Monday, February 7, 2011

The Crit Partner Classifieds

Today is the day! The emails have been received—over one hundred of them, actually. The organizing has been done. The matches are ready to be made! Woot.

But. Some guidelines and such first.

How I imagine doing this:
1. Read through the lists and mark the people I think would be a good fit.

2. Contact those people politely, either through the comment section, email, or whatever else is listed.

3. Get to know potential partner's crit and writing style, crack some lame jokes, talk writer biz, and all that good stuff.

4. Mutually decide on what material should be traded.


Reminders, Etc:
1. Be nice. Simple enough, right? If you are not interested in a project, politely decline. Do not poke fun at anyone's projects or requirements. If you can't say something nice...just don't say anything.

2. I am aware that this could be a tough experience for some who may not find a good crit partner match. I apologize in advance for that, so please don't send me angry emails if it happens. I wish I could guarantee success, but like much of this business, sometimes it takes a long time for everything to click into place. It's okay. It's not you. There are so many more writers out there.

3. Remember that building writing relationships takes time. Finding good crit partners won't come in one day. Many of you may want to get to know each other before sending material—I think that's a good idea. You may not want to give out your entire book at first—that's likely a good idea, too. These profiles are a starting point; there is so much more to learn about all these wonderful writers. Make sure you are 100% comfortable with the person before engaging in critique. (Yes, I know this could so be turned into a million pervy jokes. Stop it.)

4. If you do start communicating with someone who is nervous about sharing their material, please respect their feelings. It in no way implies that they think you are out to steal their stuff or that you are a bad person. Some people are just more reserved about sharing, and that's okay.

5. If you start to feel like someone is not a good match for you, please be honest and tell them. And don't be hurt if someone tells you they're not feeling it. I have had this happen before—sometimes your styles just don't match. And yes, I am still friends with these writers.

Alrighty, on to the lists! I have divided these for the sake of helping you narrow down the prospects, but be aware that some people are writing in more than one audience group. You may have to browse the other lists for that reason.




Lists are in alphabetical order. Comments are open on all the lists. Feel free to talk and meet there if you aren't quite ready to email people yet.

Good luck! Go get 'em, Tiger. I have cookies and milk if you need an ice breaker. Just so you know.

25 comments:

  1. You are the awesomest. Really. This is so cool Natalie. You are like the cupid of the writing world. :)

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  2. Natalie, you are so cool for doing this! I don't even need a crit partner and I think it's wonderful. Good luck, everyone! Hope you find a good match.

    "May the odds be ever in your favor." ;)

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  3. Thank you, Natalie! <3

    Good luck everyone! :D

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  4. Thanks, Natalie! You are awesome :)

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  5. You get a gazillion princess points for this. Molto grazie!

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  6. Hi Natalie, I sent my info on Friday but I'm not on any of the lists :( Just checking to see if you received my email?

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  7. Ah, I missed it! Couldn't find the email on Friday :(. Hope you do this again!

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  8. I will never thank you enough for doing this. Even if I don't find a match, at least I will know that I tried. :)

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  9. This is great! Thanks for doing this.

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  10. Tommy, if you don't see it, it may have gotten eaten by my filter.

    To anyone who doesn't see their info and sent it before Saturday, please resend and I will get it up asap.

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  11. UPDATE: I just sifted through my spam filter and found like FOURTEEN extra ads! I am so sorry guys! I didn't think so many would get stuck. I will make sure they're up asap.

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  12. Wow. This is great. When will you do this again? I just found this and would love to be on this list.

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  13. Thanks for the awesomeness! Everything looks wonderful. :)

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  14. UPDATE: Okay, I *think* I have everyone in, but if you still can't find yours, etc, please email me! I will check my spam today, too.

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  15. I second Deirdre. Missed it and hope you do it again. It's such a great project and you are obviously awesome for taking it on. I hope everyone in need finds a fantastic crit partner. Good luck, everyone!

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  16. Natalie, this is such a fabulous, generous idea. As some of those looking for a crit partner might not find one right away and might be in need of a manuscript assessment in the meantime, I thought I'd let you know that I'm running a competition on my blog to win a manuscript assessment for an MG or YA novel. Entries close Feb 10.

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  17. Natalie, thank you again SO MUCH for doing this!

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  18. What a great thing! I'm sorry I missed the window. Hopefully you'll do it again at some point in the future. :)

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  19. Thank you for doing this Natalie. You're the best!

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  20. Yay! You found my ad. Thanks you so much for digging it out of your spam. Really appreciate you doing this.

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  21. Natalie, you already know this, but you=AWESOME!

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  22. This is fantastic Natalie, I'm sorry I missed the window, I will keep a closer eye out in future and hope to catch you another time. Great work :)

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  23. Wow! This is amazing. I've been off the bloggosphere so I missed the audition call. But thanks for the listies.

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  24. Dammit! I need to check my blog more often cause I miss all the cool stuff when I don't.

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