I had a delighful conversation with an attendee over the weekend about critique groups (Hi, LM!) and I wanted to share some of the highlights with all of you.
Critique groups come in all shapes and sizes. Some are genre specific, some are judged, some are open to all writers and all genres. Some are honest and some are not. When you're looking for a critique group, here are some things to consider:
1. How serious is the group when it comes to the writing? Are they more into cookouts and cocktails or do they really want to get the heart of the work? And how serious are you? Is writing more than a hobby, or just a part-time things for you?
2. What's the demographic of the group? Are all of the writers rookies or are some of them published? Where do you honestly fit into the group? Are you the star of the show, or are you always the one who gets picked on?
3. How honest and forthright are the members? Will they tell you the truth, as they see it, about your work? And do they know what they're talking about? Will they tell you you're the next Faulkner so they don't have to hurt your feelings? Can you give honest and constructive criticism?
Critique groups are like any other outlet: they grow, change and evolve over time. You have to expect this. People will drop-out, stop writing, get published, move. It just happens. Be aware of these changes and make sure your attendance is productive. If it isn't, find a new group.
I was a critique group regular for years. But after a long, hard look at my expectations from the group, I realized my needs were no longer being met. I still communicate with several members, but the meetings had become less than productive for me. It broke my heart to leave, but I felt I was reading and rereading the same material. And only two other writers in the group seemed to be serious about publishing.
A few months after leaving the group, I met a lady at a conference. After a long discussion, we realized were in the same place in our writing lives and we wrote the same genre. We decided to try an experiment: long-distance critiques. We made some hard and fast ground rules. No personal relationship except to ask politely about the husband and kids. No self-editing. No beating around the bush. Regular schedule. Emails preferable to phone calls. Call only if you can't explain it in an email. 100% Business. We are CRITIQUE PARTNERS not Best Friends Forever or Frenemies.
It's been a dream come true for me. (I hope she feels the same!) She's the one person who I can really trust to tell me the uncensored truth. She knows what she's talking about when it comes to our genre. And we're climbing the publishing ladder at the same time. I know this won't work for everyone, but it works well for us.
So, if you can't find a critique group that meets your needs, consider an out-of-the box solution. Don't waste time and gas attending a critique group that gets you no closer to your goal. Find one that fits.
Thanks for the idea, LM. I was fresh out of blogging topics.
Going Green and What it Means for the 2009 Conference
This year we decided early in the planning process to 'go green.' It's the buzz phrase of the year and I'm sure lots of you are wondering what it really means when it comes to the conference.
Here are some of the ways we saved paper, money, envelopes and ink.
1. All faculty contracts were completed electronically. We didn't mail a single one.
2. Faculty members were given the choice of receiving critiques via snail mail or via email. Most chose email.
3. We decided not to print a color brochure, moving to simple black and white mail-in registration forms. We sent these on request---no buckshot marketing materials. We jazzed up the website, added the blog and passed along information electronically.
4. We trimmed the notebook down considerably, including everything necessary but nothing superfluous.
5. We had everything from vendors, e.g. bags, pens, shipped in groups. We requested they not send us a new, half-full box with each item. This saved boxes, packaging materials and ink. All we had to do was order things in a timely manner.
Here are some ways we saved energy:
1. Most conference materials, including the bags, the new notebooks, lanyards, badge holders and water bottles are either recycled or recyclable. This cut down considerably on the use of new plastics.
2. We elected to offer refillable water bottles for sale. Instead of buying a new water bottle each time you're thirsty, you can simply fill up your new water bottle. They are BPA-free, made of recycled materials, and they're SUPER COOL. (Wait until you see them!)
3. The conference bags, which also look teriffic, are large. This means you can put all your things---including books or other items you purchase---in one bag. We won't need plastic t-shirt bags at The Book Nook. Not only are these bags a waste of energy to produce, they're nearly impossible to get rid of once they are produced. Our landfills are literrally FULL of these bags. You can reuse your conference tote countless times. You can't say the same about the plastic ones.
Things make look more basic this year, but it's on purpose. You will have everything you need. You will, in no way, be inconvienced by these measures. We know that you are more concerned about the writing than the bells and whistles. We're very excited about all the neat conservation measures incorporated into this year's conference. We'll post info at the registration desk and the Book Nook decribing the new conservation-friendly items. Thanks for helping us help the environment!
Even though we're only a few hundred folks, think how much we could all save if all conference were eco-concious. It's not only about the money, it's about the world we're passing on to our kids and grandkids.
Here are some of the ways we saved paper, money, envelopes and ink.
1. All faculty contracts were completed electronically. We didn't mail a single one.
2. Faculty members were given the choice of receiving critiques via snail mail or via email. Most chose email.
3. We decided not to print a color brochure, moving to simple black and white mail-in registration forms. We sent these on request---no buckshot marketing materials. We jazzed up the website, added the blog and passed along information electronically.
