Pay It Forward with Partials!

Okay, today is the day you've been waiting your entire life for. Don't think so? Trust me, it is.

Because today, I, along with 4 fantastically amazing writers are doing a Pay It Forward with Partials event! In order to get your partial upgraded to a full, you need to have those first chapters sharp and strong. And we want to help you do that. So today, you could win one of 5 25-page critiques!

Meet the critiquers:

Lisa & Laura Roecker: Ever since Lisa and Laura were born, they've wanted to be conjoined twins, you know, like that Matt Damon movie. So they decided to do it virtually. Thus, LiLa was born, and the sisters actually got surgically joined at the hip in 2009. For realz. What? You think they're two different people? I beg to differ. And with a killer debut called THE LIAR SOCIETY, I think we all know who's right. (Me.)

Shannon Messenger: After her morning hang gliding routine (she launches from the double-Os on the Hollywood sign), Shannon spends her time memorizing all things Harry Potter, deep sea fishing, and inventing new hashtags for Twitter. #truefact But she's looking for a SUB for that so she can be freed up to zip through her next novel. All interested in the position can inquire at her blog.

Sarah Wylie: Born to Brownies (the creature, not the delicious snack cake), Sarah grew up in the wild. Because of this, she has a special place in her heart for Mowgli, living in tree houses, and only using three squares of toilet paper each day. She secretly wishes she could star in "Days of our Lives" (I mean, who doesn't?), the long-running soap opera on NBC. Instead, she wrote an amazing YA novel, ALL THESE LIVES, due out in the Spring of 2012.

P.J. Hoover: Native of "the land down under," P.J. enjoys all things vegemite, surfing, and pink (of course). She cornered the market on telekinesis, and regularly reads people's minds to find out what they're having for dinner. You might check out THE EMERALD TABLET, THE NAVEL OF THE WORLD, and THE NECROPOLIS if you don't believe me.

Elana Johnson: Lover of octopus, mushrooms, and dieting, Elana lives in the isles of the Caribbean, where she sleeps in late, enjoys the undulation of crystalline water, and writes young adult novels perfectly the first time. Her greatest POSSESSION is the fancy home office where she crafts her masterpieces.

In order to win a 25-page critique from me, you have to leave a comment on this post AND be a follower. To win from one of the other lovelies, visit their blogs (linked above) and follow their instructions. All winners will be announced on Monday, November 15--the same day as our next WriteOnCon event!

And seriously, don't you think LiLa is one person? Wouldn't you like to be able to read minds? Have you ever been hang gliding? Lived in the wild? Eaten octopus?

Wearing Many Hats

This past week I've been preparing for the presentations I'll be doing at a conference in April. Spending so much time and energy on this made me realize something.

I'm wearing more than just the writer hat. So I decided to keep track of what I do in a given week. Now, don't freak out (Jonathan) because I didn't do any math. I just took a good, hard look at my writing time and wrote down how I spent it.

Because I wasn't writing. I wasn't working on my MS. (We're having issues again. We need literary therapy.)

I've hung up my "Writer/Reviser" hat.

Instead I've been wearing my Critique Partner hat. My Friend hat. Query Ninja. PowerPoint Presentation Maker. Reader. Outliner (shudder). Copier. Google Image Searcher. Blogger. Commenter. Social Networker.

And that doesn't even go into my personal life hats. That's just what I did during my alloted writing time.

How many hats do you have? Which one are you wearing the most right now? I really need to get back to the Writer one. I'm the happiest in that hat. I miss that hat.

Getting Critiqued Is Like...

...Flinging yourself out of a fast-moving airplane wearing only a parachute your novice boyfriend packed. That's right. ONLY the parachute. ;-P

*Insert own ending here*

That's me and my group. We are gorgeous. We dive out of planes on a bi-monthly basis. It is awesome.

