Critique Partners as Beta Testers

Ana Aragón

When I first began writing in hopes of publication, I was pretty nervous about getting my work in front of others. Oh, I had my husband read my early writing, and since he was a high school English teacher, he was good for grammatical errors, or to help with that one descriptive word that I couldn’t, for the life of me, pull out of the hat.

I ventured out to sending a chapter or two to my sisters, who absolutely loved my work—of course. Sisters are supposed to love your work, especially if they ever want to read about themselves in a positive light in your next novel! And my writing was…adequate. But I had lots to learn about the craft of writing a good story; in fact, I’m still learning. Most importantly, my sisters aren’t writers and, while they certainly boosted my confidence, they didn’t necessarily help me craft a better story. Fortunately, critique groups have a much deeper purpose in helping an author create a story that cannot be done by those whose purpose in life is to love you. Just sayin’!

Ultimately, not all critique groups or partners are created equal. Some may not have developed the expertise to help you in the way you need to be helped. Others may not have the confidence to “tell it like it is” and simply become cheerleaders (I’m not saying that’s bad…sometimes we do need a little “rah-rah” to keep us writing!) And some may just not like your sub-genre or feel uncomfortable reading more graphic scenes.

A good critique group or partner is a diamond in the rough! They help you by finding the holes, inconsistencies, and general “blah-ness” that pulls your reader away from what it is you’re trying to get across. They are readers, first and foremost, whose opinion is greatly valued by the author. That doesn’t mean you change everything to please them,–but you listen. What are they pointing out as problematic? Is your voice overwhelming the point of view of a particular character? Are there inconsistencies that are perfectly clear to you but not to another? Maybe you know “too much” and need to back up and give the reader more backstory so that it is clearer to them. And, of course, you want that one critique partner who is an exceptional copy-editor and can find grammatical and typographical errors in her sleep!

All of these characteristics of a good critique group, and many, many more, helped take my stories from “adequate” to sparkling. My critique partners didn’t write my stories. They were the beta testers that helped me find problems in my work and sometimes gave me suggestions on how to fix them.

Wouldn’t you much rather have a critique partner point out the problems in your story than an agent or an editor in a rejection letter? I don’t have a problem with an editor or agent rejecting my story because it just isn’t right for them at this time. I do have a problem with them pointing out mistakes that could have been caught by a good critique partner. Partial and full manuscripts sent out should reflect your best work. A good critique group helps you get there.

Comments? What do you want and need in a critique partner? What are good characteristics of a critique partnership for you?