When you enter into the realm of writers, you begin to hear a LOT of jargon… or read it, I guess. (Hi Twitter! I’m looking at YOU.)
Now prior to delving into the deep abyss that is the #WritingCommunity, I thought I had critic partners already in my corner. Critic partners, as far as I could tell, were people who read my work, caught errors and told me what works. My handful of friends & family who read my completed novel did all of these wonderful things and, even better, told me I was FANTASTIC! (Insert all the self-love emojis here.)
While this was REALLY great for my self-esteem and gave me surface level mistakes to correct, I had no real editing to do past that. I was fairly certain that I was a unique breed of writer who wove wonderful tales SO WELL the first time around, I had no need to edit.
*YES. I ACTUALLY HAD THESE THOUGHTS… Why yes, it is EXTREMELY EMBARRASSING to admit to my own naïvety.*
Then I was extremely lucky to make a writing friend through Twitter! We swapped our first chapters and then agreed to read each other’s work and give each other feedback.
Holy WOW.
The feedback she gave me was so incredibly helpful! She told me what worked and stoked my self-esteem, sure – but most importantly, she showed me what was WRONG with my manuscript! My friend (who I can now happily refer to as my Critic Partner) sent me an email after she finished reading my book and broke down everything. She took each character and told me what she appreciated about them and even how they were lacking. Then she went into my strengths and weaknesses and why tweaking certain things could help build tension and improve my story pacing, etc.
Here’s the big take away from this: Those friends & family critic partners I thought I already had in my corner… they were BETA READERS. Let me give you quick definitions to clear the air…
Beta Readers: They are readers that think like READERS. They give amazing feedback in making comments & telling you what they think of your work as a READER! They make comments like, “What just happened? Eeek!” and “I LOVE this scene!” and catch things like, “You’re spelling this person’s name differently here than you did in the last chapter…” Beta readers are fantastic in how they tell you what a reader’s reaction might be.
Critic Partners: They are readers that think like WRITERS. Their feedback is more in depth and critical. They point out plot holes, offer suggestions and pose questions like, “Have you thought of having something like this happen? It would increase the tension between these two characters and add a layer of curiosity for the reader.”
Here’s the big thing with critic partners – their job is to tell you what is WRONG with your manuscript. You asked them for the feedback!
They are NOT doing this to hurt your feelings.
They are NOT saying you should throw in the towel.
They are NOT telling you to give up writing forever.*
They ARE telling you what’s wrong so that you can fix it. They want you to improve your craft and become the best author you can be!
*Sometimes, though, people are jerks. If you find a “critic partner” that legitimately does these things, they aren’t critic partners… they are just terrible human beings and you should remove yourself from their negativity immediately.
Ultimately, a critic partner helps give you a direction for editing – something I desperately needed!
Who do you have in your corner? Beta Readers? Critic Partners? What else would you add to my definitions?
As always, Write Honey, write!
Allie Marin
Allie Marin 