Critique groups are a fun way to network and get some feedback on your piece. But being part of a critique group in an appropriate manner can be tricky sometimes. You don’t want to get zero benefit from being part of the group, but you also don’t want to have unrealistic expectations about what they can do for you.
What Critique Groups Are and Are Not
Writing critique groups are gatherings of people who love writing, whether or not they do it professionally, and want to fellowship and share with like-minded authors.
Therefore, submitting to your critique group is not the same as getting professional editing done.
Unless your critique group is made up of several, seasoned, professional editors, you are not going to get the same quality or consistency in feedback that you would if you were working with a dedicated pro on a single project. There are a few reasons for this.
- Critique groups don’t mimic natural reading patterns or environments. Most groups meet twice each month (some meet monthly, others may meet weekly). However, if someone decides to purchase and read your book, they will be doing so much more quickly. Sometimes in a single sitting of a few hours, depending upon how long your book is and how fast the person reads. So, reading a few thousand words twice each month in no way resembles how the average consumer will be reading your book. The gap between meetings, and the fact that more than one piece is being critiqued at those meetings, means that it’s easy for people forget what’s happened previously, confuse certain aspects of your work with other members’ submissions, or even miss sections of your submission (at read-aloud meetings) because a waiter came to take their order / they had to use the restroom / they were late to the meeting / they had to leave the meeting early.
- Group members may not be in your target market. Because I write in so many different genres, I run into this issue quite a bit. Just because critique groups are a convenient gathering of literature lovers, that doesn’t mean that every person in the group is part of your target market. If you are writing a YA mystery and only a couple of people in your group regularly read mysteries, and none of the people in your group are / read books geared toward young adults, that leaves a lot to be desired in the way of constructive criticism. That’s not to say that none of the feedback you get may be useful, but it’s not as helpful as focused, direct feedback from a professional who has experience writing and editing in your genre.
- Critique groups are inconsistent. Critique groups are normally voluntary and free to attend. This means that an ill-communicated school event, illness, depressive episode, or any number of other problems could arise to cause someone to miss a meeting. There are usually new people consistently rotating in and out as well. Some people may only attend one or two meetings because they find the group isn’t a good fit for them, their writing, or their schedule. Even if you come to every single meeting and submit every single time, the feedback you receive will inherently change simply because the number and types of people reading the submissions is not consistent. With a professional, there is no swapping out of personnel every couple of weeks.
When you are ready to get a professional editor, it’s helpful to actually hire a professional editor.
Your critique group is also not a place for you to get your ego stroked.
If you only like going to groups where you get pleasant feedback, it’s impossible for you to improve as an author. And if you don’t improve, neither does your writing or your business. Attending critique groups is like getting broad market research for a particular section of your piece. It’s a way for you to find out how people that don’t share a brain with you react to your work. That’s it. This can help you make overarching changes to your piece, such as adjusting a character’s arc or opening with a different scene than the one you originally intended to use.
But if you are just bringing your book to a critique group to hear praise, you are wasting your own time and the time of the critique group members. Getting defensive about what’s said to you about your piece, or getting feedback and then ignoring it, renders your critique group participation nearly useless.
Your critique group is not a place for you to sell your book.
For most people, this seems obvious, but I’ve run into quite a few new authors that think this makes sense. People in your writing groups are generally going to be supportive. So, when your book has completed the professional editing and design processes and has been prepped for sale and proofread, some of them will buy a copy if you let them know it’s available. That’s pretty common.
However, please refrain from submitting a sample for critique from your already-published book. There is no point to this. I understand that you may think it’s a promotional strategy, but it’s not a good one. When you submit from a book that has already been published:
- You take a spot away from someone looking for feedback on an actual work-in-progress. This is a tough thing to do to someone who is part of your literary support network. Unlike you, they haven’t published their book yet. They are trying to get to where you are. So don’t make your victory a loss for them by clogging up the submission queue with something that’s already on the market.
- You alienate the people who might otherwise have supported you. Some people may have been on the fence about buying your book for one reason or another (funds are short, not a genre they normally read, etc.). But when you annoy them by making them prepare to give you feedback on something only to find out that it’s already been published (and therefore their critique is virtually meaningless), you can kiss that possible sale goodbye.
- You brand yourself as selfish and inconsiderate. This unspoken label can stick with you for the remainder of your time in a group, even if you made an honest mistake and believed this was an appropriate promotion option. This can hurt you if you submit in the future because people may be less likely to read your submission at all, or less likely to put effort into giving you the kind of feedback you need to make your work stronger.
Please don’t ever, ever, ever do this.
Ever.
Seriously.
