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!!

Now Available: Personal Writing Sessions!

 

In April, I enjoyed a lovely Zoom chat with a writer who had won the session from my preorder campaign for The Stolen Kingdom. She sent me her first chapter ahead of time so I could do a line edit, and she came to the meeting prepared with specific questions. It was a wonderful thirty minutes! The best part was watching her have distinct "Eureka!" moments as we talked.

It was so rewarding to watch a fellow writer become inspired and encouraged to press on with her work. I loved it so much, in fact, that I've decided to make it a thing.

Introducing: AUTHOR SESSIONS WITH JILLIAN BOEHME

For the first time, I am offering private, one-on-one sessions in which we can discuss your writing. This takes helping aspiring authors to a whole new level for me--it's personal, it's interactive, and it's fun!

Here's what Carla says about her 30-minute session with me:

I recently won a 30-minute consult with Jillian on my first chapter. It was a break-though consult for me. I had already shared my first chapter with 5 beta readers, and 5 critique partners. I felt like it was as good as I could make it. It is definitely a step up now after my consult with Jillian. What made her feedback so valuable for me was her ability to articulate, in a very non-threatening manner, not just the what but why certain changes needed to be made. The changes that she recommended were something that my critique partners had mentioned and I thought I had already addressed. Jillian helped me understand the underlying reason that I needed the changes and suddenly I really understood what I needed to do. Besides looking at content we discussed voice and where to go next. She gave me some great tips for moving forward.

Being the experienced professional, Jillian was able to focus in on what was needed to add that final touch to my first chapter. Her helpful and direct approach made her feedback so accessible to me I was able to resolve weaknesses in my first chapter more succinctly than before, while still getting confirmation for the things I did that worked. I couldn’t recommend her more highly.

If you'd like a similar experience (and I'd love the opportunity to work with you!), I'm currently offering 3 different sessions at introductory prices:

The 30-minute session: This is a Q&A chat tailored by you! Come to the table with all your questions, whether they're about your current WIP, your writing in general, querying, the publishing industry--or anything else you can think of!

The 40-minute session: This session is specific to your WIP. I will ask you to send your first chapter (up to 10 pages) ahead of time so that I can line edit it prior to our session. We will spend most of our time discussing your work, though there will also be time for you to ask questions on other topics.

The double 40-minute session: The best deal! I will ask you to send your first 25 pages for a detailed line edit prior to our first session. After we've met, you can decide how much time you need before we meet again (2 to 4 weeks, probably, but it can be longer if you need more time). You'll also receive a 25% discount on any session you choose to purchase next.

Interested? Drop me an email at jillian@jillianboehme.com. I'd love to hear from you!

It's Time For Our CRITIQUE PARTNER DATING SERVICE!

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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.