• Home
  • About
  • #KT250 Contest Info
  • #KTChat Event Info
  • Submissions

Kite Tales

Kite Tales

Tag Archives: critique groups

Ask an Editor: Where Can I Find a Critique Group?

20 Wednesday Jun 2018

Posted by Christine Van Zandt, www.ChristineVanZandt.com in Ask an Editor, Critique Day

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

critique groups, critiquenic, critiques, critiquing, SCBWI community, SCBWI events, SCBWI members

“Ask an Editor” is a forum wherein SCBWI members submit questions that are answered as part of our quarterly Kite Tales blog.

Dear Editor – I think my YA novel is finished but would like to show it to other people for feedback. Where can I find a critique group?
—Effie, Culver City Continue reading →

Advertisements

Share this:

  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Google

Like this:

Like Loading...

Need Help Finding a Critique Partner or Group – Peer2Peer Critique Day Can Help

16 Wednesday May 2018

Posted by Erlina Vasconcellos in Critique Day

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

critique groups, critiques, critiquing, Daka Hermon, SCBWI events

alexis-brown-82988-unsplash 2

Writers and illustrators, if you’re ready for the first step to taking your work in progress public, Peer2Peer Critique Day (formerly known as Critiquenic) returns Sunday, June 3 to the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.

It’s an opportunity to connect with other SCBWI members, and you may even find a critique group or partner to continue with after the event.

Peer2Peer Critique Day is free, but registration is required and is open until Sunday, May 27 on the SCBWI Los Angeles website. It’s for current SCBWI members only. If you’re not yet a member, you can sign up here.

The event runs from 10:30 AM to 3 PM. Bring a lunch or purchase food at the Skirball’s café.

Critique Day coordinator Daka Hermon gives us the scoop on how to prepare and what to expect:

critiquenic2Erlina Vasconcellos: How will Peer2Peer Critique Day be structured? Do participants meet individually or in groups?

Daka Hermon: When registering, the attendees will choose a category: illustrations, picture book dummy or text, chapter book/middle grade, or young adult/new adult. Upon arrival, attendees will be placed into groups. The size of the groups will vary based on attendance, but it’s normally about five to six members.

EV: Writers and artists are notorious introverts. How are you hoping to coax them away from the solitude of their desks and creative caves?

Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Google

Like this:

Like Loading...

The Sue Alexander Grant is Open. Why Should You Submit Your Writing?

25 Wednesday Apr 2018

Posted by Sarah Parker-Lee, Managing Editor in Contests & Grants, SAWW Retreat Grant, Writers' Retreat

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Andrea Custer, contests, critique groups, critiquing, pitching, SAG, SCBWI community, SCBWI events, SCBWI members, Sue Alexander, Sue Alexander Grant, writing

By Karol Ruth Silverstein, SCBWI-L.A. Contest Coordinator

It’s time once again to polish up those manuscripts and submit to the Sue Alexander Grant, the winner of which receives a guaranteed spot and free tuition to the SCBWI-L.A. September 2018 Working Writers Retreat.

The WWR is an intense critiquing weekend with critique sessions, revision time, and parties ­­— including karaoke! The retreat culminates in a first-pages pitch session with four acquiring editors and agents.

I recently caught up with last year’s Sue Alexander Grant winner, Andrea Custer, for her insight on the retreat, how it influenced her writing, and why you should apply for this grant to attend.

KAROL RUTH SILVERSTEIN: Did you put in a lot of work on your manuscript before submitting it to the Sue Alexander Grant or did you have a polished manuscript ready to go?

ANDREA CUSTER: I workshopped it with my critique group as I was writing the first draft. They are an amazing group, quite astute, and so I had the benefit of their comments early on and had already revised the first half of the manuscript based on their feedback. Submitting it for consideration for SAG was actually a bit of an impulse! I saw the reminder on Facebook that the submission deadline was coming up, and thought why not go for it? I had about a week to re-read, polish, and get it ready. I found out I’d won on my birthday! It was the best gift I’ve ever gotten.

KRS: What was your favorite part of the retreat? What was most valuable? Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Google

Like this:

Like Loading...