Where to Find Critique Groups
Some groups are focused on a particular genre (mystery, fantasy, nonfiction, etc.) or format (short story, poetry, and so on.), so don’t think these groups are “one size fits all.” Some groups are completely open, meaning they will accept submissions from just about any genre or format. This can be a great asset if you are someone who writes in multiple genres and formats like I do. Otherwise, if you plan on writing in a single category or format for all or most of your career, look for groups that focus on your genre in specific. For instance, if you only want to write romance novels, groups called things like “Romance Writers of Richmond” or “Lover’s Quill” will be better than “Action Screenplay Group” or “Lesbian Poets of Louisville.”
Places to search for writing critique groups:
When searching, use phrases like “critique group” or “writers group.” Also, pay attention to how frequently the group meets, when they meet (time and day), where they meet (how far away from you, virtually, etc.), and their submission guidelines. I have seen people who, for instance, sign up for groups that meet every Saturday at noon. Yet, they know that they’ve worked every Saturday from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. for the past 10 years. So…what was the point of signing up? Bizarre, I know. But people do it. I recommend you not be one of those people. Look at the gaps in your schedule (after work, before school, on the weekends, before work, etc.) and look for groups that meet at that time.
If you know that your current schedule doesn’t allow you to attend a certain group at all, let alone regularly, don’t ask to be a member / sign up for the meeting. It’s just a waste of everyone’s time.
How to Submit to Critique Groups
Some groups meet in person, others meet virtually, and some even do both. Be prepared either way by leveraging Google Docs, Dropbox, or your personal website. I’ll use Google Docs as an example here since that’s what I use. But the general process of uploading the submission to the internet and then sharing the link is the same no matter what platform you use (the details just might look a little different).
- Isolate the submission. Open a new Google Doc (or whatever platform you’re using). Select the segment of your manuscript that you want to share. Right click and choose copy or simply press Ctrl and C. In the new, blank document, right click and select ‘paste’ or press Ctrl and V. Title the piece as described in the submission guidelines for your group. For example, “Tenesha L. Curtis – Manifest Agony – 12-12-2087.” Don’t just leave it untitled or as the title of the book / screenplay. If you’re part of a ‘Read Ahead’ group, now is the time to download the piece as a Word document and upload it to the submissions folder for your group.
- Prep for sharing. In the upper right corner of a Google Doc, there is a “Share” button. Click this button. You’ll be given sharing options allowing you to give access to the document to other people. For sharing with critique groups, you can ignore the top box. That’s for if you want to share a document with someone like a co-writer. You want to click somewhere on the bottom box that says “Get link.” Click ‘copy link’ ( a little message will pop up saying the link has been copied) and then click the drop-down menu (a small triangle pointing down next to the word ‘restricted.’). Select ‘anyone with link can view.’ Then click ‘done.’ At the top of the file, be sure to add your email address so people know where to send their digital feedback. If you like, you can also add some contextual details such as the title, whether or not this is part of a series (and which number it is in the sequence), or what happened just before this scene. The most critical of all is the email address so that you can get the digital feedback, though. There often isn’t enough time for every single person on a call or in a meeting to speak at length about their suggestions. And that’s assuming that they want to speak aloud (or can) at all. If you have shy people or people who are certain physical impairments attending the meeting, they may only realistically be able to send you written feedback. Give them that option by being sure to include your email address.
- Save the link. You can use this same document again and again for your various meetings. Each time, you’ll just copy and paste a new section that you want to submit. Because of this, you can save this link so you always have it handy. Put it in your bookmark bar on your browser, email or text it to yourself, or keep it in a memo or notepad app on your phone.
- Share the link. Now you have the link that you can use to share with your group members. Do this by pasting the link in the comments on the meeting page or in the chat once the virtual meeting begins.
- Print. If you’ll be attending an in-person meeting or a hybrid meeting, print the document you just created. How many copies you’ll need will vary from group to group and session to session. However, five copies usually works for smaller groups (people can share, as needed). Larger groups may warrant 10 copies or more. But remember that, since you have a digital version, you can tell people to click the link in the comments section for that group session and they can read the submission on their phone, tablet, or laptop.
Group Formats
There are two common critique group formats that you’ll run into. Each has its own pros and cons and it’s up to you to figure out which one you like best, or if you want to join groups of different formats. I am part of both types and have been for years.
Read Ahead
These groups usually ask that you submit your selection at least a few days before the session. This gives people time to read, process, and critique your work over time.
What’s nice about this is that you get feedback that is more in-depth. Some members may even have the time to read the piece multiple times in order to strengthen the feedback that they will give you. These meetings also can feel a bit more relaxed because the reading has already been done and the gathering is simply about expressing feedback and exchanging ideas.
