Peer Review Groups

Briefly, this is how my peer review group works: we meet every other Thursday. At each meeting we go around the circle and everyone tells what they've been up to since the last meeting. Then we do the first reading. There are three readers at each meeting, and each reader submits up to twenty pages of their work the Thursday before they read. That gives the group one week to look over what they've done, edit it, and send it back. In the meeting, each reader has the opportunity to read up to two pages of what they wrote, if they want to. Then we go around the table, since we were able to do the nit-picking edits online, we try to keep our comments fairly general. Occasionally a debate arises, but usually it amounts to, 'I disagree, I thought that section was very well written.' After everyone has read and critiqued, the president of the club tells us who reads the next week, and anything of note going on, and then the meeting ends. short, sweet, to the point.


I. Why do you want a peer review group
A. Seeing our work through other people's eyes
1. How our work looks to other genders, religions, political parties, races
2. Writers often read what they meant to say, not what they actually wrote
3. Others sometimes see opportunities in our writing that we missed, and parallels we didn't notice
B. Learning to critique/edit
1. It's often easier to see areas of improvement in other people's work than our own, even when the same problems are in our own writing; learning to view writing with a critical eye while looking at someone elses work will give us the skills to look at our own work with a critical eye
2. Part of learning to critique is learning to see the good in someone else's writing. Learning to find the good parts in what others write can help us see the good in what we've written, which can help when we're going through a frustrating time
c. Networking
1. It's a great way to make new friends who you have something in common with
2. Resources
i. Meeting people with backgrounds and areas of expertise you don't have, questions that otherwise might have required hours of research become an e-mail away
ii. Writing resources: more experienced writers may have advice on books to read, conferences to attend, where to send your submissions
D. Moral support
1. When we're trying something new with our writing
2. When the inevitable rejection letters come
3. During writer's block
II. Finding a peer review group
A. Search online
1. Yahoo groups, etc.
2. Nanowrimo
November is 'National Novel Writing Month' and every year, during November, thousands (at least) of people around the country will attempt to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Nanowrimo.org is an online organization that helps people keep track of their work, and network with other writers. It's a good opportunity to find other writers in your area.
B. Through other writers
Never underestimate the power of a casual conversation. I found my peer review group completely by accident when I was editing a book in a coffee shop and a stranger walked up and asked me if I was part of the writer's group he'd heard about.
III.Making a peer review group
If you can't find a peer review group, or can't find one to your liking, you might try starting your own. Of course, if you do start your own, you may as well try to make it the way you want it. when push comes to shove, you may have to give some ground to accomodate the people you recruit, but there's nothing wrong with trying to set it up the way you want it to run.
A. The style that works for you
1. Group size: This can be a little tricky, keep in mind that in a good group everyone needs the opportunity to voice their opinion, and every once in a while there'll be a debate. I recommend keeping your group size under ten. But by the same token, you want to have a variety of opinions to work with. Having two readers give you feedback isn't very helpful. My advice is a minimum of five people. Seven is my personal ideal.
2. Meeting intervals: The math on this is pretty simple, the more meetings you have, the faster it gets to be your turn to read. But the more meetings you have, the less time people have to look over what was submitted. Every other week works pretty well for my group. I would advise against having meetings more often than once a week, or less often than once a month. Also keep in mind, the farther apart the meetings are, the longer the submissions can be
3. Level of accountability: My group is very informal. If someone misses a meeting the worst they get ia s gentle ribbing. If you didn't read all of the submissions, maybe a disappointed glance. That works for us. It may not work for you, but you need to have everyone in the group know how accountable they are for what they do or don't get done. No surprises
4. Formal/informal writing partners: Having a formalized structure for a writing group is necessary because you're trying to make things fair for everyone, but different writers write at different speeds, submit to magazines or publishing agencies at different time, and so need a little extra advice or critiquing every now and then. Having someone you can go to 'off the clock' so to speak, is useful for everyone, the question is whether that person is officially your go to person, or just the guy in the group you happen to click with. I recommend the guy you click with, but that's just me
5. Rules for submission
i. Length: A lot of the rules for groups are about fairness, putting a cap on the length of a submission prevents one person from demanding that the group read his entire manuscript, while another person only puts in five pages. The length you allow should take into account how many people are getting read for each meeting, how far apart the meetings are, and how much spare time your group members have. If one of your members is working hundred hour weeks every week, you might want to get some feedback from them about how much time the have to edit
ii. Language: Depending on the ages of your group members, their religious beliefs, etc, you may have to limit what can and cannot be read, or submitted to the group.
