Vlog: How to Be a Good CP

You asked, I answered! Today I'm talking about how to be a good critique partner to your critique partners.

RELATED VLOGS:

• 4 Places to Find CPs: http://bit.ly/2qioc6g 
• 4 Mistakes I Made as a New Writer: http://bit.ly/1jveLse 
• How to Handle Tough CP Feedback: http://bit.ly/1ecMu79 
• Why You Need Critique Partners: http://bit.ly/1vR7Jj7

What tips would you add to the list? 

Twitter-sized bite:

What are some ways to be a good critique partner? @Ava_Jae breaks it down in today's vlog. (Click to tweet)

Guest Post: On the Importance of Working with the Right CPs by Mary Kate Pagano

Photo credit: Thomas Hawk on Flickr

Critique partners: critical to the writing process. But we all know that by now, don't we?

I wanted to talk about finding the right critique partners for you. Specifically, how important it is to ensure you're working with critique partners who are familiar with the kind of stuff you write.

I took a writing class not too long ago that was simply called "Novel Writing", so the students were people from all walks of life, writing all sorts of things. Each week we critiqued one person's submission; we went around the room and everyone said what they did and didn't like about it, and at the end, the writer got to ask questions.

It wasn't a terrible format, except that with the wide variety of people in the class, some of the critique I got was...less than helpful.

"I don't understand why anyone writes in the present tense," said one person. "It doesn't make sense to me. You're writing a story that already happened, so how can it be happening NOW?" 

"Your tone is too conversational," said another. "Like a kid talking." 

"I hate the first person," said a third.

There were some other criticisms, but you get my point. These people were not helpful, because my piece was an excerpt from a YA novel. And these people had never read YA literature.

This is an extreme example--though some of those people did reach out to me after the class was over to see if we could continue CPing, and I foolishly said yes because I didn't have any CPs yet!--but it just highlighted to me how hugely important it is to be working with CPs who know what you're going for.

I didn't last long working with those people. And it's clear to me now why.

YA literature isn't so drastically different from adult literature that I'm saying someone who reads or writes some adult can't be a good CP. They just need to also be familiar with YA. A category in which the first person and present tense are OF COURSE acceptable. Where the voice of the novel may sound conversational. Where coming-of-age themes are important.

Needless to say, I've been a bit pickier about who I work with on a CP basis now. And by the same token, when people reach out to me for CPing who write in a genre about which I know little (i.e. erotica, or someone even asked me once to critique a child's picture book), I think it's much better for both of us that I (nicely) turn them down.

How about you? Did you also make mistakes when first working with CPs? What have you learned?

Mary Kate Pagano has been voraciously reading and writing since she learned how, but it's only in the last six years or so that she's drummed up the courage to actually attempt to publish a novel. She has three finished YA manuscripts under her belt and will be querying all once she's satisfied with them (which is taking some time :) You can find her writerly and readerly musings over at www.wanderlustywriter.com and also catch her writerly and readerly (and sometimes random) tweets at https://twitter.com/wandrlstywriter.

Twitter-sized bite:

Working w/ CPs is important but @wandrlstywriter talks abt why working w/ the *right* CPs is essential. (Click to tweet)

How to Digest a Tough Critique

Photo credit: acevvedo on Flickr

Getting critiqued is scary. Whether it's a CP who's already read four of your manuscripts, a beta reader, a freelance editor, your agent or editor or someone else, it can be nerve-wracking to wait for critique to come in.

Even though it's not personal, getting your manuscript critiqued can certainly feel that way. Comments can feel like punches to the gut and every flash of red can feel overwhelming.

To help get through the natural emotional reaction to critique, I like to follow these steps:


Before the critique:

1. Remember this will make the manuscript better. This is a mantra I often repeat to myself both before reading critiques, during, and while I'm revising. Receiving criticism now is good—it means you can make your manuscript better and better and address problems early. Because...


2. Remember it's 1,000% better to see the problems and fix them now than not realize until after it's published. As tough as getting critique for your manuscript can be, getting a lot of it early is important because the last thing you want is a major problem unearthed after the book is published. Because then it'll be too late to fix it. 

While reading the critique:

1. Read it all in one sitting. I find it helps for me to read all the notes in one sitting, because that way nothing is a surprise when I come back to the notes and I can mull over everything together. This is, of course, what works for me—if you need to take breaks and tackle it in chunks, that's cool too. 