On the other hand, some people find these kinds of groups taxing because they may have multiple submissions that they have to read in only a week, sometimes less. If they are already busy, it can feel like an extra burden on their time. These kinds of groups are also not always the best at giving you surface-level feedback that you might be looking for. For example, if you’re trying to grab the attention of a producer you’re submitting your script to, you may want to know if people understand what was happening in the first five pages. But if people had the opportunity to slowly read the scene or read it multiple times, they may understand it because of that and not because it is particularly well written. This could lead to you having a false confidence regarding your writing talent in general or that scene in specific.
When considering joining a group that uses this format, make sure you’re going to have the time to read other people’s submissions. It takes a lot of the fun out of attending if you don’t know what anyone’s talking about because you didn’t read any of the selections. Also, remember that you benefit from reading selections and attending, even if you don’t have anything to submit. You get to practice critiquing work, which helps hone your editorial skills for your own piece. Also, you get to network with other writers, which can be beneficial in a number of ways later on in your book development process. Just like bringing your published book to a critique group, only showing up when you’ve submitted and / or never reading other people’s selections, you mark yourself as selfish and turn people off from wanting to support you when you need help.
Read Aloud
The second common format is to read the selection aloud in real time. No one will have seen the piece beforehand. This means the feedback will be “first blush” or “off the cuff” because people will likely read silently at the same speed that you read aloud.
This format is great when you are looking for initial reactions to a piece or overall impression, versus nuance and details. It also has the benefit of allowing you to compress the reading and feedback components all into the time slot for the meeting, as opposed to having to find time for the meeting in addition to finding time to read multiple selections from the members.
On the downside, printed copies of the submission are often expected, which means you need to either have a printer, or find one to use. And don’t forget some sort of fastener for multi-page submissions (staples, paperclips, binder clips, etc.).
So this kind of meeting can actually end up costing you a few extra dollars every session because of printing costs.
Reading aloud is also a point of anxiety for some people. If you’re already feeling nervous about submitting to the group, the idea of reading aloud in front of them may seem like a bit much. But remember that you can often find a friendly person who is willing to read your piece aloud for you so you don’t have to read your own stuff out loud until you’re ready.
When to Stop Submitting
Trying to submit every single word of your manuscript to a critique group is one of the most tedious, inefficient ways to groom your piece. I’ve tried it and I don’t recommend it. The first problem is that it would take forever if you have a book that’s tens of thousands of words long. Most critique groups only allow you to submit a few thousand words at a time. The other major problems are outlined above regarding the randomness of who will or won’t show up, the fact that none of your fellow members are professional editors, and that not everyone who is part of the group is part of your target market.
A critique group is simply too unreliable of a place to get the kind of expert, customized feedback you would get from a seasoned pro to enhance your work.
My recommendation is to use a critique group to go over the following:
- Openings. Submit the first few pages or the entire first chapter (this may take more than one session) to find out how interested people are in reading more or if there are barriers that are keeping them from feeling interested enough to carry on.
- Troublesome scenes. Many authors have particular types of scenes that are difficult for them to write. Pick out these kinds of scenes and submit them to the group. They could be sex scenes, murder scenes, fight sequences, or anything else you’re having trouble with.
- Endings. How you close a book is as important as how you open it. Taking the final scene to a critique group, especially if they haven’t read a lot of the earlier portions of the piece, can give you strong insight into how it’s working. People will likely have questions that someone reading the book from end-to-end won’t have. But, the fact that they ask them gives you a reason to go back and make sure that you’ve made that point clear throughout the book. For instance, if someone asks if your main character is in love with his own mother, go back and look at their interactions throughout the book. If you want the answer to be ‘yes,’ then make sure that you either hint at this love repeatedly or have it blatantly stated throughout the book. If you don’t want the MC to be in love with his own mother, review your entire piece to look for places where you may have accidentally given that impression so that you can alter or eliminate those moments.
If you only submit these kinds of scenes while you’re doing your self-revisions, you’ll probably only be submitting various sections of your piece for a session or two per WIP. Once you’re ready to move on to getting a professional manuscript evaluation, there isn’t much use in submitting to your critique groups. In theory, you could ignore the pro’s feedback and use the critique group feedback instead, but that will likely end up hurting your manuscript and meaning you spend money on a pro unnecessarily since you’re not putting much stock in what they have to say anyway (which would beg the question of why you hired them in the first place).
Go Anyway
Even when you don’t have something to submit, go to the group anyway. Don’t be selfish and short-sighted. Going to group on a consistent basis helps you build your author network. You get to know people and they get to know you. You help them with their work, even when you don’t submit, and that is the kind of gift people often try to find ways to reciprocate (or at least it can make them more willing to do favors for you like alpha reading or following you on social media). It also boosts your understanding of how people tend to react to certain scenes, statements, and styles. These are things that will help you become a more well-connected, savvy writer and self-reviser. Plus, for most groups, it’s just plain fun! 😀