My Getting Critiqued Toolkit:
1. Cheerios (for crying into)
2. Dragon hide
3. Twisted Sister
4. A strong sense of your story
5. Stock in Trust Your Gut, Inc.

How do you handle critiques? What's in your getting critted toolkit?

How Much Stock Do You Put Into What Someone Else Says?

(Strap on the life vest. I'm goin' in deep today....)

This question has always plagued me. When I first started with a crit group, I changed every single thing they told me to. I guess I just sort of assumed that's what everyone did who got feedback. Hey, I was a newb. Don't judge me. *wink*

Some people have been blogging about this this week. Beth Fleisher said it yesterday on the QT blog. Jessica Faust had something about writing what you know (and I added "love" Write what you love). I swear I scheduled and wrote this before I read their stuff. I've been to crit group this week. I've heard some stories lately from people who are changing everything because of a single suggestion. (Not people I've directly talked to, so this is all hearsay, but still. I know it happens.) And it got me thinking and asking myself:

How much stock do you put into what someone else says?

So way last summer, I was telling my DH about a crit suggestion I got (which is a miracle, cuz he doesn't much care for the writing gig), and I just didn't like it. And he said the words that changed my life. Seriously. He said, "Like I tell my sixth graders, just because someone tells you to do something doesn't mean you have to do it."

Whoa. Wait. What?

I don't have to change it? For real?

It was like I'd never thought of that before. Since then, I take every suggestion seriously, I really do. But sometimes they just don't work for my story. Or I've worded things the way I want to, and I don't care that it's not grammatically correct or that it repeating. It's deliberate.

My confidence has increased in this area since I've realized that just because my critmate doesn't like present tense, doesn't mean I have to change it to past. Or that if they don't like something, doesn't mean it has to go/change. Now when all three of them can't figure out what the heck is going on...well, then yeah. I have to rewrite whether I like it or not.

Don't get me wrong, all critiques are attention-worthy. That's why we're in crit groups, right? But changes are not mandatory. Over the last year, I've learned what kind of writer I am and what I'm trying to achieve. The critiques I get that fit me and my story are like drugs. I just can't get enough. And I usually do implement everything they tell me. The critiques I get that don't fit me and my story and my style get tossed. In private, of course, but tossed still the same.

This is why random crits by people I don't know are difficult for me. I know there are places to find critiquers (Critique Circle and OWW for example) and I've been to those places and left dissatisfied. My online groups are with people I have spent time getting to know and trust, even if we haven't met in person. I know they "get" me and/or they "get" my genre and my style. That's important to me, so I can get the best drugs, er, crits possible.

So I'm curious. How much stock do you put into what someone says about your story? Have you enjoyed Critique Circle or OWW? Where did you find your critmates? What about agents? Do you automatically buy what they're selling? Why or why not?

How much stock do you put into what someone else says? Especially someone you don't know that well. That's what I want to know. Here's why: I've seen some people in the past change everything everyone says. Their story gets lost. They get lost. They have no confidence. So I guess this is about YOU too. How do you get the confidence to toss the crits that don't work for you? How do you decide what kind of writer you want to be? Have you? Do you stay true to yourself and your story? How do you do that amidst the advice, critiques, and self-doubt?

Wow. Toldja it'd be deep. Hope you had the proper gear.

I Beg To Differ

Bubble gum, bubble gum in a reed,
How many Betas should you heed?

Okay, that was totally lame, but I just don't have the brainpower to come up with anything clever.

My question is coming at the beginning of this post: How many Beta readers do you need?

I'm really interested in knowing. I've been reading about how people have betas in the double digits. Of course, this terrifies me a bit. Then I start to do this: Do I need that many? What if just one more person points out something that could be fatal to my MS? What if s/he says the same thing as Beta C or Beta D? What if this? What if that?

The "What If?" game is only effective in writing. Not in anything else, trust me.

I sent my WiP to 7 Betas. They were awesome. Pointed out great things, some things were suggested multiple times by different people. I did revisions and actually asked a couple of them to reread those parts.