2. Take deep breaths and consider each comment. Oftentimes, the first instinct with critique is to throw up defenses. Not everyone would see it like that or they didn't understand the point! or but this is too important for me to change etc. It's a natural reaction—but one you should challenge yourself to resist. You don't have to accept every comment, of course, but you do have to give each one careful consideration. It's your job.

After reading the critique:

1. Thank critique partner (or whoever) for their thoughts. Always do this! Even if the critique isn't resonating with you right now, thank them for their time and thoughts. Critiquing isn't easy and they're helping you not only better your manuscript, but better your writing skills.


2. Take a break. How long is up to you. I usually like to step away from notes and sleep on it before I make any changes. This helps me really let the critique sink in and get the gears moving as I start to consider how to tackle the problems and make changes. 


3. Read again and consider how to fix issues. Once you're emotionally ready to start making changes, it's time to look over the notes again and start making concrete plans. For me, the second look-over is usually as I import comments from Word to Scrivener. I then like to organize them by category, which allows me to look at each section (plot/pace, character, world building, writing, miscellaneous) and consider what needs the most work and what strategy I'll use to start revising. 


4. Get to work. There's only one way to move forward and make your manuscript even better than it was before—and the time to do it is now. Good luck!

What steps do you take to digest a tough critique? 

Twitter-sized bites:

Struggling after getting a tough manuscript critique? @Ava_Jae shares some steps for taking critique. (Click to tweet)  

How do you digest a tough critique? Author @Ava_Jae shares some steps. (Click to tweet)

Writability's First Meet Your CP Event!

As I often talk about the importance of critique partners, one very common question I get is where to find them. While I've done two separate posts on where to find those elusive CPs, I've been debating a third option for a while and decided I'm just gonna go for it.

So. I know many of you are looking for critique partners and now that I have a platform that can reach lots of people, I'd like to help by hosting Writability's first ever critique partner match event, Meet Your CP!

So, basically, if you're looking for a critique partner, or will be soon, follow these steps:

1. Fill out the following template and post it in the comments:
   
   Genre(s)/Category(ies): [First, the category and genre of the MS you want critiqued, then what category/genres you usually write in and are willing to critique. i.e.: YA Science Fiction, MG Contemporary, Adult Fantasy, etc.]
   
   Elevator pitch: [A short, usually one sentence pitch. i.e.: An uprising on a distant, alien planet threatens the reign of a teen, alien queen.]
   
   First paragraph: [Pretty self-explanatory.]
   
   
   What you're looking for with a CP: [Long term CP? Just need a CP for this project? How often do you anticipate trading? etc.]
   
   Your writing background: [Is this your first manuscript? Fifth? Are you agented/unagented? Any relevant info can go here.]
   
   Contact info: [E-mail, Twitter handle, whatever]


2. Browse the comments and see if there's anyone you'd potentially be interested in working with. If so, contact them!
   


3. Do a critique partner trial. Trade a sample (I usually did first chapter) and while you're critiquing, think about whether your trial partner's writing style/story would be a good fit for you. When you get their critique back, look over the notes, and consider whether their critiquing style works well for you. If yes, yay! If not, that's totally fine too—you are both 100% allowed to say, "Thanks for your feedback! I don't think we're going to be a good fit, but I appreciate your input and wish you all the best." No hard feelings, no questions asked—not all CP trials work and that's totally okay. :)

So that's it! Feel free to contact multiple people if you'd like—both because CP trials don't always work out, and because it's good to have multiple critique partners. I recommend having 2-3 CPs. I like having odd numbers myself, that way there's always a tie-breaker if/when your CPs disagree. 

Good luck and have fun!

Twitter-sized bite:

Looking for a critique partner? Now you can find one at @Ava_Jae's first Meet Your CP event. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: 4 Places to Find Critique Partners

Ready to work with critique partners but don't know where to find them? Today I'm talking four places where you can find critique partners.

RELATED LINKS:

• Sub It Club
• Why You Need Critique Partners (Really)
• How to Edit: The CP Trade
• CPs vs Betas
• How to Handle Tough CP Feedback

Where did you find your critique partners?

Twitter-sized bite: 

Ready to work with CPs but don't know where to find some? @Ava_Jae vlogs about 4 places to find CPs. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: Don't Worry About Idea Stealing

I semi-frequently hear from new writers who are too nervous to get critique partners because they worry about their book ideas being stolen. So here's why I don't think you have to worry about it.

RELATED LINKS: 

• Don't Worry About Other Writers Stealing Your Ideas (blog post version)
• Why You Need Critique Partners (Really) (vlog)
• 5 Places to Find Critique Partners

Did you worry about this before working with critique partners for the first time? (I know I did.)

