Like It. Love It. Gotta Have It!

"I like the premise of your book."
"I like your voice."
"I like your writing style."

LIKE. LIKE. LIKE.

I used to relish these words. It gave me validation as a writer. But the more feedback I get for my writing, the more I am realizing that liking it doesn't make it in this world. Think of the ways you can say, "I like it."

• The well-meaning: With eye brows raised, a smile and a purposeful voice, "I like it!"
• The hesitant: With head tilted to one side, nodding with a half smile, "I like it."
• The liar: With no eye-contact and a hurried voice, "I like it."
• The accomplice: With someone shaking his head violently at you and waving both hands in the air like he's wiping windows, you say to the person in front of him, "I like it?"

"I like it" could mean many things. A trip to my favorite ice cream parlor, Cold Stone Creamery, put it in perspective for me.

Like it = small cup
Love it = medium cup
Gotta have it = large cup

LIKE IT just doesn't compete with the larger sizes. 

Lately, I've been getting too many likes. And I'm not talking about Facebook. In this competitive picture book market, my manuscript needs to be loved. It needs to stand out. 

Image courtesy of jscreationszs/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Now when I get a critique for my story, I am looking for the "I love it" comments. That's when I know that I am getting closer to a submission-ready manuscript.

I want to write something readers will love and I want editors and publishers to tell me they've GOTTA HAVE IT.

Now if you'll excuse me, I will drown my sorrows in some comfort food- ice cream!

Tell me your favorite Cold Stone ice cream flavor for a chance to win a Cold Stone gift card. Deadline to enter is June 29- my husband's birthday! (Drown your sorrows with me or celebrate with him) 

One winner will be chosen by Randomizer.com and announced by July 4th!

[Disclaimer: Don't get me wrong, "I like it" is a very good comment. I am setting high-standards for myself.]

Strive for the LOVE! 

 7/3/13 UPDATE:  Congratulations to SUSAN CABAEL! She won a gift card to Cold Stone.

The Value of Critiques

Good news!  I just won the Spring Lucky Clover Picture Book Contest, hosted by Christie Wright Wild.  As a winner, I receive a free detailed critique by Christie.

Photo by Romelle Guittap

I used to be afraid of critiques.  I didn’t want to know what others think of me and my work.  It took me a while before I got the nerve to join a critique group.  Now, I am the first to snatch up an opportunity for a critique.   Joining a critique group and sharing my work with fellow writers is one of the most important things I’ve done for my career as a writer.  Here’s why:

The Value of Critiques

Constructive feedback- A great critique will provide insights to your story’s sentence structure, characterization, plot development, voice, and many other story elements that may be lacking.

Reaction- You get a feel from your critiquer whether your story is interesting, boring, or mediocre.  You'd want to know this so you can work on making your story more exciting and marketable.

Improvement- By learning your stories strengths and weaknesses, it will help you become a better writer.

Teachable Moment- Receiving feedback will help you to be more analytical of your own work.

Information- A critiquer will often share with you resources to help you improve your craft.  You’ll be surprised by the wealth of information you’ll gain from a single critique.

Questions- A critique may give you a new perspective to your story with questions that surface.  Many times this can help move your story forward or take an alternate turn. 

Unique Experience- A critique will bring to the table a different set of experience from the critiquer, offering tips or techniques to improving your work.

Eyes- A second pair of eyes can help you identify mistakes or flaws you may have overlooked.

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Are you ready for a critique?  Enter your story for a chance to win Christie’s Summer Picture Book Contest and you, too, could win a free critique. But hurry. The deadline for the Summer contest is September 30, 2012. 

Here is another contest for a chance to get your manuscript edited by Deborah Halverson at DearEditor.com   This one ends tomorrow, August 28, 2012.

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Having doubts about joining a critique group?  Read this.

Want to get a professional critique?  Here’s a short list of resources:

http://robsanderswrites.com/Critique_Service.html

http://www.brendareevessturgis.com/critique_service.html

http://rachelleburk-critiqueservices.blogspot.com/

http://myplace.frontier.com/~mfinke/Manuscript%20Critique.htm#Critique

http://www.lisawheelerbooks.com/LW/critique.html

http://www.verlakay.com/page25/page25.html

http://www.barbarakanninen.com/manuscript_critiques/

http://www.itsrhymetime.com/critiques.php

http://www.juliehedlund.com/servicesspeaking/editingcritiquing/

~Happy Writing!

My First Critique Group

If you’ve attended writing conferences or chatted with fellow writers, you probably have heard this statement many times: 

“One of the best things you can do for your writing career is to get into a good critique group.” 

I have.  But fear and doubt prevented me from taking that step.  I feared being criticized and I doubted my ability to critique other people’s work.  I felt I wasn’t qualified to offer feedback when clearly I was the one who needed the help.

Well, after much hesitation, I joined my first critique group.  And you know what?  I’m enjoying it.  The members of my group are so kind, caring, considerate, and thoughtful.  That’s what critique groups are for- to offer encouragement and support, right? (SCREECH….record breaking in background).  Okay, that’s just the half of it.  The other half is to offer honest feedback…to help us grow as writers, of course.

Anyway, I learned quickly that critiquing is not criticism, it’s offering constructive criticism.  And it was not constructive criticism I feared.  It was just ‘criticism.”  There is a difference between the two.  Criticism is defined as “a critical judgment passed or expressed” or “a disapproval expressed by pointing out faults or shortcomings.”  Whereas, constructive criticism is defined as “criticism or advice that is useful and intended to help or improve something, often with an offer of possible solutions.”  Polite and helpful are the key difference.  This I can handle.  After all, we cannot experience growth if we don’t make ourselves vulnerable to criticism.

For those of you who are on the fence about joining a critique group, just do it!  I’m glad I did.  I’m in my first month of critique and already I am learning a lot.  It is a beneficial experience to the growth of any writer.  It’s obvious what you can gain by being in a group.  Having others read your story gives you a fresh or unique insight.  But what I didn’t know was the amount of experience that I’d gain from critiquing other people’s manuscripts.  Critiquing taught me a great deal of what makes a good story. 

Here are some of the thoughts you may have encountered:

“I’m not sure I can commit to a group”

You can choose the group you want to join based on your availability.  If you are forming a new group, you can decide as a group how often you’d like to meet.

“I’m afraid I won’t be able to offer good feedback” or “I don’t feel qualified to critique”

If you read and write, which you already do, then your experience as a “real” reader is valuable.  You’ll find that you have a natural ability to see what works and what doesn’t work in a story.  And besides, it’s as if the writer is getting feedback from a customer before their book goes public.  That’s like getting a free review!

“I’m afraid of what they’ll say about my story”

Better to hear it from fellow writers who are in the same situation as you are than from a publisher.  This way, you can polish your story before it reaches the desk of the publisher.

“What if I don’t like my group?”

If you feel you’ve given the group a chance and things aren’t working out the way want it to, you can always find another group that fits your needs and personality.

So, give a critique group a try.  It’s been so rewarding for me.  After editing my own stories over and oVer and ober and over again, I start to miss the obvious mistakes.  Critiquing others and being critiqued helped me look at my own writing in a different way.  It ignited a new excitement and enthusiasm for (re)editing my stories. 

Join a critique group today.  I’m glad I did!


Below is a great resource on group critique etiquette by Linda Sue Park
The Give and Take of Critique