Thursday, July 25, 2013

WRITERLY WISDOM: Janee Trasler


 


I'm sure you are wondering what I am doing here on a Thursday? Well, when the fabulous Jim Averbeck decided to talk about critique groups yesterday on WRITERLY WISDOM,
(http://donasdays.blogspot.com/2013/07/writerly-wisdom-jim-averbeck.html), I also received a request from the equally talented children's book author, Janee Trasler, to be able to do a follow up post on how to tailor make a critique group. How could I refuse? Instead of waiting until next week, I thought it would serve my readers better by posting it here today, so there you have it.  Take it away Janee...
 
 
Tailor-made Critique Groups
by Janee Trasler
Like Jim Averbeck, I count myself lucky to be a member of an excellent critique group. But don’t be fooled; it is by no means dumb luck. What I have is a tailor-made, suits-me-to-a-T critique group.
Unlike Jim, I was not lucky enough to find my perfect group on my first try. I had to shop around a bit before I knew exactly what I liked and needed in a critique group.
Once I had the answers, I just needed to ask the questions.
 
 
Who did I want in my group?
 
Some critique groups are made up of members who are at varying levels in their writing education and careers. This can work out really well. It gives the newer writers access to the more seasoned writers’ experience and gives the seasoned writers the chance to see how far they’ve come and to give a little back.
Other groups are made up of members who are all at a similar level, whether that be total newbie, almost published, or published. This type allows the members to grow together and offers an equal level of confidence across the board.
I knew I wanted a group of writers at a similar level, so I chose to ask people who were all represented by the same literary agency but by different agents. I figured this would keep it all in house and make the sharing of information easier. At the same time, we would avoid any hurt feelings if an agent spent more time with one writer than another.
 

What did I want my group to be about?
I’ve been in groups that have writers from board books to YA, and I’ve been in groups that stick to one genre. Both have merit and it is strictly a matter of personal taste.
I know I am not equipped to comment on novels (and you can only say, “Yup, I like it.” so often before your critique group also realizes how little you know about writing novels), so I opted to ask writers who write picture books/board books.

Where would we meet?
In-person groups allow for more socialization. You can bring along a book you’ve found, break bread, and just get to hang with other writers.
Online groups, which allow you to critique at your own convenience, give you the opportunity to really study a submission before you comment. They are easier to fit into a busy schedule and don’t require geographical closeness to the other members.
I’m an online type of gal. I like to read a manuscript several times before I comment, and I like to get feedback in writing. It makes revising much easier for me.

How big?
Just how many members should you invite? This is an important question because it dictates how much time you devote to critiques.
I prefer a smaller group, so I invited three other people.
Once all had been invited and inducted (Oh, you don’t even want to know about the initiation ritual we all had to go through. Let’s just same some of us look better in lampshades than others.), we still had a few logistical questions to answer:

When would we meet and submit work?
This is heavily influenced by whether you meet in-person or online.
I’ve been in critique groups where members just submitted whenever they had something, and I’ve been in groups run like a military boot camp. It’s up to you how often you meet or submit work, but I’ve found having a set schedule helps me get work done.
As a group, we chose to have a designated member submit work on the first four Tuesdays of each month. (I’m Third Tuesday Girl.) The other three members have until the following Tuesday to send comments.
Life gets in the way sometimes, and we’ve been known to swap a Tuesday here or there. We also try to remain flexible as to what you can submit. If we don’t have a complete draft ready, we can submit what we have and ask for brainstorming help. I’ve also been known to sneak in two board books instead of one picture book.

How would we submit and critique work?
This is one area where I feel online groups have the advantage over in-person. It’s so much easier to read and comment on manuscripts online.
We send our work in MS Word format in my group and use the comments feature to put our feedback right in the document.
After all these tough questions where answered, we found ourselves right back to “Who?”

Who are we?
 
We are:

Kim Norman (www.kimnormanbooks.com)
Tammi Sauer ( www.tammisauer.com)

Janee Trasler (www.trasler.com)

Jessica Young (www.jessicayoungbooks.wordpress.com).


We are the PBJeebies, and since we joined forces two and a half years ago, we have collectively sold 18 books.
My critique group suits me to a T. It ought to; it was tailor-made.
 

