easy to get the right group of people together - I’ve tried some other groups that didn’t work so well. Thomma Lyn at Tennessee Text Wrestling offers excellent advice on critique partners. Patti, you might suggest starting such a group to some of the other members of Gaslight Writers on a trial basis for a specified time period, maybe three months - long enough to get familiar with each other’s work and to become more confident in sharing, but with a finite evaluation point so you can dissolve the group if it’s not effective. Establishing some guidelines at the beginning will make success more likely: when and where you will meet, how you present work for critique (a copy for each member to read at home, reading aloud, etc.), and what you expect from the critiques. It doesn’t have to be only short-story writers in your case - members could either bring a short story or a chapter of a novel for critique.
- Look for an online critique group or partner. Writing World’s Critique and Discussion Groups page is a good place to start. Unfortunately, many of the links are no longer valid, but there are several sites to consider. The list of articles about critiquing at the top of page (though some of these are also obsolete) includes some good resources on how to critique as well as how to find or form a critique group. Writer’s Digest also offers a list of online critique groups, again with several dead links, and advice on finding the right online critique group. You can find more information - primarily aimed at children’s writers - at Writer’s Critique Groups: Where to Find Them, and there’s a link to another article on forming your own group. You can also join online writers communities and when you meet another writer that you think is a good candidate for a critique partner, ask her if the two of you can partner to read and critique each other’s work.
- Create a one-time (or periodic) critique exchange. One Christian agent recommends that before submitting to an agent, several writers get together and find people in their church to read their manuscripts and the manuscripts of the other writers in the group and give feedback. Obviously, this specifically applies to Christian books, but a similar approach could be taken in other genres as well - perhaps a reading group would be interested in reading an unpublished work and giving feedback. They might enjoy feeling like they are part of the process of getting the story or book published. While not published writers who can give you advice on specific techniques, readers can tell what they like as a readers. After all, a writer’s ultimate goal is to please readers. Patti, you might check with local libraries and bookstores to find out about reading groups and see if anyone is interested.
- Hire a professional editor or book doctor or offer to compensate a published author for a manuscript evaluation. Although I don’t recommend spending money for professional advice in the early stages of your writing career, at some point, you may want to invest in feedback from a professional. This can range from a simple manuscript evaluation pointing out the strengths and areas that need to be improved to a full edit. You may learn enough from having one story edited that you can improve all your stories.
I hope these suggestions help Patti and other beginning writers as well.
In the next post, I will answer Patti’s question about the children’s book CD she published.
Related Posts:
About Critique Groups
Beware of the Wrong Critique Groups
The Value of Writers Groups
Related posts:
- Beware of the Wrong Critique Groups Table of contents for Answers to a Writer's QuestionsAnswers to...
- Answers to a Writer’s Questions, Part 2: Children’s Book on CD Table of contents for Answers to a Writer's QuestionsAnswers to...
- Answers to a Writer’s Questions, Part 3: Marketing a Children’s E-Book Table of contents for Answers to a Writer's QuestionsAnswers to...
- About Critique Groups Table of contents for Answers to a Writer's QuestionsAnswers to...
- Answers to a Young Writer’s Questions Table of contents for Answers to a Writer's QuestionsAnswers to...
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Lillie, these are excellent suggestions. And I know they helped me as well. Although I’m not a beginning writer I am working on a book, which is something that I haven’t done before, and any tips and advice from other writers are very helpful. Thanks for posting this.
I’m glad you found it helpful, Michi.
I like the idea of hiring a published author or edits. The benefits of having someone who has gone through the paces makes good sense. Any thoughts on how much to compensate them?
Hi Robb,
I think the best way to approach a published author would be to ask if they would be willing your work and give you feedback, then add you will be glad to compensate them. An author may be willing to mentor you in this way and not charge anything - depending on how well you are acquainted and how busy they are. But most authors are very busy and frequently get asked for help from aspiring writers, so offering compensation is reasonable and demonstrates you are serious about your work. How much compensation will depend on the individual author and the depth of the evaluation. Reading and giving general feedback on the strengths and areas needing improvement of the manuscript would probably be quite reasonable from a published author who is not a a major bestseller.
Another great article! This is very valuable information for seasoned and entry-level writers. I think everyone can benefit from feedback.
Thanks, Laura. Feedback and another perspective on our work can help us all improve our writing.
Great advice Lillie. Thanks. Having been in several critique groups, I would add: don’t be afraid to leave a group. It sometimes happens that you find yourself in a group where personalities conflict or you feel you’re not getting the kind of advice or support you need. Whatever you’re reason, don’t feel as if you’re letting the group down if you leave. Do it nicely. Don’t just disappear and slink away, though. Also, one of the best groups I was with was one where I and a friend formed the group. We put the word out then interviewed people who wanted to join. We ended up with a strong group of five.
Helen,
Very good points. One time we had to ask someone to leave the group - we had been an effective group of four. A friend from a writers group asked to join her, and we agreed. Unfortunately, she was not a good fit. She was already published and the rest of us weren’t, and she acted like she knew much more than we did. Of course, she did, but her attitude came across as the great published author condescending to help poor unpublished writers who would never succeed without her help. It was a difficult decision for us to reach the decision that she had to go, and it really hard for me to tell her so. However, the group was saved - I don’t think we would have continued if she had stayed, and a couple of years later, she apologized for her behavior and actually thanked me for asking her to leave the group. I didn’t mention her attitude in our conversation - I just told her we thought the group worked better with four members than with five. She hadn’t realized how she came across, but after we asked her to leave the group, she did some soul-searching and realized she how she had acted. We’re still friends today - several years later. Sometimes either leaving a group or asking someone else to leave is the best thing for the group and the people involved.
Great info here, Lillie–very thorough coverage of the topic. This post should prove really helpful to any inexperienced–or even experienced–writer who wants to be sure to cover all literary bases before submitting his or her work for publication. Besides which, getting together with a group of other writers over a manuscript could just be great fun!
Jeanne
Thanks, Jeanne. You mentioned an important point I forgot - fun! Thanks for the reminder.
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What an excellent post! Lots of good advice and food for thought there. And thanks so much for the link love!
Thanks, Thomma Lyn. Your post was a perfect fit to include.
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