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Monday, July 2, 2012

Authoress's Critique Partner Dating Service!

I've decided, instead of letting you know that it was "coming up", to just go ahead and launch it.  So here it is--a direct result of the many emails I've received over the years asking how to find critique partners:  AUTHORESS'S CRITIQUE PARTNER DATING SERVICE!

This comes with a disclaimer, and here it is:  Finding good critique partners really is like finding good life partners.  Just because you both write fantasy or you've both been writing for exactly three years or your first names both begin with "N" doesn't mean you're going to be a good fit.  Relationship is a huge part of this, in addition to artistic vision and the ability to "get" each other's work.

So keep in mind that, as you seek people to swap work with, things may or may not work out, and that's okay.  What I'm offering you here is a springboard; a chance to get your name and your needs out there in the hope that you may click with someone.

Here's how it'll work (PLEASE READ THESE DIRECTIONS CAREFULLY):

  • Starting at NOON EDT TODAY, the bot will accept your Dating Service Entry.  The submission window will remain open for 24 hours.
  • Submit your entry HERE.
  • Up to 100 entries will be accepted.  Even if we only get 2 entries, though, I will still post them.
  • Please format your entry EXACTLY as outlined below, for ease of browsing.  Please note that the word count for these entries will be limited to 100.  
TITLE: (Put your screen name OR your first name here; NOT a title. Full name NOT NECESSARY)
GENRE: (list ALL genres that you write)

Then, in the body of the submission:

EMAIL: (PLEASE use (at) instead of "@"!! Like this: Authoress(at)Chocolate.com)

I'm working on my {1st/2nd/47th} novel.

{And here's your "pitch about me" -- a sentence or two that will express who you are and what your goals/dreams are.}
  • All entries will post on Wednesday.  You may browse the entries and contact anyone who seems like a potential match.
  • YOU ARE NOT OBLIGATED TO CRITIQUE THE WORK OF SOMEBODY WHO CONTACTS YOU.  NEITHER IS ANYONE OBLIGATED TO CRITIQUE YOUR WORK SIMPLY BECAUSE YOU CONTACTED HIM.  This is simply a little jumpstart to creating new friendships that could potentially become critique partnerships.
  • I will remove the entries after one week.  Simply because I don't think it's wise to keep this information up for longer than that.  
So, how does one approach this?

I would definitely not send an email that says, "Hi! Let's be critique partners.  I've attached 2 of my novels for you to critique; what would you like to send to me?"  Instead, a simple "Hi! Let's get to know each other." will do.  You can both take it from there and see what happens.

To clarify the above, here is a sample entry:

TITLE: Authoress
GENRE:  YA/MG SFF

EMAIL: Authoressmail(at)gmail.com

I am working on my seventh novel.

I'm agented by the fabulous Josh Getzler and I'm currently off caffeine. I'm a grammar nazi and my critiquing strengths lie in sentence structure, clarity, and dialogue. 

(You can write whatever you want about yourself.  Not to "sell" yourself, but to give a glimpse of who you are and where you're at in your journey.)

Clear? Questions below!

35 comments:

  1. I LOVE this idea!! Thanks Authoress!

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  2. This is perfect timing for me. So glad I found this!

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  3. Thank you for doing this! When I submitted my post I included my email in the body of my post using the specific format (at), but when I verified at the bottom I used the normal format (@). I hope this was okay! I did receive an ID number.

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  4. That's fine, Lucie! I only want the (at) in the body so your actual, click-able email address doesn't show up on the blog. That's an invitation for spam!

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  5. When I tried to submit in the format you specified, it got rid of my name and genre... So I put my name in the "Title" field and my genre in the "genre" field (as opposed to the body of the message). I hope it turned out okay...

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  6. This is perfect timing. Thanks, Authoress.

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  7. Jessica, I'm really glad you pointed that out! I will amend the guidelines. :)

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  8. Sweet. I'm totally in on this.
    Also, i'm glad you're going to leave them up for a week, since wednesday is the 4th and i'll be grilling and not by a computer AT ALL. Whoo hoo!

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  9. This is a great idea. I really need someone to kick my butt these days.

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  10. Ooooo me likey!!! Thank you so much for offering this Miss A!

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  11. Cool, I hope this works out for a lot of readers. It's tough to find partners; it seems a lot of the writers in my local groups are already matched up.

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  12. You are SOME Authoress!
    (Just finished Charlotte's Web with the kids...)
    Thank you.

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  13. Thanks, Authoress, for setting this up. I'm in desperate need of a critique partner who is at the same skill level so maybe I'll find one in the "pool." Woot!

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  14. Thanks for this opportunity! It can be really tough to find someone who seems to "get" you as much as you "get" them. Here's hoping this matches a lot of people up!

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  15. It's so great that you're offering this opportunity. When you were gone and opened up the comments page for conversation, I posted a request and found a great critique partner via your website. We've already exchanged scenes and critiques, so your matchmaking is working--thank you! Hope everyone finds a "just right" critique partner through this process!

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  16. Damnation. I forgot I wasn't supposed to use an @ sign. Sorry about that!

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  17. Even though I read the instructions, I still put the title of my book in the title. DOH. I swear, I really did read the directions.

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  18. What a great idea. And I've been on the hunt for critique partners.
    ^_^

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  19. And in my dumbness I forgot to add the email line in the body of my submission. Here's to hoping comments will be open on these posts so that I can correct the error. Thanks for this awesome opportunity.

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  20. Awesome! Just what I need! Thank you, Authoress! I am not a grammar Nazi, but maybe I can find one out there, to help balance me out? I'm a big picture type person. So happy, now! Thank you!!! :)

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  21. This is fun but did Baby Slushpile die a quick death? I thought we would have the postings up today? Did it not work out? I thought it was a good idea anyway, so maybe you can try it again sometime.

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  22. Jasmine, we did the Baby Slushpile last week and it was a great success. The posts are still there, if you want to leave comments.

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  23. Jasmine, we did the Baby Slushpile last week and it was a great success. The posts are still there, if you want to leave comments.

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  24. I cannot find the 500 word excerpts for public critique. What am I doing wrong?

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  25. I don't know! You can either scroll to the bottom and click "Older Post" or you can go to the sidebar and click on the June archives.

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  26. Well thanks Authoress and I am sorry for being a bother. I guess in this instance I will just say I could not find them. I see the 20 queries fine but you said you would post the first 500 words of the novel for the 5 winning entries you received and I just cannot find them! I accept your word that they exist somewhere in the internet ether but I just can't see them. Oh well, my problem and I feel so stupid :)

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  27. Ohhhhh THOSE!!!! I'm so sorry! I totally forgot to post them today and will be posting them tomorrow!!

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  28. Aargh! I submitted earlier, but in reading the comments just realized I used the @ instead of (at). Hope that doesn't disqualify me.

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  29. Does the bot not like hotmail accounts? I haven't received my confirmation email... :(

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  30. The bot absolutely hates hotmail accounts... :(

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  31. Susaninvt, check your junk folder. That's where mine was.

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  32. I never get confirmation emails.
    Infact, I'm also starting to not get all my comment reply emails.
    I don't have a hotmail account and they don't end up in my junk folder.
    Hmm ... I wonder if my spam filter is destroying the emails before they reach here ... -_-

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