Twitter-sized bite:

Too worried about idea stealing to enter a pitch contest or work w/ a CP? @Ava_Jae says not to worry about it. #vlog (Click to tweet)

Vlog: CPs vs Betas

Today I'm talking a frequent point of confusion: the difference between CPs (critique partners) and beta readers. Or at least, the difference to me.

RELATED LINKS: 

• Why You Need Critique Partners (Really) (vlog)
• How to Edit: The CP Trade (vlog)
• How to Handle Tough CP Feedback (vlog)
• 5 Places to Find Critique Partners
• Critique Partners: They're Not Optional
• How to Choose Critique Partners
• Writing Tips: CPs vs Betas (blog post version)

ALSO GOING ON: 

• I'm guest posting over at Janice Hardy's Fiction University today! Check it out for info on common first page issues. 


• And! You have until tomorrow at 11:59 PM EST to enter for a chance to win a first 250 critique featured right here on Writability!

Do you use both CPs and beta readers? How do you use them differently? 

Twitter-sized bites: 

Writer @Ava_Jae says, "you need outside feedback to get an objective view of your work." What do you think? #vlog (Click to tweet)  

Confused about the difference between CPs and betas? @Ava_Jae breaks it down in today's vlog. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: How to Handle Tough CP Feedback

So you've traded with critique partners and now you have their feedback...and you have a lot of work to do. Today I'm talking about the very real reality of how to handle tough CP feedback.

 

RELATED LINKS: 

• How to Edit: The CP Trade (vlog)
• How to Determine a Good CP Match: Trial Runs
• Revisions: Don't Be Afraid to Make (Big) Changes 
• 5 Places to Find Critique Partners

What tips do you have for handling tough CP/beta feedback? 

Twitter-sized bites: 

Not sure how to process tough CP feedback? Writer @Ava_Jae vlogs about her process. (Click to tweet)  

What do you do when your CP feedback requires a lot of work? Writer @Ava_Jae vlogs some tips. (Click to tweet)

How to Import Word Comments into Scrivener

Photo credit: MIKI Yoshihito (´･ω･) on Flickr

UPDATE: I have since learned (thanks to a commenter and some experimenting) that you can skip ALL of this and just copy and paste. Who knew? Clearly not I. Happy Scrivener-ing!

Up until basically last week, I was under the impression that it was impossible to auto-import CP comments from Word into Scrivener. And so, I would sit for hours, importing CP comments by hand—that is, retyping them into Scrivener.

When I received my CP comments for the latest WIP, however, I knew there was no way I’d be able to do that this time. Because there were over 1,300 of them. (Yeah.)

So I had a choice: either edit entirely in Word (which, I mean, was an option, but not my favorite one), or spend a ridiculous amount of time importing by hand, which I’d pretty much already decided wouldn’t be worth it.

Or was there another choice?

After doing some internet scouring, I came across this post on importing documents from Word into Scrivener. I’d seen the post before, and already knew the process described in the post didn’t import comments, but this time my Google search directed me into the comments on the post…where I found my answer: RTF files.

After some playing around, I managed to figure it out with a little help from the post. And so here's the process I used:

1. Open all documents containing CP notes in Microsoft Word. For me, that was three documents this time. The reason you need to open everything in Word first, is before you import to Scrivener, you need to merge all of your documents with CP notes into one Word doc. Which is a thing! A very useful thing. Anyway...


2. Go to Tools > Track Changes > Compare Documents.
   


3. Choose two of your documents. You will now see this menu:
   
   
   
   
   If you want to attempt to preserve the tracked changes your CPs suggested, then choose the document with the most tracked changes as “Original document.” I will say, however, this attempt to preserve tracked changes is somewhat futile as it gets messed up when you import to Scrivener anyway. So up to you. 


4. Click “OK” and save your new document. Word creates a completely new document now with the comments from both of the documents you just “compared.” Save this document, then repeat this process as many times as you need (using your new merged document with the next one you want to merge with). 


5. Save your final document as an RTF. Once you have your brand new, shiny document with all of your CP comments in one place, save your file as an RTF. This is what you’ll be importing into Scrivener.


6. Open your project in Scrivener. Self-explanatory. 


7. Go to File > Import > Files…
   
   
   
   And choose your new RTF file. This will bring in your newly merged document into Scrivener, with all comments intact. YAY! 

Some caveats:

• You will have to redistribute your chapters or scenes into separate Scrivener scenes again. When you initially import, it’ll all be in one ginormous Scrivener scene, so you’ll have to reorganize however you had it before you compiled it into a Word document. This is a little annoying, but relatively easy and totally worth it, IMO. 