4. We trimmed the notebook down considerably, including everything necessary but nothing superfluous.
5. We had everything from vendors, e.g. bags, pens, shipped in groups. We requested they not send us a new, half-full box with each item. This saved boxes, packaging materials and ink. All we had to do was order things in a timely manner.
Here are some ways we saved energy:
1. Most conference materials, including the bags, the new notebooks, lanyards, badge holders and water bottles are either recycled or recyclable. This cut down considerably on the use of new plastics.
2. We elected to offer refillable water bottles for sale. Instead of buying a new water bottle each time you're thirsty, you can simply fill up your new water bottle. They are BPA-free, made of recycled materials, and they're SUPER COOL. (Wait until you see them!)
3. The conference bags, which also look teriffic, are large. This means you can put all your things---including books or other items you purchase---in one bag. We won't need plastic t-shirt bags at The Book Nook. Not only are these bags a waste of energy to produce, they're nearly impossible to get rid of once they are produced. Our landfills are literrally FULL of these bags. You can reuse your conference tote countless times. You can't say the same about the plastic ones.
Things make look more basic this year, but it's on purpose. You will have everything you need. You will, in no way, be inconvienced by these measures. We know that you are more concerned about the writing than the bells and whistles. We're very excited about all the neat conservation measures incorporated into this year's conference. We'll post info at the registration desk and the Book Nook decribing the new conservation-friendly items. Thanks for helping us help the environment!
Even though we're only a few hundred folks, think how much we could all save if all conference were eco-concious. It's not only about the money, it's about the world we're passing on to our kids and grandkids.
The Tale of A Four-Part Harmony or I Finally GOT It!
This weekend my son and I went back to my hometown for two reasons: the Art in Autumn Festival in Weaverville, NC (check out the KILLER T-SHIRT above) and a family reunion. It was so nice to be home! My family has owned the same farm for more than two hundred years. Our family reunion has been at the same location, on the same Sunday, since 1939. As most of you know, I grew up in the high mountains lining the North Carolina-Tennessee border and I'm very proud of my Scots-Irish heritage. Family get-togethers in the Appalachian Mountains always include several staples of our unique culture: food, storytelling and music, lots of music, much of which can be traced back to Scotland and Ireland.Even though I'm raising my son in the South Carolina Lowcountry, nearly 300 miles and several light-years, from where I grew up, I try very hard to make sure he understands his mountain heritage. I sang Go To Sleep, Little Baby to him when he was teething. I sing Keep On The Sunny Side to him when his heart gets broken. Traditional music ala The Carter Family and Bill Monroe has been part of his experience since the moment he came into the world. And he loves it. For the past several months, he's been enthralled with an old Bill Monroe song called Fox on the Run. The recording I have is a three-part harmony. And even though he knows all the words, and even though we listen to it several times a day, he couldn't sing it to his satisfaction. UNTIL. . .
At the reunion on Sunday, after a great meal, someone picked up a guitar. The banjo and the mandolin were next and soon we were well on our way to an impromptu concert. My son requested Fox on the Run, the pickers agreed on a key, decided to divide the vocals into a four part harmony, and we were off---dozens of similar voices harmonizing. I looked down at my son's face and he was enthralled. His face was aglow with enlightenment. When the chorus came along, he slid into the fourth part of the harmony like it was made just for him.
What does this have to do with writing? My son has heard, practiced and worried with this song's vocals for months. He plays it over and over. Hums it. Taps his foot to it. But he just couldn't get it right---until he heard it in a different way.
The same goes for writing. Sometimes you can work on a scene, or an entire manuscript, and you just can't get it to work. But if you keep working, learning, trying . . .eventually the missing piece will show up and everything will make sense. You have to keep at it, even if the answer or the solution is not immediately apparent. All that work equals something. It's not a waste. And sometimes it takes all that work to get to the solution.
If only I'd played a four-part harmony version of this song, maybe my son would've gotten it sooner. And then he wouldn't have worried over it so much. But maybe not. Maybe the worrying was what he needed. Now, because he had to work at it, he knows every part---the vocals, the rhythms and counter rhythms, the melody. If he hadn't spent so much time on it, he might have only known one part, not the whole song.
Writing is one of those skills that requires a lot of practice. With music, you rarely get it to sound the way you want the first time you play (or sing) it. You'll hit sour notes, forget a sharp, mangle chords. In your manuscript, you'll create flat characters, write dialogue that sounds silly, and overuse adjectives. It's okay. Really. It's okay. You've learned a lot just by virtue of spotting these problems. And eventually, just like for my son, you'll hear that fourth part and realize just what you've been missing.
More about ART IN AUTUMN later this week.
If you're curious about the song, here's a link to a vintage performance by the Country Gentlemen. And yes, it's a four-part harmony.
OR, if you require a Hipper version, in three-part harmony(or something like it), check out Bare Naked Ladies doing the same song
Guest Blogger: Rochelle Bailey
Making the Most of Your Conference
by Editor Rochelle Bailey
Writing isn't a clinical, linear sort of career. On the surface it may seem as though every writer has the same goal – publication – but the specifics of that goal and the best path to reach it are unique to every individual. So when you've made the commitment to attend a writer's conference like the SCWW, how do you know how to make the conference programming and opportunities work for you?
