CritiqueMatch

CritiqueMatch is a platform where writers and beta readers connect and exchange work for free! New: You can also buy a critique or beta-reading service from our top-rated users!

Mar 14, 2019

Tips And Tricks In Finding A Critique Partner


By Jane Catherine Rozek.

So you’ve written a few chapters or maybe a whole book, and you are saying to yourself, “this is good stuff,” and then you laugh because, of course, you and your family are biased! 

Where do you find that stranger with the uncompromised eye to tell you exactly what works and what doesn’t? I’m happy to report on CritiqueMatch.com. On this site, I can exchange critiques and beta reads with total strangers anonymously, and I’m the only one who retains a copy of my manuscript once a critique has been exchanged.

Here are five tips and two tricks I discovered to find awesome CPs – Critique Partners!



1.    Put yourself out there! Fill out your full Profile after reading the quick tutorial and browsing the site. Post a unique picture and fill in the About Me section to display your personality. In the Type and Genre section, be sure to keep clicking the arrows open to record the sub-genres you write in. This is important, so later you can search for writers in the same field.




2.    Prepare to give in order to get! State any writing/editing experience you might have and your willingness to critique what others submit. There are no freebies when you exchange critiques, so spend the time to edit professionally, just as you’d like them to do for you! An author’s integrity is a valuable commodity to hold.

3.    Next, under the Search Partners menu, look for writers with similar genres and sub-genres as they will have more interest in reading what you wrote and will give you a better critique. Click Set Filters at the top and click your desired level of experience. Then open the arrows under Type and Genre to select the categories that match your manuscript. This will generate a handpicked list of critique partners to choose from. But don’t stop there!




4.    Search Postings in the same way. Open up that screen and click Search Filters to fill out the Type and Genre using the arrow options in the same way. You may be excited to find different partners with this method too.


5.    Yay! Now you have a list of critique partners to ‘speed date’. Go ahead and invite your favorite writers to connect with you and send them a message. I suggest exchanging only one short chapter, (or a query letter or a plot outline), and see what kind of feedback they are able to provide and if their material interests you. You can get to know a few critique partners this way before you mutually decide to exchange a full manuscript. 

Oh, I also promised two tricks, didn’t I? 

You’ll get more critique partners if you choose another writer at your level of writing expertise. Have fun working together to edit each other’s work. You can submit your much-improved writing to those with more professional experience later!

The second trick is to check back in a few weeks for a continual progression of critique partners to choose from as they join. CritiqueMatch is your supermarket!


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Jane Catherine Rozek is a guest blogger on CritiqueMatch.com. Her self-published non-fiction book, The Celestial Proposalwas featured in the Body, Mind, and Spirit category in the December 2013 issue of Foreword Reviews. Currently, she is making final edits to her coming-of-age historical novel (based on a true story), with the help of personal CPs and beta readers. Find her website and blog at www.JaneCatherineRozek.com