• Tracked changes will be a mess. So this is a more significant downside—you’re going to lose a lot of the tracked changes your CPs suggested, both because they get messed up in the Word merge, and because Scrivener doesn’t recognize tracked changes. Instead, Scrivener will automatically try to implement the tracked changes that remained intact in the merged document, which is a bit of a headache because it doesn’t implement it correctly and it’s not marked, so you kind of just have to catch them.
  
  I didn’t know that when I imported, so I suspect I’ll be catching them for a while. I think, however, if you go through your Word document and fix all the tracked changes there before you import into Scrivener (and, even better—before you merge the documents in Word), this shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll be doing that in the future. 


• All of your comments will be imported as if they came from the same person. As in, they’ll all be the same color. Which isn’t a big deal to me. I plan to color code mine differently once I’ve brought my comment count down to a manageable number. 


• If two (or more) CPs comment on the same line their comments will be merged. You’ll be able to tell, because there won’t be a space between the end of CP 1’s comment and the beginning of CP 2’s comment. I actually don’t mind this—it lets me see multiple opinions in one CP box, and it’s I found it pretty fun when all three of my CPs commented on the same thing. 

So that’s it! I hope this saves you some time in getting Word comments into Scrivener. I know I, for one, will never be manually importing comments again.


Twitter-sized bites: 

Ever wonder how to get Word comments into Scrivener? Writer @Ava_Jae share the process she uses to do just that. (Click to tweet)  

Did you know you can import Word comments into Scrivener? Writer @Ava_Jae explains one method of doing so. (Click to tweet) 

Writing Tip: CPs vs. Betas

Photo credit: mrurbain on Flickr

I’m going to start this post by saying I’ve seen varying definitions of CPs vs. beta readers throughout the interwebs, so this is just how I see it. Your definitions may vary. And that’s okay.

(My) quick definitions:

• CP (Critique Partner): Someone you regularly trade manuscripts with, with whom you give (and received) detailed critiques on each other’s WIPs. You may even trade the same manuscript several times. This is a long-term deal.


• Beta Reader (Beta): Someone you share your manuscript with for overall feedback, oftentimes focused on a couple particular aspects. Usually this is a one-off, but if you find a couple really awesome betas, it can be a longer-term relationship. This differs from CPs, however, because it’s very much dependent MS to MS, while CP relationships are assumed to be an every (or almost every) MS deal.


  
  Note: I’ve seen other writers use betas a little differently, and that’s totally fine! Do whatever works best for you. For me, betas are an extra set of eyes with expertise my CPs don’t have. 

Personally, I have three main CPs (I recommend you stick with odd numbers, because it saves you when you get contradictory feedback, which is somewhat inevitable). They see just about all of my manuscripts (with only a couple exceptions), and I’ve been working with each of them for at least over a year. They know my writer ticks (sometimes better than I do), have seen my manuscripts in not-so-fabulous shape, and continually push me to do better. Basically, they are the best.

My CPs see my earliest work, which is to say usually the second draft (which, depending on the WIP, may or may not have gone through more than a round of revision already). Sometimes I send all three the MS at once, sometimes because of scheduling things (or other reasons) I send them the MS in different feedback rounds. Sometimes they see the same MS more than once. It depends on the WIP.

Fun fact: this right here is where I stopped before querying what is now Beyond the Red. Possibly this is part of the reason I had so much revising to do after signing with the Agent of Awesome, but that was, originally, the end of my CP process.

No longer!

Once I’ve received feedback from all three and implemented their suggestions, I now move on (or at least, I will be with the current WIP) to the in-betweeners.

The what? Right. So, I also have readers who kind of fall in between CPs and betas. Some of them I’ve given feedback on MSs, some of them we’ve agreed we should totally trade but haven’t yet, some of them I’ve traded with, then fallen out of touch with, then started planning on trading with again. They are all excellent and have been sorted into respective critique rounds, after my CPs.  Not all WIPs are sent to in-betweeners, and like betas, it varies MS to MS. (As of right now, most of my in-betweeners have not seen my work, but that will change shortly.)

From there come the betas. Beta readers, for me, are the last stop between revisions and Agent of Awesome. They help me catch stuff my previous readers didn’t, and I usually use them for really specific issues that weren’t addressed enough earlier (for example: representation). I also ask for general, overall feedback and thoughts, which helps me determine just how much more I need to tweak the MS before sending it off.

