I know that I should be promoting my own site above all other but I'm not like that...so, here are some sites you might want to check out if you can't find what you're looking for here... (Click the icon to be taken to each site.)
This is my main critique site. I have met many great partners on this site, some you know like Doralynn and JL Campbell.
Con: This site cost money to join. Unless you want to just critique. Also, it's reliant on a reciprocal program, you critique, you get critiqued. However, most sites are like that. Pro: There are a lot of great writers on this site and because you have to pay, the writers are serious about their work and your work. Also, there are a lot of great contests where you can win money or publication.
Book Country is a place where readers and writers of genre fiction come together to read original fiction, post work or comments, and make a name for themselves. Our free community is a creative and supportive space where fiction writers and readers can give and receive constructive criticism, discover new and entertaining books, discuss and share tips and experiences, and learn about the publishing industry. Book Country aims to be useful, egalitarian, and merit-based while fostering an atmosphere of encouragement and creativity. - From Book Country Site.
Basically, once you've signed up for the site, you critique other people's work to get a certain number of 'points.' Once you've gained enough points, you can post your own work. The community is great, and the critiquers offer useful, insightful advice. The website is easy to navigate, and you can easily keep track of critiques you've given and received, which is not true for all sites. Scribophile has a "story queue" feature that makes it easy to pick which story you want to read next. Virtually all stories posted receive critiques. Also has contests. -
From this website.
authonomyTM is a brand new writing community site for writers, readers and publishers, conceived and developed by book editors at HarperCollins. We want to flush out the brightest, freshest new literature around - we’re glad you stopped by.
If you’re a writer,
authonomy is the place to show your face – and show off your writing on the web. Whether you’re unpublished, self-published, looking to get published, or just getting started, all you need is a few chapters to start building your profile online, and start connecting with the
authonomy writing community. - From the authonomy site.
Ladies Who Critique is a critique partner matching site for writers of all levels – published, unpublished, aspiring, hobbyists, even closet writers or complete newbies!
Think of it like a dating website, but
‘The One’ is your perfect critique partner. You can find
‘The One’ by searching for members based on the genre they write, their writing and critiquing experience, interests and more.
Ladies Who Critique is completely free – and always will be! - From the Ladies Who Critique site.
Mooderino from
Moody Writing recommends:
Critique Circle is an online writing workshop for all authors, whether they write literary fiction, genre fiction, articles or short stories. Our purpose is to provide a place for writers to give and receive feedback on their work, and thereby learn from one another. The Critique Circle also includes forums as well as helpful writing tools for manuscript progress, submission tracking, character generation and more.
Clarissa - Thanks for these sites. Your own site is fabulous (no wonder I stop here whenever you post something new :-) ), but it's always good to learn about other sites.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Margot!
ReplyDeleteYay for these sites - I know a few who've had mixed experiences with authonomy though (I think lots of shenanigans with the voting system and it's been going on for a few years now) - but one or two big successes through this site too!!
ReplyDeleteTake care
x
I've tried authonomy and didn't like it but obviously some do. You have to spend too much time on that site pushing your book. I felt I was always on there and people knew of ways to work the system and so it was a constant battle. But who knows, maybe you could find a good critique partner there.
ReplyDeletethis will be a great help for lots of our writing friends!
ReplyDeleteThese all sound NEARLY as good as your site!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the list - I can add some of those to my seminar handout. Years ago I was part of the site Urbis - don't know if it even still exists.
ReplyDeleteI found Authonomy very poor. YWO also not great. Writing.com is a bit too poorly organised and it's hard getting decent length critiques.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite, and easily the biggest, is www.critiquecircle.com (which is free) and works on a similar basis to Next Big Writer (althoug I've never tried that one).
I would definitely recommend CC to any new writer looking for decent feedback on their writing.
mood
@Diane, I'm not sure if it exists. There are a lot of writing/critiquing sites out there. The main problem I see with them all are (a) it's hard to find the perfect partner when everyone wants only to promote their own work (b) many of the sites don't have enough members to choose from.
ReplyDelete@Mood, thanks for the recommendation.
