Critique Partner Entries Are Up!

Hey, everyone!

We've got 14 entries for our Critique Partner Dating Service. Not a huge response, to be sure, but definitely enough to give each of you a chance to find your (almost) perfect Critique Partner.

Guidelines are as follow:

1. If you see an entry that looks like it might be a good fit, send an email to introduce yourself (this is not the time to send materials).
2. If you're not sure you want to send an email, leave a comment asking further questions.
3. Entrants, PLEASE CHECK YOUR COMMENTS REGULARLY THROUGHOUT THE WEEK.
4. This is a public list.  I am no longer the "middle man."  Please do not come to me with your dating woes.  (If you have a legitimate technical difficulty, I will always help you with that.)
5. For security purposes, I will remove these entries from the blog one week from tomorrow.

Please post your questions below!  I will check the comments regularly and try to stay up to date with public questions

Happy dating! 

Submissions are now OPEN for our CRITIQUE PARTNER DATING SERVICE!

 Go HERE for instructions.

Please remember that our bot is currently not working, so all entries need to be emailed to me directly at facelesswords@gmail.com!

Here's to finding your (almost) perfect critique partner!!

It's Time For Our CRITIQUE PARTNER DATING SERVICE!

Getty Images

I'm feeling "moved-in" enough to settle at my desk and roll out the Critique Partner Dating Service I've been promising you! Thank you for your patience.

Here's the disclaimer:  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 10:00 AM EDT on FRIDAY, MAY 28, I will accept your Dating Service Entry.  The submission window will remain open until 11:57 PM EDT on SUNDAY, MAY 30.
• IMPORTANT: Our bot is currently under the weather. SEND YOUR SUBMISSIONS DIRECTLY TO ME at facelesswords@gmail.com. Please put CRITIQUE PARTNER ENTRY in the subject line.
• 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.  (Yes, I'll be checking.)

WRITER: (Put your screen name OR your first name here; NOT a title. Full name NOT NECESSARY)

GENRE: (list ALL genres that you write)

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

(double space here)

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 Thursday, June 3.  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 THEM.  This is simply a 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.

To clarify the above, here is a sample entry:

WRITER: Authoress

GENRE:  YA SFF

EMAIL: Authoressmail(at)gmail.com

I am working on my fourteenth novel.

I'm agented by the amazing Danielle Burby and my novels tend to be character-driven.  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.)

IMPORTANT: Because we are not using the bot for this event, I will have to format and post each entry by hand. THIS IS TIME-CONSUMING. Please (oh, please!) format your entries exactly as outlined above, and please don't use boldface or italics. Also, please type your entries directly into the email instead of copy-and-pasting them from somewhere else. 

Please ask your questions below!

Sputtering to a Start

Maybe you're wondering why nothing else has come down the pike over here. I DON'T BLAME YOU.

Basically, when I ran our in-house critique last month, the bot crashed. I was able to receive entries by hand, which was fine--but, moving forward, I've got to get things straightened out. Michael, my illustrious and indispensable creator and maintainer of the bot, is as busy as can be, so I don't like to hound him.

HAVING SAID THAT:

I am going to try to continue to offer some smaller-scale things that I can upload by hand. In a way, this fits the feel of the blog a little better right now. Eventually, I'm hoping we can get things running the way they once were.

Obviously, I can't run another Secret Agent Contest until the bot has been fixed. What I want to do next is to run another CRITIQUE PARTNER DATING SERVICE. I need to make sure the system I come up with is workable on both ends before I launch this.

To help me gauge interest, will you please do me a favor? Leave me a comment below, letting me know if either you'd be interested in finding new critique partners or you have writer friends you know are looking for critique partners that you'd be happy to send our way. We've had great success with this in the past, and I definitely want to resurrect it!

In other news, we're closing on our new home THIS FRIDAY, so my life is sort of looking like this right now:

We have LOVED living in our apartment for the past 6 months--who knew??  We're actually staying here an extra couple of weeks so that we have time to do some painting in the new house and to move in s-l-o-w-l-y instead of having one big, exhausting moving day.

So, yes, I'm in the midst of All The Moving, but I didn't want to leave this blog by the wayside. PLEASE DO LEAVE A COMMENT concerning the Critique Partner Dating Service--I will be hanging on your every word!

