Thursday, October 21, 2010

Thank you Critters.org

In just a few weeks, the last draft chapter of my first novel will go up for review on Critters.org.  I can't help but be thankful for all the great feedback I've received throughout the process.  Most importantly, for those who offered to critique the entire novel under Critters' RFDR process.

If you aren't familiar with it Critters.org, like other online critiquing groups, puts up your submissions based on a queue.  You have to critique to be critiqued, which is only fair.  Under the RFDR process, someone can contact the author to request reading and critiquing the entire novel.  In return the author (once the critiquing process is complete) informs Critters of the satisfactory completion of the RFDR.

When I first started submitting to critters, I didn't expect anybody to reply to the RFDR, but I was wrong.  By the time Chapter 18 came up (21 chapters in total), I'd received my fourth RFDR reply.  I estimate that I averaged about 2 crits per chapter which means 11 percent of the people who looked at one chapter wanted to read the entire thing. 

I realized that the novel needed (and still needs work), but I don't see anybody volunteering to read 92,000 or more words just for credit on a critiquing board if they didn't like what they saw.  But with the RFDRs I'd received, I figure that I must have something usable.

So even though I've got the last chapter to go through the process, I still want to thank all the Critters critters for the great feedback I've received.

4 comments:

  1. I'm a member of Critters and it really is a great site.

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  2. Your work in Critters sounds great! Best of luck getting that magical book/movie deal!

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  3. I've never heard of Critters, but I think I'll check it out now that I've heard your story.

    Good luck on finishing the rest of your draft!

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  4. Thanks ladies. One thing I plan to do with this blog is post some "deleted scenes" from the draft. Most of which is background stuff that takes place before the story begins.

    This way you get to know a bit about one of the cultures (how they came to be), and a little more about the main character as he grew up and the development of his "extra-terrestrial" abilities.

    I may also post some bios of major characters.

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