What Are Critique Groups, & Why Should I Join One? - Guest Post by Taylor Bennett

Taylor Bennett is a passionate young writer with her sights set on publication. Since she started writing seriously in middle school, she’s had her fair share of rejections, as well as many successes. Now, she is in the process of preparing her YA novel for publication. She also works as an editor for the Magnum Opus Magazine. When she isn’t writing or editing, she enjoys taking pictures, playing the violin, and experimenting in the kitchen with her best friend/mom.

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Growing up in Oregon, I am blessed to be surrounded by mountains, valleys, rivers, and, best of all, the ocean. My rural community is filled with opportunities for outdoor adventures and I’ve spent many a summer picking fresh fruit, hiking, picnicking, and hanging out in my treehouse.

Unfortunately one thing my town doesn’t have is an abundance of bookworms. Much to my dismay, even the local library shut down this spring, leaving me in a literary wasteland.

As an aspiring author working on a three-book series and pursuing publication, I was often frustrated by this glaring lack of fellow bookworms and writers. After months of searching for a writing buddy, I was about to give up. Admit defeat. Resort to being a writerly hermit.

Then, I joined ACFW.

Through the American Christian Fiction Writers program, I’ve participated in online courses, gotten my name out in the blogging world (thanks, Tessa!) and, most importantly, joined a critique group.

A critique group is a writers dream: a unit of like-minded authors who get together (either online or in person) to read each other’s work, offer encouragement and analysis, and chat about all things writing.

My group has been through a lot lately—two members recently got awarded publishing contracts, others have received discouraging rejections—and that makes our group that much stronger. We celebrate together, laugh together, and offer encouragement when somebody’s feeling down.

Through critiquing the work of my friends, I have been able to read amazing stories and grow in my own craft. Although critiquing takes time and effort, it is extremely rewarding—especially when you know your friend’s book will soon be on store shelves. Every writer—young or old—should seriously consider joining one of these groups.

The yearly membership fee to be a part of ACFW is extremely reasonable considering the benefits, but there are other ways to find a critique group as well. The Go Teen Writers website has a Facebook group where young writers can create, connect, and critique. The best part? It’s free!

Some larger communities even offer in-person opportunities for writers to sit down with their peers and talk about their writing. ACFW has regional chapters that meet regularly and there are other local and national associations which offer critique group opportunities.

No matter which critique group one participates in, the process is usually the same—writers submit one chapter of their work each week. Throughout the rest of the week, everyone reads through the work of their colleagues, leaving comments, suggestions, and compliments in the margins. Although the process is relatively simple, there are a few common pointers that make the process run smoothly and ensure no one’s feelings get hurt:

• When in doubt, don’t point it out. It doesn’t matter if you’re 99% sure that someone’s sentence is grammatically incorrect. If you aren’t certain or you can’t find evidence online to back yourself up, ignore it. If it’s wrong, chances are someone else will call attention to it and, if it’s not…well, you just saved yourself a lot of embarrassment.
• Don’t bite off more than you can chew. It’s all too easy to get lost in a flurry of submitting and critiquing—so much that your own writing time can suffer. If you need to sit out for a few weeks and catch up on writing (or the rest of your life) your partners will understand.
• Begin and end with a compliment. When I critique someone’s work, I make sure to write a few sentences at the end of the submission to say how much I enjoyed reading their submission. I also make sure to include an encouraging line or two in the the email.
• Don’t freak out if you get an intense critique. I got a critique one time that sent me into an all-fired panic. After mulling over my partner’s comments for a few days, though, I recognized the wisdom in her words. She’s now one of my favorite partners BECAUSE of her tendency to give a thorough critique.
• Say thank you. My group learned this lesson the hard way when half of us realized that, by not sending a thank-you, the other members were afraid that they offended us or that we never received the critique. So, play it safe and say thanks. After all, it’s the polite thing to do.
• Have fun! Remember this tip most of all—you’re part of this group to have fun, grow in your abilities as a writer, connect with other authors, and read great stories. Enjoy the process. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Enjoy making friends with writers all around the world—even if you live in a town that has more cows than it does books.

Are you apart of a critique group? If so, what do you enjoy most about it? If not, would you consider joining one?

Book Spotlight, STEALING LIBERTY by Jennifer Froelich

Today's guest is my client and fellow YA author, Jennifer Froelich! She's stopping by to share an excerpt from her recent release, STEALING LIBERTY. 

Jennifer Froelich published her debut novel, Dream of Me, in late 2011, which reviewers praised as "well-orchestrated with outstand-ing imagery." Her second novel, A Place Between Breaths, published in 2014, was called "a roller-coaster ride with enough twists and turns to keep everyone interest-ed" and won an Honorable Mention in Writ-er's Digest's 23rd Annual Self Published Book competition. Jennifer is a frequent contrib-uting author to Chicken Soup for the Soul. A graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University, Jennifer worked for many years as a free-lance editor and writer before publishing her own work. She lives in beautiful Idaho with her husband, two teenage kids, and a rescue cat named Katniss.

Back-Cover-Blurb:

When Reed Paine is sent to a secret detention school for teens whose parents are branded enemies of the state, he doesn’t expect to find friendship – especially after coming face to face with Riley Paca, a girl who has every reason to hate him. 


But when Reed, Riley and a few others start reading the old books they find in tunnels under the school, they begin to question what they are taught about the last days of America and the gov-ernment that has risen in its place.


Then the government decides to sell the Liberty Bell and Reed and his friends risk everything to steal it – to take back their history and the liberty that has been stolen from them.