What makes betas different from CPs or in-betweeners is I tend to pick them with pretty specific qualifications, and whether or not they see future WIPs largely depends on the needs of that particular project. So this is assumed to be a temporary deal, unless I know a future project will have similar needs, in which case… :)

So that’s how I view the (rather blurry) line between CPs and betas—now I want to hear from you.

Do you use both? How do you define them?

Twitter-sized bites:

Confused about the diff. between CPs & betas? @Ava_Jae shares her thoughts on these important writer relationships. (Click to tweet) 

Do you use CPs and betas? How do you define the difference? Join the discussion on @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)

Discussion: When Do You Send Your WIP to CPs?

Photo credit: Thomas Hawk on Flickr

So as I’m revising my latest WIP, I’ve been thinking a lot about when I think I’ll have this new project ready for my critique partners, partially because I’m kind of psyched to see what they think, and partially because I’ve maybe been torturing them on Twitter with teasers, but that’s neither here nor there.

I’ve noticed over the years, however, that many writers have hugely different processes as far as what they share with their critique partners and when, which I find pretty fascinating.

For example: I don’t usually share any book ideas with anyone before I’ve started working on a project, largely because I don’t know if a book idea is going to work out until I’ve written at least 10k—my marker for this will actually be a full manuscript and not just an experiment (and even then it’s not really a guarantee). Ideas that I love are hard for me to come by. Even after I’ve plotted something out, and I really like the potential of the story, I never feel confident enough to share it until I’m sure I’m going to finish the manuscript, because I have a history of deciding after a few thousand words that this idea isn’t going to work out.

On the flip side, I know many writers who have many book ideas at a time, and often share them with their critique partners (or even their agents) to get early feedback.

After I’ve written the first draft, I put it away for (at least) a month before diving back into it for revisions. My critique partners never see my first drafts. This is for a couple reasons. Firstly, because I always fast-draft my first drafts, I usually finish with a list (mental, or physical) of things I already know I need to fix or expand upon. This list is usually grows when I do my first read-through, and as I tend not to like to send my critique partners a project I already know has tons of problems, I don't. Maybe it’s just the practical part of me, but if I can tackle and fix a problem before my critique partners know it exists, all the better.

Secondly, because I fast-draft all my first drafts, my first drafts are…er, let’s say not my best writing. Which is totally to be expected with first drafts, but again, I personally prefer to send my critique partners work that I’ve at least attempted to polish.

On the other hand, I know many writers who send their critique partners the first draft basically they day they finish writing. Or maybe a few days later, after doing a super-quick round of tweaks here and there. And that works for them, and that’s awesome.

Lately, my process has been to send my first round of critique partners draft two-point-something. The last one was two point one (meaning I went through two rounds of revision before sending the manuscript to my first round of CPs), and judging by the way this revision is going, it’ll probably be the same for this latest project. And then I basically go back and forth with different rounds of CPs and betas until I’m satisfied and send it off to my agent.

But for me, the only person to lay eyes on the first draft is me, myself, and I. And though I can’t assume that’ll never change, for now, I intend to keep it that way.

Now I want to hear from you: when do you send your WIP to your CPs? And do you share unwritten book ideas with them? 

Twitter-sized bites: 

When do you send your MS to CPs? And do you share your unwritten WIP ideas? Join the discussion on @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet) 

Unsure when to send your MS to CPs? @Ava_Jae shares her CP-trading process. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: How to Edit: The CP Trade

So your second draft is revised and shiny and you're ready for the next step...which is what? Today I'm talking about one more essential editing step: the critique partner trade.

RELATED LINKS/VLOGS: 

• How About We CP
• 5 Places to Find Critique Partners
• Critique Partners: They're Not Optional
• How to Choose Critique Partners
• Why Critiquing Others Helps You
• How to Love Editing (vlog)
• How to Edit: The First Read Through (vlog)
• How to Edit: The Second Draft (vlog)

What tips would you add for writers just starting the CP trade? 

Twitter-sized bite: 

Ready to start trading w/ CPs but don't know where to start? @Ava_Jae vlogs about this essential revision step. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: Why You Need Critique Partners (Really)

I once thought family members and friends were all I needed as far as critique partners go. I was wrong. And this is why. 

      

What do you think? Agree? Disagree? Share your thoughts! 

Twitter-sized bites: 

Writer @Ava_Jae vlogs about why critique partners are so invaluable. What do you think? (Click to tweet)  

Do you REALLY need critique partners? Writer @Ava_Jae vlogs about why CPs are so important. (Click to tweet)