AND ONE MORE THING:

I am currently accepting a LIMITED NUMBER of Premiere Critiques. Please email me at authoress.edits@gmail.com to secure your spot. A Premiere Critique looks like this:

*a line-edit of your first 75 pages

*a detailed editorial letter

*guaranteed 1-week turnaround

*cost: $289 payable in 2 installments via Venmo or Paypal

I will accept any genre except Erotica or Erotic Romance, in all categories (adult, YA, MG). Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

CP Twitter Search

It's been a while since I've hosted a Critique Partner Dating Service, and I'm sure some of you newer "family members" might like the opportunity to hook up with another writer or two to swap work.

Here's the thing, though--we've got some little snaggy things to work out with our bot.  So I'm going to host this Critique Partner Dating Service on TWITTER!

It's called #CPTwitterSearch

And it's EASY to join in!  Here's how:

From 8 am to 8 pm EDT tomorrow (Friday, May 27), tweet the following to #CPTwitterSearch:

*category/genre
*what you're looking for and/or what you're good at

Note:  This will be CHALLENGING to do in fewer than 140 characters!  But succinct=beautiful.  Here are some examples:

#CPTwitterSearch YA SF/F Grammar Nazi. Big picture. Looking for same.

#CPTwitterSearch MG Contemp NEW WRITER but I'm great at proofreading

#CPTwitterSearch Historical/Agented Author/Looking for peer with equal experience

#CPTwitterSearch YA Mystery/Thriller/Horror/Magical Realism Love doing in-depth line edits!

There you have it.

How will it work?

Simple!  Follow the hashtag.  Reply to anyone who catches your eye.  It's very easy to hook up on Twitter (and you have the added benefit of being able to stalk read people's bios before contacting them, if you'd like.

You'll have TWELVE HOURS to peruse.

Then?  When you hook up?  Tweet to #CPTwitterSearch AND to me, and let me know!

Questions below!

Our 4th Critique Partner Dating Service--FINALLY!

All 79 entries ARE FINALLY UP.  Thank you again for your forebearance!

Guidelines are as follow:

1.  If you see an entry that looks like it might be a good fit, send an email to introduce yourself (this is not the time to send materials).
2. If you are interested in an email-less entry, leave a comment requesting the email address.
3. If you're not sure you want to send an email, leave a comment asking further questions.
4. Entrants, PLEASE CHECK YOUR COMMENTS REGULARLY THROUGHOUT THE WEEK.
5. This is a public list.  I am no longer the "middle man."  Please do not come to me with your dating woes.  (If you have a legitimate technical difficulty, I will always help you with that.)
6. For security purposes, I will remove these entries from the blog one week from tomorrow.

Please post your questions below!  I will check the comments regularly and try to stay up to date with public questions.

Also:  If your entry looks wonky or is in any way unreadable, or if you've forgotten to include your email address or name or anything else, PLEASE EMAIL ME.  I am always happy to fix things.

Happy dating!

Update: Critique Partner Dating Service

Here's where we're at:

The first 44 posts are ready to roll, and will begin to post at 9:01 a.m.  The rest of the posts will go up as soon as possible, as Michael and I continue to work through this mess!

If this Blogger/bot mess had to happen, though, I'm glad it happened now, instead of during something highly time-sensitive like a Secret Agent Contest.  Right?  Looking for the lemonade!

Thank you for your patience.

CP Postings Delayed

I'm weeping into my tea over here.

Okay, not really.  It's too warm for tea today.  But I'm ever so frustrated to announce that the Critique Partner Dating Service will be delayed until Monday.

Reason?  Blogger changed something, and the bot isn't able to post.  Therefore, I've got 79 posts waiting over in bot-land, AND THEY CAN'T MOVE ANYWHERE.

Which means, of course, that I will have to post them by hand.  And that will take a bit of time, which is why I'm giving myself until Monday.

I am so sorry!  This was an unforeseen snag, but rest assured that your critique partner dating can get under way bright and early Monday.

In the meantime, please send chocolate, wine, and someone with a British accent to read Tolkein to me while I work.

Thanks for your patience!

One More Time: Critique Partner Dating Service

It's been a while, mostly because participation in our last round was fairly low.  I've had some requests for another round over the past few months, though, so I felt like now was as good a time as any.

So, ARE YOU LOOKING FOR CRITIQUE PARTNERS?  Now's your chance to find some!