Excerpt:

My escort pushes me. “Pick up the pace, kid.”

I stumble on a sharp rock and cut my toe. It hurts more than it should and I pull up to face him, fists curled at my side. I’ve grown about a foot since my sixteenth birthday, which means I can stare him down, eye to eye. He just smirks.

How about I smash your nose?

For a minute the urge is so powerful, my pulse pounds against my throat and red spots blur my vision.

Don’t do anything stupid, Reed. Pick your battles.

The voice in my head is my dad’s, so I listen.

We climb aboard a rusty hybrid bus parked in front of the bombed-out terminal. “Welcome,” says the autopilot. It’s one of the retro models, formed like a human, with LED eyes and every-thing. When magnetic tracks were first installed, citizens didn’t trust computers to maneuver ve-hicles safely along roadways. At least that’s what my grandmother told me. Humanoid pilots were designed to make them feel safer.

Pretty soon, people had more important things to worry about.

My escort takes a seat behind the pilot, but I keep going. Only one other passenger is on the bus — a girl with long blond hair who sits in the fifth row, pressed against the window. Bruises swell on her left cheekbone and along her jaw. Her lip is crusted with blood and her right eyelid is swollen shut. Nausea washes over me, along with fresh anger.

“Sit!” our escort barks.

The girl flinches. I take a seat across from her and shift toward the window. The door squeaks closed and the bus lurches forward.

We travel on an old freeway so desolate, we don’t encounter a single other transport. I wish I was calm enough to sleep — so numb to the government’s strong-arm tactics, they no longer get to me. Instead I stare past the landscape and try not to shake. Try not to relive my nightmare or think about how it felt to wake up with a gun to my head. I imagine a different outcome. Fighting back — or breaking out of the state home before they showed up.

If only.

Book Links:

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Thanks for stopping by, Jennifer!

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Getting Published - Guest Post by Teen Author, Jaquelle Crowe

I'm thrilled to have teen author, Jaquelle Crowe, on my blog today to share what she's learned along her quest toward publication. Not only is Jaquelle a published author, but she also helps other young writers achieve their writing-related dreams through her role as the co-founder of Young Writers Workshop. {You can find out more about this amazing program by clicking here!}

About Jaquelle: 
JAQUELLE CROWE is a 19-year-old writer and author of This Changes Everything: How the Gospel Transforms the Teen Years. She’s also editor-in-chief of TheRebelution.com, host of Age of Minority (a podcast for teens), and a regular contributor to The Gospel Coalition, Desiring God, and Unlocking the Bible. In early 2017, she co-founded the Young Writers Workshop with Brett Harris to encourage and equip writers under 30. You can connect with her on her website, Facebook, or Twitter.



Last March my biggest dream came true: I published a book. Months and months of writing, editing, feedback, emails, planning, and preparation were over, and my baby released to the world. Looking back now, there are so many things I’ve learned through the process that I wish I’d known before I started it. Here are 5.

1. Consistency pays off.


I blogged for over six years before getting a book contract at 18. And full disclosure: that blog got scant traffic; it never exploded in popularity or even visibility. When I signed my book contract, it was tempting to feel like those hundreds of obscure posts were a waste. But the truth is that they were what led to my book. Consistency is what led to my book. It was the discipline of writing regularly that honed my craft, clarified my passion, and pushed me to eventually start writing for bigger websites and pursue a book.


2. Community helps.


Before I wrote my book, I had never been part of a writing club or online forum. Honestly, I was content to be the loner teen writer. Until I realized what I was missing. I became part of a community a few months before my book released, and it’s changed my life. Having a writing community offers you unique support. It also provides a grassroots publicity team – people who know you and care about your success and who are willing to help you launch your book.


3. Be prepared to wait.


One of the hardest parts of publishing a book is waiting. I never realized how much I’d have to wait – for the contract, for edits, for feedback, for the printers, and on and on. No one publishes a book in a week. It’s a long and complex process, and it demands patience. Aspiring authors, be prepared for that now.


4. Publishing a book is more than writing a book.


At the beginning of the process, I had the naïve idea that my only job would be to write the book. But there is so much more required of an author – marketing, networking, publicity. There are a hundred hats an author will wear, and Writer is only one of them. More and more, publishers are relying on their authors to sell books.


And of course, for authors who self-publish, they bear even more technical responsibilities. We live in the digital age, and with it comes unprecedented opportunities for publishing. But it also brings unprecedented reliance on the author to do more than just write.


5. There is so much help available.


It’s only in recent months that I’ve become aware of the wealth of resources available for young writers. For example, The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published by Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry and The DIY MFA by Gabriela Pereira are two books that are profoundly practical and informational. Tessa’s blog is a massive service to young writers. So are blogs like Kingdom Pen, Go Teen Writers, and The Writer’s Digest and podcasts like Home Row, Why I Write, and Writing Excuses.


Increasingly, though, I’ve seen the need for a bigger, more comprehensive resource to equip young writers – something that would provide both ongoing training and community support. That’s why I teamed up with Brett Harris (best-selling author of Do Hard Things) to create the Young Writers Workshop – a monthly membership site for writers under 30. And even though this is a resource I’m involved in leading, it’s something I love and personally benefit from.


Ultimately, no author can be perfectly prepared to publish a book. But we can be as prepared as possible, and it’s my hope these lessons I’ve learned will help young writers be more equipped to pursue publication.

Thanks for sharing your expertise, Jaquelle!

Readers: What have you learned along your journey toward publication?