How to Find and Be a Great Critique Partner (Plus Critique Partner Match Up Guidelines)

by Adventures in YA Publishing

Last week Thursday, we announced our upcoming Critique Partner Match Up, and talked a bit about what being a critique partner entails. This week, I’d like to talk a little about how to ensure you find the right CP for you, and how you can work on being the right CP for someone else.

To recap from my previous post, some of the practical roles a CP fills are those of…

an editor
a sounding board for ideas
a staunch promoter of your work
a shoulder to cry on (even if the shoulder and the crying both happen virtually!)
someone to celebrate successes with
a friend to keep you grounded when the ups and downs of writing life get overwhelming

It can be tough to find someone who will fill all those roles in a way that works for you. There are a number of questions you can ask potential CPs to discern whether or not you’d work well together. For instance…

What is your preferred method of communication? Phone, email, text, Google+, semaphore?
How do you prefer to give and receive feedback? Straight to the point or plenty of sugar to help the medicine go down?
At what point in the writing process do you want CP feedback? As you write? After one draft? After a draft and a round of edits? At what point in the writing process do you want to give CP feedback?
What genre(s) and/or categories do you write in? Do you plan to write in other genres/categories in future?
What do you think is a reasonable time frame in which to expect editorial notes on a manuscript to be completed?
Are you a cat person or a dog person?

Some of these questions you may not have to ask straight out–you may discover the answer to them organically. For instance, I was introduced to one of my CPs by another CP, and so knew going into our first MS exchange that she was looking for a critique partner who’d offer honest and constructive criticism, but do so in a gentle way.

In order to BE a great CP that other writers want to keep around for as long as possible and enjoy working with, there are some things you’ll need to do on your end, and that hopefully your CP love match will do as well!

Be honest about your expectations going into a potential CP relationship. Politely let people know what sort of feedback you prefer and what kind of time frames for feedback returns seem reasonable to you.
Be honest and open if a problem arises. If you said you’d have feedback to a CP by the end of the month but had a number of personal issues crop up that mean there’s no way you’ll get it back by then, let them know as soon as possible.
Be honest if things aren’t working out. It’s okay to amicably part ways. You’re not legally bound to each other in a court of critique partner law (though I have a couple of CPs I would love to ensure stay with me for all eternity).
Does it seem like there’s an emphasis on honesty and open communication here? That’s the most important thing in a CP relationship. The next most important is this: a little bit of kindness makes the world go round. Treat others the way you want them to treat you!

I hope that gives you a bit more of an understanding of what it takes to find and be a great critique partner. Next week Thursday our match up will begin–you’ll be able to email your entries for the match up anytime between Thursday the 18th and Sunday the 21st. Instructions as to how to do so will go live first thing in the morning on the 18th, so be sure to check back here next week.

On August 25th, all Critique Partner Match Up entries will appear as individual blog posts on the dedicated Adventures in YA Contests website, found here. I’ll create an index post which will be the first thing you see when you visit the contests website on the 25th. From there, you’ll be able to quickly navigate to entries that interest you.

Now, listen up, because this part is important!!! If you find a writer you want to exchange chapters with, you will need to comment on their entry, leaving some way of contacting you (website, email address, Twitter handle, etc). For those who submit entries to the Match Up, please be sure to bookmark the post for your entry and to check the comments in case someone’s interested in making a CP love connection with you 😉

As aforementioned, instructions for emailing your Critique Partner Match Up entries will be posted the morning of the 18th. It is open to writers of all categories of fiction–Adult, New Adult, Young Adult, and Middle Grade.

That’s all for now, and I can’t wait to watch some CP soulmates find each other on the 25th!

Adventures in YA Publishing

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Posted: Aug 11, 2016

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← Previous: Quit or Press On? Be Willing To Take The Journey Next: Wendy Mills, author of ALL WE HAVE LEFT, on having faith in yourself →

The first slide is an animation of a science/magic room in a castle. A cartoon character of a mad-scientist looking man in in the foreground says: “Hello! Dr. Frankenstein here to say, Well Done on kid lit zombie week! I’m an expert at reviving the dead, and let me assure you, with a little spark, you can bring dead projects to life. Especially if you dig up parts from other dead things. I’ll even let you have a sneak peek at my laboratory’s store room to consider potential parts for your dead project. If you see something with a yellow glow, that means you should click it. Have fun!”

He points to the right side of the screen and a new scene slides in of a castle science/magic storage room. There are various cartoon Frankenstein body parts scattered around. Some of them have a yellow glow. If you click on them, the images below appear (I’ve added alt text to them, so I hope it works).

