Critique Groups: A Primer

My friends really dig my writing. I'm sure Stephen King's friends dig his writing, too. Stephen has several million non-friends who dig his writing, so he's got a large dispassionate audience to give him valid input. I'm not so lucky, and you probably aren't either.

A critique group isn't going to make you as rich as Stephen King, but it will provide you the input that your friends won't. And if you find a good group, they'll read the parts that might make your mom blush and give you valid input.

Unfortunately, there's no website that lists and ranks all the critique groups out there, weeding out the chaff and giving you the best of the best. And if there were, the very best groups might have waiting lists. The best you can do is find one near you and try it out. Based on my experience, these questions will help you with the weeding process (your mileage may vary):

-- Do you have to pay to join? I was in a fantastic group for about three years, and though I didn't have to pay to join the group, I did have to be a member of the Florida Writers Association. If you do have to pay to join, make sure you get your money's worth.

-- How often can you submit? If you're working through a novel or book, it's hard to get any traction if you don't get to submit regularly. If you can only submit once a month, many critiquers might have to relearn your voice and characters every time, which means their feedback might be skewed. On the other hand, if you can submit every week, you'll also have to read others' manuscripts every week, which leaves little time for writing.

-- What are the rules? The leader and members should be able to summarize the rules without much problem. If there are no rules, or if understanding of the rules isn't consistent, it could mean problems. Our group allowed you to submit up to 20 pages, double-spaced, each time (twice a month). Submissions were limited to fiction, memoirs, and essays. Poetry, screenplays, and most non-fiction weren't welcome. We didn't have the expertise. Also, after some problems, we decided everything had to be typed.

-- Are the rules enforced? If the rules say 20 pages, double-spaced, are people regularly allowed to submit 35 pages? If a member's getting ready to submit a manuscript to Donald Maase, I'd probably critique that much. Otherwise, I'd probably so less than 20, if for no other reason to show my displeasure at their disdain for the rules and my time.

-- How do the critiques work? In my group, we passed out the samples and read them over two weeks, then critiqued the next time. Each person spoke for each sample. After a time, we started to limit the length of time people got for critiques, because we were getting out half an hour late each week. We also limited the membership to eight people per group (but had as many as three groups going at a time).

The answers to these questions will vary, as will each writers' desired answers. I liked having a smaller group with bigger writing samples. You were expected to submit work that was proofread and you were also expected to spend some time and effort on preparing your critique. We met Monday nights, so a couple hours or more each Sunday always went into the critique.

Your needs may be different, but if you're going to put the time in, you should find a group that give you what you need.

Next time: What should you expect in a critique?