Call for Crit Submissions

I’m thinking of adding something a little different to the blog this year. Critiques!

Need a fresh set of editing eyes? Want to make sure your characters come across? Got specific questions?  I’m opening up the blog, twice a month, to 300-word excerpts or queries.
 
Take the crit plunge!
Here are the details:
  • Before you send, make sure you’re comfortable with me posting your excerpt, plus my crit, on the blog (I’ll always give you a heads up before it would go live).
  • Send your submission to Nicole [dot] r [dot] singer [at] gmail [dot] com.
  • In the subject line, include “Crit Me” and your genre.
  • Let me know if there are any specific questions or concerns you want me to watch for during the crit.
  • Limit your excerpt to about 300 words (Yes, plus or minus a few sentences is fine). If you want a query critiqued, feel free to send the whole thing.
  • I’ll post the crits on Fridays a couple times each month and will let you know before your piece goes live.

And, here’s what you’ll get:
  • I'll critique the piece from the viewpoint of a reader. That means I’ll let you know my overall reactions to the scene as I'm reading, what I think works, where you might be able to improve, and suggestions for how to do that.
  • I’ll mark grammar, tense and punctuation edits if they pull me out of the story.
  • I’ll respond to any of your specific questions or concerns.
  • Though I’m not a professional editor, I like to think I have a little cred. I write and edit for my day job in PR (including a couple books), and I’m a crit partner for multiple folks who seem to like me. More importantly, I adore reading and writing, and I love, love, love helping people hit that perfect tone for their scenes.
 
If that sounds like it’s for you – send your stuff my way! And, if I’ve missed anything and you still have more questions, leave ‘em in the comments trail and I’ll see if I can make up some answers.

Shortly after I drafted this post, I saw Misha's awesome idea of "Paying it Forward" for her blog. I've always thought sharing insights, edits and encouragement through crits was a great way to help other writers get closer to their dreams. Goodness knows, it's definitely helped me along the way. So I'm really looking forward to this.

9 comments:

  1. Awesome feature! Looking forward to seeing more.

    btw, do you want to redeem those Hostess cupcakes? Email me if you do. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. wow. Sounds like an awesome way to pay it forward. I might just take you up on this offer when I'm ready to query :)
    Nutschell
    www.thewritingnut.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great idea, Nicole! I may just send something your way when I've done a bit more work on my WIP. :) Can't beat good feedback.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hey,

    Nice way to pay it forward and pass on your knowledge...

    I *would* send you my page 1, but you've already done a brilliant job of crit-ing my whole ms :) (Thanks again!!!)

    I shall have to write page 1 of WIP#2 and shoot it over :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sounds great. Another blogger I follow does opening page critiques like that, and it's very interesting to see the things she picks up on. Learn a lot from reading them. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Excellent idea! You can learn a lot from reading critiques of other people's writing. And if you are brave enough to get critiqued, it's well worth it!

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is what the blogosphere is all about -- lending a helping hand! Good for you! :)

    ReplyDelete