Do I think I needed more Betas? Absolutely not.

And here's why.

Sometimes you can have too many cooks in the kitchen, yanno? Then it isn't helpful, it becomes a blood bath. People pointing out all different things. You frantically trying to revise everything, instead of the places that really need it. For me, this causes major freakage. And frankly, I don't have time for that. Of course I want my MS to be the best it can be before querying. But I believe that this can be done with a handful of trusted, honest, wise Beta readers. More is not always better. In fact, it's all in WHO is reading your novel, not HOW MANY.

For example, lets take a look at the pantheon judges--which your Betas should be. That's why I have it capitalized. They are that important to me. They are my pantheon judges. And that means that you don't need billions of them. And going through all their comments? That can take weeks just by itself. I think it's best to have only a few people that you trust explicitly so that you can best use your time to get your MS ready.

So onto the pantheon judges.

American Idol: 4 judges. Used to only be three. And if you've ever seen the show, you know they don't always agree. They have different things to say. Just like your Betas.

Best Food Network Star (starts soon!): 2 executives, usually a chef judge, sometimes an additional celebrity judge for a total of 4. Again, too many cooks....

Survivor: A jury of 7 individuals who've played the game. This is perfect for your MS.

Heck, the Supreme Court of this country only has 9 people making the decisions. Life and death ones. New laws, unconstitutional stuff. In my opinion, I definitely don't need more than that reading my novel. Especially if they are of the caliber of Supreme Court justices. And mine are.

So maybe that's where you should start. Are your Betas Betas with a capital B? Or are they fish? Are they honest, trustworthy, well-read in the genre, knowledgeable about the publishing industry, writers themselves?

What do you think? Have you benefited from having dozens and dozens of readers? How many do you usually choose to read your novel before submitting it? Why do you choose that many? How has it worked for you?

I'm so interested in this. Let me know! I feel some chartage coming on....

And the Winner is...

The Getting to Know You contest was sure a lot of fun. I loved reading about what you all write, what you like to eat, and what you do when you're not online blogging. So, without further ado, the winner is...

Janyece!

You've won TANTALIZE by Cynthia Leitich Smith! Please email me at elanajohnson at gmail dot com with your name and mailing address and I'll get this bad boy in the mail.

Thanks for entering everyone! I love doing contests...but my biggest problem is knowing what people want to win. So, I thought I'd ask. What do you want to win? Books? Query letter critiques? What?

Conferencing, Day Three

Status of my Life: Getting back good crits from a guy! Yay for the male perspective!

So today, the afternoon session of the conference was "registrant writing time." I drove down to BYU anyway. Number one, I went to the mingle where I sat 5 feet away from an editor at Greenwillow Press. I got to pick her brain, ask her questions, get a feel for what she wants. And since they don't take unsolicited submissions unless you've been to a conference where one of their editors attends, it was priceless. I think I'm going to submit, but probably not for a month or so. I think she'll be swamped after the conference.

Number two, time away from the hubby and two kids to write is double priceless. I sat on campus, put on the headphones and wrote, uninterrupted for a couple of hours. It was wonderful. And then I got a Big Mac, exchanged some clothes at JCPenney, registered my kids for swimming lessons, and went to the library. Surprisingly, they had about 8 of the books on my list. I checked them all out and will hopefully devour them over the next couple of weeks.

Tennis tomorrow, I better get to bed!

Reading: My crits. Thanks cujo!

Cool Fantasy Critique Site

Status of my Life: Chapter 15, Get This Pea Off Me!

"If I had a Million Dollars" by the BareNaked Ladies

Nothing good on Monday night - good thing I have stuff on my DVR.

I found a cool site for Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers where you can post your writing and get critiqued. I found the link while browsing Colleen Lindsay's blog, so check out both!

Reading: ALCATRAZ VERSUS THE EVIL LIBRARIANS by Brandon Sanderson

Happy writing!
RedDuck