Your Turn to Read!

You're in your critique group, and you've listened to some amazing manuscripts. Now it's your turn to read what you've written. Nervous? That's normal. Hands a little clammy? That's normal, too. It's not easy to read what you've written, knowing that your group will be offering feedback. Take a deep breath. Rest your arms on the table to stabilize your hands. If your hands and your paper shake a little, no worries. We have all been there.

Reading Options

Before you begin, there are a couple options. If you'd like to hear what your manuscript sounds like when someone else reads it, ask! You'll be able to hear if your story is perhaps too long. Or, if your characters need to be better defined. It's helpful to print out a copy of your manuscript for each of your critique group members, including yourself. That way, they can look for anything that may need correcting, and they can also include written comments.

Listen!

No matter who reads your manuscript, the most important thing to remember is to listen. If you're reading, listen to the verbal feedback that you get from your group. Is humor your thing? Listen for their laughs. That feels awesome! If someone else is reading, listen to see if they were able to read your manuscript smoothly. Did they get tripped up on a sentence? Make a note of it. You may want to rewrite that sentence.

The Difficult: Feedback

This is probably the hardest part for any writer. Listening to feedback and comments from your writer friends can be a bit tough. Hopefully they will remember the kindness sandwich, starting and ending with a positive. It's super hard not to get defensive. After all, this is the best thing you've ever written, right? Make note of what makes sense to you. Thank them for their comments, and disregard comments that you don't agree with. Be gracious. It will go a long way for everyone, including yourself.

The Fun: Brainstorming

Once everyone has heard your manuscript and commented, sometimes your entire group will start to brainstorm and come up with ideas—places to take your manuscript that you've never thought of. Now this is fun! You haven't lived until you've sat with your group and they've come up with the funniest scenarios for your story. Being in the company of a wonderful group of writers when everyone is wiping their eyes from laughing is priceless!

You are Rejuvenated!

One at home, give yourself time to go over your manuscript. And then, get to work again! Rewrite your story thinking about the comments that worked for you. Bring it back and read it again. This is how we get ready for publication. Revise, edit, revise! You've got this.

Happy revising!