So I am beyond excited that so many of you are willing to volunteer for a public critique here on the blog. Y'all rock! I think this is going to be a great exercise for everyone. I know we can all learn from each other.
Now, as the comments rolled in yesterday I realized--oh, I should probably make some sort of guidelines or rules. Ha. Maybe should have thought of that a bit earlier, but better late than never, right?
And so, the rules, my friends...
1. Participants can submit 500-750 word passages to me via email. (Click on the blue @ under my picture). I think that will be a good length to start with. I know commenters don't have a ton of time to spend, so I don't want the passage to be too long. You can submit from anywhere in your manuscript but getting your opening critted will probably be of most value.
2. Please put in the subject line FOR BLOG CRIT and submit attachment as .doc, .docx or .rtf format. Please DOUBLE SPACE with 12 point font.
3. Please cut and paste this form and fill it out to include in the email:
Title:
Genre:
Do you give me permission to post this passage publicly on the Fiction Groupie blog?
Do you give permission for me to use Scribd format to post your crit in PDF form on this blog? (All Scribd documents will be kept as private in Scribd system. No one will have access except here on the blog.)
What theme song would you like for your post? If you don't choose one, I'll pick one for you.
Do you want this posted anonymously or do you want your name/link listed on the post?*If you do not give permission in questions 1 or 2, I'm sorry, but will not be able to crit your work.*
4. All authors will have the choice to remain anonymous or to reveal themselves (see form above). The author will also get a word version of my crit emailed to them after the blog post.
5. All commenters will agree to be constructive and honest in their feedback. We are writers who are being supportive of each others journey, so no ugliness, mmm kay? If you cross the line, I will delete you like an unnecessary adverb.
6. If an author decides they want their passage pulled down at any point, just let me know and I will remove it.
7. Passages will go up on a first come basis, so when I get your email, you will be put in queue. I will let you know when yours is going to be up.
8. The format will be the following:
Title:
Genre:
The unedited passage (so people can read it through without being influenced by my opinion)
Then my crit of it in Scribd format, which will look like this (you should be able to click on view full screen and once you're in full screen right click to zoom so you can read it--please let me know if that's not working):
Then you guys can add your own comments.
9. All genres except non-fiction and poetry will be accepted (memoir is fine). If the submission is erotic romance/erotica, please be sure the excerpt is appropriate for my PG-13 blog. (Cursing is fine, but will be bleeped out via #$*&.)
10. These rules are subject to change as we learn more. This feature can be discontinued at any time, which may mean your work doesn't get critiqued.
For now, I'm going to try this out as a Tuesday/Thursday feature. The success of this will be dependent on your level of participation. So beyond volunteering to be critted (which is awesome), please take the time to read through people's passages and offer feedback. If nothing else, you'll get writer karma points. ;)
Alright, so what do you think? Am I missing any issues? Do you think any of the above is going to be a problem? Is the Scribd format easy to read when you open it (I'm trying to find the easiest way to present the crit--blogger isn't so friendly for that)?
And finally...submissions are OPEN! So email me to get your passage in queue! Thanks guys, I look forward to reading everyone's work. :)