iii. Sex: Some people write about sex explicitly, others write about it in a general sense, others ignore the concept altogether in their writing. Be sensitive to the people in your group. And if you meet in a public area, keep in mind who is likely to be around you while you're reading. Sometimes all you have to do is tell the reader that if they read a section outloud, it shouldn't include one particular scene.
iv. Violence: Pretty much the same as sex. Different people have different feelings on the subject, be respectful, and try to avoid problems.
v. Controversial topics: There are people in my group who are staunch conservatives, and those who are staunch liberals. Let's just say that it's hard to get through three readers if a staunch conservative and a staunch liberal get into it. It doesn't come up much, thankfully, but you don't want a good group to break apart because two people can't get past their differences.
B. Finding appropriate group members
1. Serious writers
i. There are social aspects to every group, and forming new friendships is a good thing, but you want to make writer's group, not a social club. After things are a bit more established, you might look at accepting members who think they'd like to give writing a shot, but when you are just getting started, be wary of people who don't seem to be willing to put in the time and energy. They're making a commitment by joining the group, and while everyone has a bad week every now and then, you want a core group that can be relied upon.
ii. There are different kinds of writers out in the world, some just want to put their work out into the world so that others can enjoy it, others want to make a living with their work. The key to a good writing group, in my experience, is that you need a group of people who all want to become better writers. If someone is not willing to consider ideas contrary to their own, and if they aren't willing to make a concerted effort to help others improve, then they simply occupy space and time without filling either.
2. Varying skill levels
i. Odd as it may sound, writing groups are both about giving and receiving. Writing is a competitive field, but it's also a cooperative field, and our collective goal is to create the best literature that we can. As such, don't reject someone for their inexperience. Try to include people of a wide range of skill and experience.
ii. One of the more experienced members of my writing group likes to say that the best editor in the world is only right about forty percent of the time. If all of your readers are of the same skill level, chances are that many of their comments will be similar. Adding people of different experience levels allows you to isolate the problems which most need to be changed in your writing.
C. Where and when to meet
1. What days can everyone meet? Depending on the ages of those involved, weekends might be a terrible time to try to get together, or perfect. Usually I'd aim for the middle of the week, Tuesday to Thursday, as most established activities will be between Friday and Sunday.
2. How much space do you need? A small room in a library might be the perfect size, or you may need to take over the majority of a coffee shop. meeting at someone's house is convenient, except for the person whose house you're meeting at.
3. If you meet in a coffee shop, or a bookstore, or some other business like establishment, try to develop a personal relationship with the owner. See what's convenient for them. Try to make your meetings profitable for them. Be flexible, and be grateful. The easier it is for them to deal with you, the more willing they'll be to make exceptions for you, or put up with the occasional problem.
4. What are your writing rules? If you have people in your group who write gratuitous sex scenes or have characters who swear constantly, you might want to avoid setting up shop somewhere that a lot of kids hang out.
D. Meeting structure
1. Officers
i. Problems do come up, and when they come up, somebody needs to handle them. Sometimes a take charge person just . . . takes charge. But you can't trust that. Elect at least one official (my opinion, anyhow).
ii. Organization. If somebody leaves the group or a new member comes in, certain adjustments need to be made. I don't recommend leaving it to chance or random debate, having a final authority makes life easier for everyone.
2. Meeting format
i. How rigid are turns for writing and critiquing?
ii. General news versus critiques, or group related news. What's appropriate to discuss, and when. Some groups need strict guidelines, others don't. Having people hang out socially before or after the group meets often handles these issues.
iii. Non-meeting meetings. Having an occasional meeting to celebrate accomplishments, or to just hang out is often useful for the group. Having progress recognized can encourage writers to keep pressing forward, and having a meeting where you don't have to discuss your writing at all can be relaxing.
3. New members
i. Rules for inviting a new member
ii. Rules for accepting a new member
Havinng rules, written down and known from the start often prevents problems from arising later when somebody feels that they are being treated unfairly.