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Writing Advice & Discussion > Anyone tried critiquecircle.com or something similar?

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message 1: by Quantum (last edited Dec 11, 2017 09:44AM) (new)

Quantum (quantumkatana) Anyone tried critiquecircle.com or something similar?

(I found it referenced in https://www.janefriedman.com/find-the...)

How does it all work...give me the basics
Members submit their stories to the story queue, and pay credits to do so. Only a certain number of stories will be displayed each week (more information on this can be found here), so you may have to wait a week or two for yours to come up, depending on how much queue activity there is. When a story comes up for critique, other members can read it and submit their critiques to the author, thus earning credits.

Stories stay in the queue for a week, which runs Wednesday to Wednesday.

To help with queue wait times, we created a custom Newbie Queue. Your first story must be submitted here and, if you wish, you can submit up to three in total before moving to the other queues. When you join the site, you get two free credits, and you can use these towards the cost of posting your first story. While your membership is still new you are also allowed the opportunity to upgrade to a Premium membership (details in the FAQ entry linked here) for an additional credit, which will allow you to submit your first chapter to the queues immediately.

(https://www.critiquecircle.com/faq.as...)



message 2: by Ox (new)

Ox W | 165 comments Hello Alex,

Nice idea for a post. I used Critique Circle several years ago, but didn't really like the format. The basic structure is that you submit your manuscript for review chapter-by chapter. This means you might not get a full-picture look at the book. Of course, maybe I just didn't stick with it, and the aim might be that if a reader likes your book, they will follow it through, post-by-post, like an old fashioned serial or whatever.

I suppose at the time I just thought I would get random reviews chapter by chapter and had no clue how someone coming in and reviewing chapter 10 was going to be able to offer constructive advice.

I might try it again, though.
Thanks for jogging my memory.

Have you tried it?


message 3: by Ann (new)

Ann Verdine | 2 comments I have tried it several times and still have an account. I don't like it very much. I saw mostly line edits and vague comments. I didn't want to spend a ton of time on the
Site weekly. Not worth the effort to me.


message 4: by Lora (new)

Lora | 19 comments Critters.org has worked well for me. You don't have to pay but you have to get credits by critiquing other works in the queue. There is also an option for dedicated readers. People that like your excerpt can get credit for reading your entire novel. I've had several beta readers through the site.


message 5: by Sunami (new)

Sunami Jones | 12 comments I've been with critique Circle for 1-1/2 years. I found it an excellent site and there was an air of gentleness that permeated most critiques. (I was on another site and it got a little snarky).

I typically write women's fiction/romance, but critters from various genres reviewed my stories, and I reciprocated and reviewed many genres I don't typically read--sci fi/ fantasy/literary/mystery, etc. I found these genres refreshing and have written several short stories outside my typical genre.
Critique Circle was helpful in that I listened to the majority of reviewers and by implementing changes, my stories became tighter.

Also, it is a global site and I have writer buddies all over the world--Moscow, Australia, Hungary, and in other parts of the U.S.

Critique Circle does lack in beta reading novels and full scripts which you do have to accrue a lot of points, but it's worth trying.

--Sunami Jones.


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