The Heart of your story is the main character. The protagonist is the beating core that truly brings your story to life. If your MC doesn't make kids (and their grown-ups) care within the first few pages, your story will flatline. </p>
<p>Your main character needs to be:<br />
• Relatable enough for kids to see themselves<br />
• Unique enough to stand out in the slush pile<br />
• Active enough to drive the story<br />
• Memorable enough to survive multiple readings at bedtime</p>
<p>Where do you find this amazing donor heart? It might be the very thing you loved so much about the manuscript you want to revive. It might be the younger sister from your shelved YA novel. Or maybe it’s the hilarious kid you blogged about meeting at a school visit. Find a character beating with potential and place it in the center of your story.<br />

The Brain of your story is the theme or central message. The theme is the big idea that controls everything else. Picture books are more than stories - they're tiny life lessons disguised with humor and heart.</p>
<p>But your theme needs to be:<br />
• Subtle enough not to trigger the dreaded "didactic" rejection<br />
• Clear enough for a four-year-old to grasp<br />
• Universal enough to speak to both kids and adults<br />
• Fresh enough to prevent agents and editors from responding with "Not another sharing/bedtime/first-day story!"</p>
<p>Check your other dead manuscripts to see if there is a recurring theme, something that really seems to be speaking to you. Find the bit of poetry you scribbled on the back of a receipt to see what theme inspired it. Reread the pep talk you texted your critique partner at 1am. Pick the theme that will drive your story, giving it purpose, direction, and deeper meaning.<br />

The Legs of your story is the plot. Not to be confused with a grave plot.🤪 The plot is what keeps everything upright and moving, as well as providing support for all the other elements. You have very few words to use in a picture book, so you need to do a lot with each plot point.</p>
<p>In general, your plot should:<br />
• Hook readers fast<br />
• Build tension that a child can follow<br />
• Create page turns that feel natural<br />
• Wrap up in a way that satisfies</p>
<p>You can borrow a plot twist (a leg) from one manuscript and the opening (the other leg) from a different manuscript. Consider if the subplot of the middle grade novel you trunked would work better as a picture book. Or maybe your Facebook post about a disastrous camping trip could become a story for kids. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other until you have your storyline.

The Arms of your story are the side characters.

The Torso of your story is the setting. Setting helps a story breathe and connects all the elements of the story. It isn't just where your story lives, it's what makes your story ALIVE. It's the difference between "this happened in a park" and "this happened in that park, the one with the twisty slide that burns your legs and the creaky swing that sounds like a baby crying.”</p>
<p>Your setting should:<br />
• Make your character's world feel real<br />
• Contain your story in a way that makes sense to young readers<br />
• Connect different scenes and moments organically<br />
• Give your illustrator enough room to add visual subplots</p>
<p>Half-finished manuscripts are a great place to dig up settings, since you worked out the place details before the plot petered out. Or maybe you had to cut a second fantastic location from your chapter book. You can also revisit the detailed caption from your Instagram carousel documenting your tour of that delish candy shop. Disinter a robust setting that can house all of your story's vital organs.

After you press the Click When Done circle button, the lights flash with the sound of electricity buzzing. Then the screen goes black and lightning zaps across the screen with the sound of thunder.

The screen then lights up to show the storage room, and all the Frankenstein pieces have been assembled into the whole monster. An upbeat song plays in the background. Then a speech bubble pops up with the words, “I’m alive! I’M ALIVE!” Then the screen goes to black.

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How to Find and Be a Great Critique Partner (Plus Critique Partner Match Up Guidelines)

an editor

a sounding board for ideas

a staunch promoter of your work

a shoulder to cry on (even if the shoulder and the crying both happen virtually!)

someone to celebrate successes with

a friend to keep you grounded when the ups and downs of writing life get overwhelming

What is your preferred method of communication? Phone, email, text, Google+, semaphore?

How do you prefer to give and receive feedback? Straight to the point or plenty of sugar to help the medicine go down?

At what point in the writing process do you want CP feedback? As you write? After one draft? After a draft and a round of edits? At what point in the writing process do you want to give CP feedback?

What genre(s) and/or categories do you write in? Do you plan to write in other genres/categories in future?

What do you think is a reasonable time frame in which to expect editorial notes on a manuscript to be completed?

Are you a cat person or a dog person?

Be honest about your expectations going into a potential CP relationship. Politely let people know what sort of feedback you prefer and what kind of time frames for feedback returns seem reasonable to you.

Be honest and open if a problem arises. If you said you’d have feedback to a CP by the end of the month but had a number of personal issues crop up that mean there’s no way you’ll get it back by then, let them know as soon as possible.

Be honest if things aren’t working out. It’s okay to amicably part ways. You’re not legally bound to each other in a court of critique partner law (though I have a couple of CPs I would love to ensure stay with me for all eternity).

Does it seem like there’s an emphasis on honesty and open communication here? That’s the most important thing in a CP relationship. The next most important is this: a little bit of kindness makes the world go round. Treat others the way you want them to treat you!