Here's the disclaimer:  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 10:00 AM EDT TOMORROW (Wednesday), the bot will accept your Dating Service Entry.  The submission window will remain open until 11:57 PM EDT.
• 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 Thursday, June 4.  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 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.

To clarify the above, here is a sample entry:

TITLE: Authoress

GENRE:  YA SFF

EMAIL: Authoressmail(at)gmail.com

I am working on my ninth novel.

I'm agented by the fabulous Josh Getzler and I'm addicted to Twitter.  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.)

Please ask your questions below!

Our 3rd Critique Partner Dating Service -- Guidelines

We're ready to roll!  Guidelines are as follow:

1.  If you see an entry that looks like it might be a good fit, send an email to introduce yourself (this is not the time to send materials).
2. If you are interested in an email-less entry, leave a comment requesting the email address.
3. If you're not sure you want to send an email, leave a comment asking further questions.
4. Entrants, PLEASE CHECK YOUR COMMENTS REGULARLY THROUGHOUT THE WEEK.
5. This is a public list.  I am no longer the "middle man."  Please do not come to me with your dating woes.  (If you have a legitimate technical difficulty, I will always help you with that.)
6. For security purposes, I will remove these entries from the blog one week from today.

Please post your questions below!  I will check the comments regularly and try to stay up to date with public questions.

Also:  I have not gone through every entry to check for formatting--mostly because the first 20 or so that I went through were absolutely fine.  If your entry looks wonky or is in any way unreadable, or if you've forgotten to include your email address or name or anything else, PLEASE EMAIL ME.  I am always happy to fix things.

Happy dating!

Our 3rd Critique Partner Dating Service

It's a little overdue (I originally meant to run this in July), but here it is once again--an opportunity for you to connect with new critique partners.

Yay!

Here's the disclaimer:  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 Tuesday, August 27.  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 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.

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 eighth novel.

I'm agented by the fabulous Josh Getzler and I'm addicted to Twitter.  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.)

Please ask your questions below!

Critique Partner Dating Service -- Live!!

Here we go, folks!  Guidelines are as follow:

1.  If you see an entry that looks like it might be a good fit, send an email to introduce yourself (this is not the time to send materials).
2. More than one entry is missing an email (directions, people, directions!).  If you are interested in an email-less entry, leave a comment requesting the email address.
3. If you're not sure you want to send an email, leave a comment asking further questions.
4. Entrants, PLEASE CHECK YOUR COMMENTS REGULARLY THROUGHOUT THE WEEK.
5. This is a public list.  I am no longer the "middle man."  Please do not come to me with your dating woes.  (If you have a legitimate technical difficulty, I will always help you with that.)
6. For security purposes, I will remove these entries from the blog one week from today.

Please post your questions below!  I will check the comments regularly and try to stay up to date with public questions.

Oh, one more thing.  For the first time (ever), I have not gone through every entry to check for formatting--mostly because the first 20 or so that I went through were absolutely fine.  If your entry looks wonky or is in any way unreadable, PLEASE EMAIL ME.  I am always happy to fix things.

Happy dating!

Our 2nd Critique Partner Dating Service

And here it is to kick off 2013 -- AUTHORESS'S CRITIQUE PARTNER DATING SERVICE!

Here's the disclaimer:  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 Tuesday, January 8.  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 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.

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 eighth novel.

I'm agented by the fabulous Josh Getzler and I'm addicted to Twitter.  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.)

Please ask your questions below!

Our First Critique Partner Dating Service

We're going live today!  Here are the ground rules:

1. If you see an entry that looks like it might be a good fit, send an email to introduce yourself (remember, this is not the time to send materials).
2. More than one entry is missing an email (directions, people, directions!).  If you are interested in an email-less entry, leave a comment requesting the email address.
3. If you're not sure you want to send an email, leave a comment asking further questions.
4. Entrants, PLEASE CHECK YOUR COMMENTS REGULARLY THROUGHOUT THE WEEK.
5. This is a public list.  I am no longer the "middle man."  Please do not come to me with your dating woes.  (If you have a legitimate technical difficulty, I will always help you with that.)
6. For security purposes, I will remove these entries from the blog one week from today.

If there's something I've missed, please leave your question in the comment box.  HAVE FUN!  I'm hopeful that some good, long-term critiquing relationships will grow from this.