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Nov 11, 2012 at 6:52am
#2460232
Edited: November 11, 2012 at 6:56am
There is a group that near-as-dammit fits your description. It's the most active review group on WDC that I'm aware of.
The reviews must be in-depth, using the 'workshop method'. i.e. you comment on the text inside the text, and then write your conclusions on the plot, characters, style/voice, grammar, setting/referencing, and overall. The downside is, I've lost count of the number of times I've spread a review over my free time in a week, missed the deadline, then all the work counts for nothing. Write 3 reviews a month and miss the deadline for the 3rd one, and all 3 count for nothing. But if you write 3 in time in Month 1, your novel and one other are 'showcased' for a whole week in Month 2; these are the only 2 novels that may be reviewed in that week. Then, you get the opposite problem to never getting views or reviews of your work: a whole lynch mob is unleashed on it and tears it to pieces! Some responses are more helpful than others. My approach goes something like this: "Your opening sentence with 4 clauses might work better as 2 sentences with stronger verbs and fewer adjectives?" If you write a story set in England, I don't say, "These terms are unfamiliar. Forget the British market". I say, "We tend to say X or Y; Z is almost never used in this context." That's helpful: now you have a better feel for X and Y than you did before, and a better idea of when to use them. That might be one step in a thousand miles but you can only improve step by step. Whenever I search for review groups on WDC, I find most have been inactive for months. Most seem to fail because they're too hippy (hey man, just come inside and chill, and do as much or little as you feel), then no one does anything; or too Nazi, making demands that most people can't keep up with. I like the structure of JM's new group, with different levels of commitment: you get more out if you put more in, rather than "You're either in or out". Potentially, it's a winner. But I hit a problem: I can't set my chapters to public access but that's the only way to get reviews. Having hit one brick wall or another with groups, I'm searching for an 'ideal partner'. In theory, it should be easier for 2 people to negotiate the give-and-take. But you still need feedback from multiple sources to get a feel for how your novel would go down with 'real people'. This group seems to be available between Jan and Sep, and already has a 'hard core' of highly motivated and committed novelists. So if I can think of a group reviewing formula that they might find do-able and likeable, I will report back |
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MESSAGE THREAD
Anyone for mutual reviewing later? · 11-10-12 6:19pm
by Jed Jones - banned novel
Re: Anyone for mutual reviewing later? · 11-10-12 8:07pm
by ~MM~
Re: Anyone for mutual reviewing later? · 11-11-12 2:05am
by Robin
Re: Re: Anyone for mutual reviewing later? · 11-11-12 2:28am
by Jed Jones - banned novel
Re: Re: Re: Anyone for mutual reviewing later? · 11-11-12 5:00am
by Robin
Re: Re: Re: Re: Anyone for mutual reviewing later? · 11-11-12 6:52am
by Jed Jones - banned novel
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Anyone for mutual reviewing later? · 11-11-12 11:03am
by J. M. Kraynak
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Anyone for mutual reviewing later? · 11-11-12 12:48pm
by Jed Jones - banned novel
Re: Anyone for mutual reviewing later? · 11-12-12 8:15am
by Brandiwynš¶
Re: Re: Anyone for mutual reviewing later? · 11-12-12 1:59pm
by Storm Machine