Call for Critiques!

As many of you know, I am currently studying for my bachelors degree in English Literature to start a career in editing. Well, it seems getting the degree is going to take a while. There are many different reasons, but mostly because Nevada State is a small college and class availability is joke.

But I'm tired of waiting for something that will probably take another year.

I have been applying to e-publishers in hopes of getting my foot in the editorial door, but like querying, it takes time. During this waiting process, I need to build a portfolio and gain more experience.

So I am starting my own business!

My editing services will officially available in a couple weeks with the launch of my professional website :)

During this waiting time, I am calling for another round of critiques! I will, to the best of my ability, be able to give you insight into your first chapter while helping you correct copy edits and ready your submission for agents. This will hopefully help you in your writing career and me in my editing career.

If you are interested in taking part of this free editing session, please email me at the address below with a query letter and your first chapter attached as a .doc file.

Send submissions to: critiquesubmissions[at]yahoo[dot]com

Thank you for your support!

Block Yourself

I'm on a deadline, one that I made myself, but still a deadline. I'm determined to finish these major revisions on the WIP by the end of this year. As long as I block out my calender, I think I can do it.

So that's what I did. I blocked out a calender for this novel. I also made one for LET ME OUT that is with the critique group. With these tools, I just might keep myself motivated to finish!

Take a look:

Yellow is Round 1 of revisions (where I'm currently rewriting the entire plotline)
Green is Round 2 of revisions (where I will make sure tension, flow and holes are pulled together)
Pink is when I send it to the critique group

I'm a very visual person when it comes to keeping goals. I love to track and color code.

What helps you keep updated with your goals?

Critique Techniques

One of the members of my critique group found this awesome post by Heather Hummel, multi-published author. Check it out here.

I'm starting my first critique tonight for my very first critique group. I'm nervous. I'm excited. I hope I do a good job and they won't kick me out! Wish me luck :)

My First Personal Rejection

Well, I've done it. I've received a request off the most amazing query letter I've written for LET ME OUT. I've sent that version of the query to three agents and I got one request. Before you say, "Yay!" listen to this story.

The request came through last Wednesday. So I spent all day perfecting my first five pages to send to the agent. I had them perfect. I was ready to send. But I was doing this on my work computer, which I can't get my email on, and so I needed to take the file and transfer it to my computer. Hello, flash drive. The file transferred effortlessly, but when I plugged the flash drive into my laptop...something was wrong.

I've seen it before and I almost started to cry. ".docx" format LOVES to corrupt itself. And yes, the file was corrupted. I couldn't open it on my laptop or on my computer, and my IT Dept. couldn't do anything for me.

Those perfect 5 pages were gone.

So I started again, writing down everything I could remember about the changes I'd made. Two days went by and I still hadn't replied to the agent request. On Friday, I had done as much as I could. The pages didn't have that perfection they'd had before, but they worked and I needed to get them to the agent.

I sent them off.

And I heard back today.

I received my first personal rejection. The pages didn't pull her in as much as she hoped they would.

What that means: my query does it's job, but my pages don't. What I'm going to do about it: find a critique group.

I've already run the MS through BETA readers, but now I'm looking for that group dynamic.

Do you use a critique group? What are some of your pros and cons to using one?

Open Range

February is the time when I send out my second novel to my final BETA readers. Yep, the MS has been torn apart, put back together and edited within an inch of it's life.

So what now?

Really my only goal this year was to get ALL BECAUSE OF YOU ready and submitted to agents. So in February, while my BETAs are reading, I am open to critiques.

Need a critique of your first chapter, your synopsis, query or your entire MS? February is the time to send it to me! I don't charge, but I am really detailed. So I hope you're willing to hate me after you receive the final read through.

How to submit to me: First, read my Services page so you understand my guarantee. Second, email me (on the Contact page) with whatever you need help with. It's that simple!

I am taking a break from writing (but not school) in the month of February - so give me about two days for your single chapters to be reviewed and week-week and a half for your entire MS.

If you submit to me between the dates of February 1 and February 28 your project WILL BE CRITIQUED, even if March comes and I have to get back to work :)