Critique Partners

What is a critique partner?

A CP reads your manuscript and critiques, offering feedback on what works and what doesn't, some suggestions for changes, or places to expand, and may ask questions to help clarify what you are trying to write. As someone who worldbuilds in her head (and has since an early age when I had four imaginary friends in kindergarten) it's easy to think that the reader sees what I'm seeing, when I may not have conveyed that as clearly. A CP can also do line edits (correcting grammar/punctuation).

The way my CP and I work is that we often trade off a chapter or two. I read and critique hers, she reads and critiques mine. We use Microsoft Word and track changes.

I did not have a CP for my first manuscript, but I did hire an editor. The editor helped me to see my common grammatical errors and overused metaphors, along with tightening my sentence structure and working on passive voice. Nonetheless, that manuscript is on a shelf right now, but it was a good learning experience.

Currently, I have three CP's reading through my latest manuscript, but I entered the first chapter into the critique portion of Cascade Writers, where I had six others looking at my manuscript. It was incredibly helpful to have that may eyes on my first pages, to make sure I was starting in the right place, and using the right voice for that age group and genre. The problem with my first manuscript (among many, but this was the chief one) is that I didn't start in the right place, and I didn't have a critique partner helping me to understand that.

So if you don't have a critique partner, find one! The Twitter community #ontheporch is a great place to find other readers and critique partners for your age group and genre. It is also a supportive community who offer tips and encouragement, and sometimes have had agents or authors host tweetchats for you to ask your questions and seek advice.