NEED Writing Buddy / Crit Partner / Mentor Ect.

Maryn said:

Some days it seems to be my job to take pin to balloon. My apologies in advance.

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Congrats on keeping it all together - I know I wouldn't be able to

thirding maryn's comments....especially that you seem to already be building up the walls against any substantitive critique. Go check out some of the stuff in SYW; critique can be brutal, but that's because brutal critiques can be needed. Telling someone you're "really not into that" already leaves a huge, ginormous red flag, I am afraid.....

Second Maryn's sentiments.

Also:

Pocono Pariah said:

Publishing;; Goal is to self publish using createspace, but would like some hand holding to get the book out there for the world to see once completed. This includes selling the book as an ebook or online before I write a Q-letter, find a professional editor, an agent, and attempt to get the book out there.

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Why on earth would you self publish and then write a query/look for an agent/editor? That's backwards. Please educate yourself on what agents and editors do, and also about the various types of publishing (brief article by Chuck Wendig that gives some info here, but read more widely--that's just to get you started), and then choose which route works best for you.

Good luck.

I'd missed that, but yes....once you e-pub, unless you do extremely well, you've sold it and shot your wad....you can't write a query and pitch it for re-publication

pocono,

an apology goes a long way. I assume you're asking me to clarify the first post, and if so, I was saying your initial post came across as that of someone who wants help, but intends to dictate exactly how they get it and what they will accept. In the past, there has been a lot of that here at AW, and I am sure there will continue to be. Considering your apology I feel better about things, but it was sort of a case of "oh Christ, I'm pretty sure I've seen this before....dozens of times...."

Since you regret your post, and you seem intent on making amends, here's my suggestion: You can get great betas here, but most of the folks here want to know a person a bit before committing. Which is reasonable--look at how upset you are about the time you spent on preening, posing asses. So, it helps to establish a presence. That said, hit 50 posts and you can start subbing in SYW, and maybe put up your first 1000 words. participating in other discussions, getting in there and critiquing others' work, etc. can both raise your post count and also your profile, which will in turn help you get that beta in a month or two. What's more, as you get reviews in SYW you may get a feel for folks you would especially like to beta read, or prefer not to use as a beta....you get to know us, as well as us getting to know you. Don't get me wrong, you may well get one sooner, but the time spent here is not wasted if you use it to learn, and the more of a "known" you are here, the better your odds of getting that beta. It is a win-win situation for you.

Welcome to the boards.

Listen to quicklime and Maryn. They know of what they speak.

Seriously, what you did was like this: Dude walks out of bookstore, you tell him he must like books cause he was at a bookstore and would he like to read your book and give you feedback. In return, you will read his book and give him feedback.

Never in RL would you ask random strangers to do this. One, they would think you were crazy. Two, they don't know you or your taste in books. Three, you don't know them or their taste in books.

The same goes here. We don't know you. How can anyone determine whether they are willing to let you crit or beta their book in return for doing the same for yours when we have no basis to understand how the other writes, crits, betas, etc. What if we give you kick ass advice and you give us crap advice? What if we give you crap advice and you give us golden little nuggets? The liklihood of finding people who read and write in the genre you do is higher if you get to know people in the forum for that genre. Also by getting your post to 50 and sharing your work, you can get a feel for how others crit and read your work. This is then how you make a list of people to whom you will send nice polite requests for them to read your book and beta it. Additionally, if you offer advice in SYW, others will get to know your style to determine whether they want you to do the same for them.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that this is a community. There's give and take, there are personalities of all types and some people are a better fit than others. It's your job to ferret them out. It is not their job to come to this thread and offer it up with no warm up handshake, dinner and movie or the requisite 3 dates before the deed is to be done. lol

Pocono, you remind me of somebody. . .


I came here guns blazing, asking for betas to read FOUR NOVELS. Without offering anything in return.

I was summarily smacked down. Hard. Which was no less than I deserved. I cried anyway. Then, I apologized. Then, I got to my fifty. Meanwhile, I got to know some people here, some really fine writers. Some of them were kind enough to beta my stuff. And I've beta'd for people here in return. The experience has been invaluable to me in terms of how I view my writing and how I view myself--I'm not just writing. I'm a writer.