 
 
Janee Trasler is the author illustrator of eight books for kids, including the upcoming board book series for HarperCollins which kicks off in January, 2014 with BEDTIME FOR CHICKIES.
 
Website: www.trasler.com

29 comments:

  1. Wow -- what a fantastic critique group, and what a thoughtful way to build one! I'm not in a critique group -- I don't know how to work it when I write in such different genres -- although I certainly miss the feedback!

    Thanks for this post.

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    1. Hi Beth! I'm glad you liked this post. You know I write in different genres too and I've tried to find a critique group numerous times over the past three years but haven't managed to find one with any staying power...

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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    2. Hi Beth and Donna,

      Jessica writes in more than one genre as well. I believe she is in another critique group for her longer writing. Maybe multiple groups could work for you, too. Either that or form one that covers more than one genre.

      Janee

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  2. I absolutely love my PBJeebies crit group. Even more than frozen Milky Ways. And that's saying something. :)

    Tammi Sauer

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    1. Hi Tammi! I remember the first time I even heard of your fabulous critique group...when everyone was just deciding on the right name for the group. What a long way you ladies have come since then! Maybe one day I will come across that kind of success while searching for my own critique group...;~)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  3. Curious whether you all joined your agency around the same time?

    I love the idea of building critique connections with agency-mates!

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    1. Kim and I signed within a month or two of each other in late 2008/early 2009.

      I'm not sure when Jessica signed with her agent.

      Janee

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    2. Hi Cathy! I like the idea of critique partners at the same agency. I'm sure it helps target the finished product toward what the agency is looking for...which in turn increases the chance of a book deal...;~)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  4. Hi, Cathy.

    I'm not sure about the others, but I signed with the agency in 2005.

    Tammi

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  5. Thanks, Janee! I was just talking to my friend Sue Ward your critique group ideas, too! Thanks! Donna, thank you for posting on this topic, and for having Janee! I can see why you were excited to release it early! It is a terrific post!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Carrie! Wave at Sue for me if you see her. I owe her an email!

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    2. Hi Carrie! I think these two posts are such compliments to each other, you would think Jim and Janee compared notes beforehand...;~)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  6. Your critique group sounds awesome!! :D

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    1. Hi Erik! I completely agree...maybe one day you will be a part of a fabulous one as well! ;~)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  7. Nice parameters for your critique group! I like how you made one up to meet your own standards. So did you approach each person you were interested in having or put out an ad at your agency?

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    1. Hi Tina! Great question...I'm curious as to the answer as well...

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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    2. I asked Kim, Kim suggested Tammi (who I would have been too in awe of to ask myself), and we asked one of our agents for a recommendation for our fourth member, Jessica.

      As I looked back yesterday to check the date we all got together, I realized how suspiciously close it was to January first. I must have been having those New Year resolution vibes.

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  8. Looks like a stellar group, Janee! Thanks for this post! I wish you had written this when I was in search of a critique group. Your criteria is exactly what I would want in a group. Nevertheless, I am happy with my 3 crit. group. I am bookmarking this post as reference. Thanks, Donna, for another fabulous guest.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Romelle! This is yet another reason why I love this writing community! All this lovely tips, tricks, and information and we are only halfway through the year! ;~)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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    2. Thanks Romelle! How did you find your critique members for your group?

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  9. That is awesome. Thanks for sharing Janee!

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    1. Hi Luanna and welcome to my blog! I'm glad you enjoyed Janee's wonderful post and if you get a chance, there are many other great post as part of this series if you want to check them out!

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  10. This is awesome, Janee! I'm glad you can't see me turn green and every other colour with envy now:) I'm looking for a critique group but finding it extremely difficult to bring one together. Thanks for packing in a lot of useful information in here!
    And thanks, Donna for not having waited before posting this :)

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    Replies
    1. I hope it helps you in pulling your group together, Richa. May you be as lucky with your critique partners as I've been!

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    2. Hi Richa! Oh, I'm envious as well...;~)...but so glad Janee was able to find such wonderful critique partners!

      Thanks for stopping by and come by any time!

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