Viva Scriva

Having been together now for nearly five years, we Scrivas consider ourselves a committed group. But Viva Scriva wasn’t our first love. No, most of us had 2-5 critique groups before. Like all relationships, they came to an end for a variety of reasons. The personalities didn’t jibe. The long-term goals were different. The timing was simply off. Now entering the mature phase of our group, we trust and support each other all the more. But… don’t assume we’re monogamous. In fact, you might be shocked to know the kind of “alternative” critiquing that goes on behind the scenes.

:ScrivaAmber, in her trans-media project Angel Punk, gets storyline critique and general big-picture editing from the non-writers who encompass her creative team and her investors.

:ScrivaLiz “hires” college students to act as writing interns. In exchange for editing her manuscripts and performing a range of other duties (research, transcription, marketing), Liz teaches the interns editing and writing career practices. As the most prolific Scriva, Liz also has a second critique group sometimes to keep up with demand.

:ScrivaRuth went one step further and partnered with a whole graduate student class (Ooligan Press at PSU) to put the just-released Blue Thread through the editorial wringer. Besides providing line edits and developmental letters, they also created the book’s design and marketing plan.

:And I had an epiphany a few years ago that my art could benefit from critique. So now I have an illustration group that meets monthly, and a “drawing buddy” I meet with once a week. (Single critique buddies are especially helpful for dipping your toes in, or if you write in a very specific genre.)

:And then there are editors and agents and copywriters, and sometimes researchers and experts, people you can hire. Online critique. Phone critique. Improv critique. Oh my!

After a bad group or some ugly feedback, its tempting to give up on the idea altogether. And we all know great writers who don’t show their work to anybody. But we writers who want to work consistently take our critique consistently, even when its painful and we don’t agree. So go find your perfect relationship. Break up and start over. Mate for life. Swing. Just, make sure you get your critique.

Have you heard about Blue Thread, Ruth Tenzer Feldman’s romp through time and social politics? Scriva Ruth’s book is getting great local buzz, thanks to the book itself–and some very smart marketing by the author and her team at Ooligan Press. (Read more about Ruth’s partnership with Portland State students here.) “Buzz” is that nebulous term we all want: other people to find, talk about, and share our books with their ever-expanding networks. We assume good books will create their own buzz, but still: what can an author do to help?

The main thing I’ve learned by watching Ruth is: Involve all the people you can! While having 30 students critique your book may sound like a particular form of torture, think of an extra 30 “agents” invested in the book’s success. Think of those agents as young, connected, and well-versed in social media, and you’ll start to wonder where you can find your own college class. Here are some other people you might think about involving:

• Your neighbors. If you frequent a library, restaurant, or small business in your neighborhood, they might be a good fit. In Ruth’s case, she connected with her neighborhood branch of Albina Community Bank, to participate in their “First Thursday” art walk (details below).
• Groups that fit your niche.  This works especially well for nonfiction titles: in Blue Thread‘s case, Ruth sought out Jewish-themed organizations and publications across the country, as well as organizations celebrating the women’s suffrage movement. (Set in 1912, the book’s publication date was set to coincide with centennial events in Oregon.)
  

  Ruth in 1912 costume

• A local non-profit. ScrivaLiz did this when she launched For the Love of Music: The Remarkable Story of Maria Anna Mozart. Not only did Liz involve a guest musician, she benefited Ethos, a nonprofit that spreads music to kids. (She and Ruth also both developed historical costumes for their events — always a big hit!)
• And finally: your FAF — my shorthand for the “Friends and Family” network. Don’t underestimate this gold mine of support. Your FAF wants your book to succeed just as much as you do, and it feels great to support other people you believe in. You also get a secondary benefit when you link up with friends: the reassuring faces take some of the stress off “pushing” yourself. For the First Thursday event, Ruth invited local women authors and artists (including me) who fit the theme of women in history. Now you’re invited too!

Nest of Words, paper

Thursday, March 1, 6-9 p.m.

Artists and Writers CelebrateWomen’s History Month

Albina Community Bank (in the Pearl)

430 NW 10th Ave., Portland

Authors will sell and sign their books, which are primarily, but not exclusively, for children or young adults. Joining Feldman are Carmen Bernier-Grand (Alicia Alonso: Prima Ballerina and Frida [Kahlo]: ¡Viva la Vida! Long Live Life!), Pamela Smith Hill (Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Writer’s Life), Barbara Kerley (The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Suzy) and What To Do about Alice [Roosevelt]), Michelle McCann (Luba: The Angel of Bergen-Belsen and Girls Who Rocked the World), and Elizabeth Rusch (For the Love of Music:  The Remarkable Story of Maria Anna Mozart, a biography of Wolfgang’s musical sister). All of these women have won state or national awards for their work.

Artists Addie Boswell and Sine Morse will display vibrant oil paintings and paper designs inspired by children and by Portland. Their work, as well as Feldman’s suffrage book, will be available for sale for the month of March.

How Writing Groups Can Work For You

Check out this post from Write It Sideways, where Susan Bearman talks about a different kind of group: workshops that meet weekly and have guest speakers.

I have been writing the same query letter for over a year now. And it’s all my critique group’s fault. It goes like this:

October, 2010: My first YA novel is well into its second draft, and I am eager to start querying agents. I submit the query letter to the Scrivas to be critiqued.  The general response: This letter is fine, but… Are you sure you’re ready? They know my manuscript still has months of editing to go, so much that I struggle writing the synopsis, because motivation is unclear. I put the query down.

March, 2011: Still slogging through my revisions, I decide I’m wasting time waiting on my novel, and I should query agents for my other picture book manuscripts, which are polished and ready to go. I edit my query and my list of agents and submit it again. The general response: This letter is fine, even good, but… You should wait for your novel. Picture books are hard to sell now, but YA novels are hot, and the Scrivas know my novel is my strongest hook. Sighing this time, but knowing they’re right, I put the query down again.

October, 2011: My novel is finished! Despite the variety of minor problems, I feel confident about its quality and its story arc in a way I didn’t before. And when I submit my query again, the Scrivas know this, having seen it through with me. The general response? This is okay, but… You can make it better.

November, 2011: I edit the query and submit it a fourth time and finally get the words I long for the Scrivas to say: “Send it out!”

Whew. These ladies are hard to please, and they tell me things I really don’t want to hear. Lucky I have learned to listen to them anyway. Frankly, its a relief to have guidance (even the whip-cracking kind) in my oft-unstructured freelance life.

Visit Eric Witchey’s article in Writer’s Magazine, headlined: The care and feeding of high-functioning critique groups  (Published: November 28, 2008)  Suggestions on “How to obtain sharp, useful critiques” at group meetings and avoid wish-washy responses.