You're among writers here. Words are important. The bar is raised in terms of taking responsibility for what you write. If you put it out there, you have to own it. That hasn't been easy for me and I've screwed up. But I'm trying.

People here will support you, go out of their way to help you, as long as they see you are willing to learn the drill, pay your dues, become part of the community, give back in kind. If you screw up, they'll forgive you if they believe you're sincere. They'll teach you, if they believe you're willing to listen and learn. They'll support you, if they believe you're being forthright with them.

AW is a great place for writers, pocono. Get your bearings, find your way around. Listen to those who know of what they speak.

Do that, and you'll do okay here, I'm thinking.

Pocono Pariah said:

Credentials;; Years of writing, preferred if they have self published or published before. Possibly a professional editor, a college professor, or a teacher of some sort, and they must be the same age or older than me. I would prefer that politics, religion, and culture views are not brought up and can be avoided. I am white, straight, Christian, and my political views are mixed. I would rather not be judged or judge others on views or values, just our writing.

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I missed that part in my first pass. *headsdesk*

Critiques/Comments may not be relied on? Eeeeek.

Pocono, I read your first post again. Then I read mine again. In some respects you remind me of myself. I was ballsy, rash, I apologized. . .

I'm impressed by your bio. You're relatively young, you've accomplished some pretty decent things. Good deal there. You know what you write. You know what you like. You're not shy, you're stating exactly what you are looking for from a beta. You don't mince words. . . no problem, until this, right here:

Professional opinions on story content and character development is welcomed, but due to it being an opinion, may not be completely relied on.

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Others have mentioned that, right? But you know anything a Beta tells you will be an opinion. Some betas are more knowledgeable than others; some, more insightful; some, more truthful; some, more tactful. But every one of them renders an opinion, which you are free to consider or not consider.

Would like someone to bounce ideas off of when word block strikes, these can be serious or fun.

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A beta doesn't generally do that, though. A beta is critiquing a completed work.

Looking for more than one person who is interested.

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So you are looking for multiple beta readers? I don't think that's unreasonable.

I will provide the first chapter of my current work to see who would like to continue working with me.

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That works both ways. I'd be surprised if a beta accepted an ms for critique without first reviewing a chapter or two, without conferring with the writer about expectations, without hammering out other details. . . both parties want a good fit.

I am very flexible and would be willing to swap novels for critiques.

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How many can you crit at one time? Beta-reading isn't quick and sometimes it isn't easy. It can be quite involved and time-consuming. You don't want to bite off more than you can chew.

Looking for a long term friend, (I’m not as stiff as I’m coming across in this message, don’t worry- lol).

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You don't want a beta-reader to be your friend. That may come but critting is serious business. Assuming you're serious about getting your novel in the best shape possible, prior to querying the thing, getting an agent, getting published. As a sage squirrel once told me (paraphrasing here), If I like you I might hold back because I don't want to hurt your feelings. You want me to be truthful. You want me to be as objective as possible. You don't want me to like you.

Publishing;; Goal is to self publish using createspace, but would like some hand holding to get the book out there for the world to see once completed. This includes selling the book as an ebook or online before I write a Q-letter, find a professional editor, an agent, and attempt to get the book out there.

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Others have commented on this so I won't belabor.

Credentials;; Years of writing, preferred if they have self published or published before. Possibly a professional editor, a college professor, or a teacher of some sort, and they must be the same age or older than me. I would prefer that politics, religion, and culture views are not brought up and can be avoided. I am white, straight, Christian, and my political views are mixed. I would rather not be judged or judge others on views or values, just our writing.

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I know others commented on that, too. My comment? Look for somebody who's been around, who's writing you've come to know and admire, who's crits are generally spot on. But first, you need to put yourself out there so potential betas can feel similarly confident about you, your writing, your skill level.

That's it for credentials, imo. The rest is inconsequential. Like you said, you want somebody to crit your writing. Period.

So.