Several people I know are going through revisions right now based on feedback they received from beta readers, agents, or editors. Every one of them is dealing with the “I suck” issue along with that. Yes, sometimes feedback can be a bit too mean or blunt, but that’s not the problem here. No matter how
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The Beta Reading and Critiquing section of Jami's blog is filled with tips, advice, and insights about working with others, such as beta readers/critique partners, agents, editors, and publishers.
Sample topics:
* finding beta readers
* handling feedback
* tips for being a better beta reader
* benefits of beta reading, etc.
If you want even more writing advice, be sure to check out Jami's Publishing & Career Highlights page, which features some of her most-helpful posts on this topic, as well as on working with branding, self-publishing, career planning, and more. On that page, you can also find links to related free worksheets/tools and information guides.
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If you’ve sent out queries, you’ve probably received rejections. They usually say things along the line of: “This is just my opinion and others may feel differently.” “Just because I wasn’t drawn in doesn’t mean others won’t love it.” “Publishing is a subjective business and another agent would be better suited to your work.” We can’t fault those who
Several months ago, I ran a post about what to look for in a critique partner. One of the points I’d made was to evaluate whether a potential critique partner was familiar with our genre. Only someone knowledgeable about our genre would know the expectations for pacing, character development, etc. However, I recently had cause
Opinionated statement alert: Every writer should volunteer to judge a writing contest. And not simply for altruistic reasons. No, we should do it because we can learn from reading others’ work, as it’s much easier to see mistakes in prose other than our own. My friend Anassa Rhenisch had a great blog post about this
We’ve all been disappointed at some point during our lives. As a child, I once discovered my Christmas presents early, hidden in my parents’ closet (it was by accident, I swear!). My fingers ached to play with all those toys and I couldn’t wait for the big day. But when Christmas Day rolled around, I
During this two-week long Critique Week extravaganza we’ve looked at how criticism can help us improve, we’ve learned what a successful critique partnership looks like, and we’ve identified our strengths and weaknesses so we’ll recognize our perfect critique partner. Now let’s put that all together and talk about how to build a supportive, helpful relationship
It’s probably a given that all good writers want to get even better. Last week, I talked about how we can use criticism to improve our work, and I gave a peek inside a successful critique partnership. My critique partner and I work very well together, and we certainly lucked out by finding each other.