ReplyDeleteI've only heard of a couple of those. TNBW of course. I joined Authonomy for a while. I don't like that one at all. It doesn't protect your manuscript in the same way TNBW does. And it's really hard to get reviews or honest ratings because everyone is competing to be read by Harper Collins. I don't like that model. It's the same way at YouWriteOn, which is another critique site.
ReplyDeleteReally useful info. here Clarissa. As you know, tnbw is my site of choice. The wonderful writers on there helped bring me up to snuff as a writer and without them I wouldn't have learned as much as I have or be published at the time I was.
ReplyDeleteEach time I see the name Authonomy, it reminds me I need to take my book down. That site didn't work for me as it was more of a networking-to-get-your-book-on-top kind of site.
Ladies Who Critique looks like a good site. Of course, I went to investigate. :)
Thanks for always providing such good information.
Lots of useful information in this post/comments. Thanks, Clarissa!
ReplyDeleteAwesome, these are great. Thanks for sharing, Clarissa!
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to compile all these links, C.
ReplyDeleteDidn't realize there was so many.
ReplyDeleteAnd you are an expert critiquer.
wow! i had NO idea there was such a wealth of services.
ReplyDeleteHey, this is great! I hear this question a lot, so it's nice to have a place a bunch are listed! I am going to add this to my list of reference blogs.
ReplyDeleteScheduling this to tweet in an hour and a half...maybe add another blurb about your own crit. site at the bottom of your post?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the resource!
Thanks so much for all your help.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering -- does your day have more hours than ours or don't you at or sleep?
Thanks Clarissa! Though I'm like the rest, "your own site is fabulous". Up until I sent in my first story, I hadn't realized how important it is to have stories critiqued!
ReplyDeleteI moderate for the Critique Circle, and it's a solid site. People get a lot of helpful feedback, and there are all levels of writers there. :)
ReplyDeleteAngela @ The Bookshelf Muse
Thanks for the list, Clarissa! :)
ReplyDelete(You don't know how much willpower it took to keep from writing: "Thanks, Clarissa! You've explained it all!" Er, depending on where you're from, you may or may not recognize that as a reference to an old TV show. Nevermind. I'll be slinking back to the corner now...)
I have been using Critique Circle for many years and love their system and the people there. I just started using scribophile a few weeks ago and have to say I'm happy with it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the links and information on these sites!
ReplyDeleteI was on The Next Big Writer about...gosh it must have been close to 6 years ago. I never felt like i got as much back as i put in. There's also OWW (online writer's workshop) which is specifically for horror, sci fi and fantasy. It also costs money and works on a point basis, but a lot of well known authors got their start there and still hang around
ReplyDeleteThose are some great resources! I love that you have them all together with pros and cons. FABULOUS!!
ReplyDeleteNice websites! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know these types of online communities existed! I'm particularly interested in Scribophile. Thanks for the tips. I do wonder about plagiarism and copyright issues with these. I hope the sites claim no ownership and forbid stealing!
ReplyDeleteGreat information. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting thank you Clarissa!
ReplyDeleteyou know what.... YOU are a true blogger... you dare to promote others knowing that people who read you will never go less even if you dont promote your site... good job!!
ReplyDeleteRe: your comment to Diane. EVERYONE is trying to promote his/her book, especially with the self-publishing explosion. But this is a great list of links and thanks, Clarissa, for taking the time to post them for us. I'm going to check them out, and avoid authonomy, as O.K. and others have implied that this one might not be too helpful. I'm wary right now of getting involved in too many sites and getting overwhelmed. I'm picking a handful that I feel best meet my needs, whether it be for writing feedback and/or for book promotion.
ReplyDeleteAnn Best, Author of In the Mirror, A Memoir of Shattered Secrets
I think the list is great. I was particularly impressed by how you focus on the value of the sites for forming partnerships. I wrote a little blurb on great partners and how they've paid off for others in business but I guess it's important for writing too.
ReplyDeleteMarianne
I am delighted Tirzah introduced us to your blog and am glad to be a new follower. As you can tell, I was enjoying all the posts you'd written since Aug. 27, but this one particularly caught my eye with its bookmarking-level of usefulness. Thank you!
ReplyDelete