First, be honest about where you are. Have you written part of a book, a whole book, or a whole series of books? Then be honest about where you want to go. Do you need to see your name in print on your own bookshelf, on the bookstore's shelf, or on the NY Times bestseller stand? Your answers determine the best sessions and classes for what you need right now, and what you'll look for as you progress.
If you're just getting started, stick with classes that will strengthen your writing craft. Classes on characters, plotting, conflict, and even manuscript formatting will be invaluable and help you rise above the 'doorstop' fate of so many first novels. And by fitting in a slush fest or query letter session you'll learn a lot just by listening to the feedback.
If you've been writing and submitting those manuscripts, but you keep getting rejected without a request, it's time to hone your query and synopsis skills, double check the market trends, and renew your enthusiasm with a craft session or two. Make time to tune in to other author's who've been there to see what advice you can glean from their experience.
If you've sold a book or two already, but you want to start swimming in a bigger pond or different genre, focus on promotion and marketing sessions, visit a genre or craft session, and use your time to network professionally with agents and editors.
However you decide to spend your time at a conference, always keep an open mind, a smile on your face, and your business cards handy.
***********
Rochelle Bailey is the acquiring editor and director of Quake, the YA division of Echelon Press. Writing as Regan Black, she is also the award winning author of the Shadows of Justice series and several short stories geared toward teen and adult readers.
Currently residing in the Lowcountry of South Carolina she balances editing and writing by managing a household of engineers of all ages and an impressive domestic zoo starring two retired greyhounds, two cats, and three quirky birds.
by Editor Rochelle Bailey
Writing isn't a clinical, linear sort of career. On the surface it may seem as though every writer has the same goal – publication – but the specifics of that goal and the best path to reach it are unique to every individual. So when you've made the commitment to attend a writer's conference like the SCWW, how do you know how to make the conference programming and opportunities work for you?
First, be honest about where you are. Have you written part of a book, a whole book, or a whole series of books? Then be honest about where you want to go. Do you need to see your name in print on your own bookshelf, on the bookstore's shelf, or on the NY Times bestseller stand? Your answers determine the best sessions and classes for what you need right now, and what you'll look for as you progress.
If you're just getting started, stick with classes that will strengthen your writing craft. Classes on characters, plotting, conflict, and even manuscript formatting will be invaluable and help you rise above the 'doorstop' fate of so many first novels. And by fitting in a slush fest or query letter session you'll learn a lot just by listening to the feedback.
If you've been writing and submitting those manuscripts, but you keep getting rejected without a request, it's time to hone your query and synopsis skills, double check the market trends, and renew your enthusiasm with a craft session or two. Make time to tune in to other author's who've been there to see what advice you can glean from their experience.
If you've sold a book or two already, but you want to start swimming in a bigger pond or different genre, focus on promotion and marketing sessions, visit a genre or craft session, and use your time to network professionally with agents and editors.
However you decide to spend your time at a conference, always keep an open mind, a smile on your face, and your business cards handy.
***********
Rochelle Bailey is the acquiring editor and director of Quake, the YA division of Echelon Press. Writing as Regan Black, she is also the award winning author of the Shadows of Justice series and several short stories geared toward teen and adult readers.
Currently residing in the Lowcountry of South Carolina she balances editing and writing by managing a household of engineers of all ages and an impressive domestic zoo starring two retired greyhounds, two cats, and three quirky birds.
Watching your Ps and Qs -- on Twitter, Myspace, Facebook...
Recently, Janet Reid mused on her blog about just how public the Internet is. This is something I've mentioned in publicity and submission seminars. While Ms. Reid stated it much better than I can, here are a few points to ponder when evaluating your online image.
- Items posted on Myspace and Facebook might show up in Internet searches.
- Comments posted on public blogs, as well as blogs, will appear in Internet searches.
- Agents do read blogs.
- Agents not only Google prospective clients' names, but their own names. If you "go off" about an agent on your blog, they can see it. While you might not think much of the person or his/her decision, other agents do and probably won't side with you.
- While your friends might appreciate your humor and slang, agents might not. It's all about context. If every post on your blog is about how much you drank, how much you ate and how many failed relationships you've had, an agent might run before they learn there's so much more to you.
However, there's hope.
- You can set your social networking profiles to private. If you've "friended" agents and editors, there are privacy settings to filter how much of your life they can see.
- There's always the possibility you'll be able to go back to blogs and delete previous posts.
- The visibility of your blog is a great way to showcase your talent and the positive thoughts you have about your writing, your conference experiences, etc.
- There's a way to keep tabs on yourself -- visit the Google page and learn more about Google Alerts.
- Want to learn how to use the World Wide Web for good instead of embarrassment? There are sessions covering social networking at the 2009 South Carolina Writers Workshop.
One last thought, photos you and your friends post on public sites can be searched as well. So, you might want to start bargaining now to get your sister to take down that photo of you...
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