Community Corner with Author Ann Whitford Paul: Socializing with a Purpose

28 Wednesday Mar 2018

Posted by Sarah Parker-Lee, Managing Editor in Community Corner, Tips and Tools

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

critique groups, SCBWI community, SCBWI members, writing tips

By Ann Whitford Paul

*Editor’s Note: After a successful SCBWI Los Angeles Writers Day, whether you attended or not, we thought you might be looking for more ways to “level up” your writing, no matter the stage of your career, so we asked author Ann Whitford Paul, who belongs to a lot of groups, to share some community-building, group-oriented ways you can do just that for this quarter’s “Community Corner.” Read on for her fabulous insights!

You’re a writer. You prefer to be alone in the peace and quiet of your home, creating ideas, developing and revising them. Still you know you should (and you want to) make time to be with others, just not so much that it interferes with your writing. What about joining or creating groups that may take you away from your computer, but also enhance your career? Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Google

Like this:

Like Loading...

Critiquenic 2017 offers children’s authors community, feedback on works in progress

28 Wednesday Jun 2017

Posted by Erlina Vasconcellos in Critique Day

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Critique Day, critique groups, critiques, SCBWI community, SCBWI events

By Claire Moore

From left: Sue Ganz-Schmitt, Sue Berger, Claire Moore at Critiquenic 2017.So you’ve written a book – devoted countless hours (hopefully you weren’t actually counting) toward its creation. Bravo! Well done! But wait, how do you know if your book reads as you imagined, or that you’re on the right track? Critique groups, baby.

“They’re necessary,” said Sue Berger, a published author and one of the minds behind The Pen and Ink Blog, a blog devoted to the “wild, wild world of children’s literature.” This is why the Los Angeles chapter of SCBWI hosts a Critiquenic each year. This year’s event took place on Sunday, June 11th at the Skirball Cultural Center.

More than 70 writers – some aspiring, some published but beginning new works – gathered to give and receive feedback on their picture books, chapter books, middle grade, and young adult manuscripts. For longer manuscripts, writers kept their critiques to the first five pages.

Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Google

Like this:

Like Loading...

The Power of Pen-Ultimate: 4 Critique Group Tips

14 Wednesday Jun 2017

Posted by Sarah Parker-Lee, Managing Editor in Tips and Tools

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

critique groups, critiques, illustrators, SCBWI members, writers

By Cheryl Bommarito Klein and Kara B. Wilson

Kara & Cheryl, 3rd from the left

Editor’s Note: Cheryl and Kara, who are in the same critique group, both won manuscript awards at this year’s Los Angeles Writers & Illustrators Day. I asked them to share their critique-group-secrets with us because they are definitely doing it right!

We all want the kind of support that keeps us motivated to create and improve our craft. For us, a well-organized critique group was exactly what we needed! Here are four tips we have learned over the last year that will help you to enhance or build the kind of group that fits you as illustrators/authors. Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Google

Like this:

Like Loading...

SCBWI Los Angeles Launches New Critique Exchange

07 Wednesday Jun 2017

Posted by Sarah Parker-Lee, Managing Editor in Critique Day, Tips and Tools

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

critique groups, critiques, illustrator tips, writing tips

By Jill Tuckman

If you missed the registration deadline for the Critiquenic, taking place Saturday at the Skirball center, fear not! We have other ways for you to find critique partners. Read on as Jill Tuckman, our webmaster, tells you all about our new and improved Critique Exchange.

Many authors and illustrators talk about how valuable their critique groups are to their careers, and I can (but won’t, fear not) go on about how helpful my critique groups have been to me. But finding a good critique group is not always easy. Continue reading →

Share this:

  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Google

Like this:

Like Loading...

Search This Blog!

  • View scbwilosangeles’s profile on Facebook
  • View SCBWISOCALLA’s profile on Twitter
  • View scbwila’s profile on Instagram

Enter your email to have new posts sent to your inbox!

Join 2,631 other followers

Resources, News, SCBWI Membership

SCBWI Membership


SCBWI-L.A. Events


SCBWI-CenCal


SCBWI-SoCal


LitMingle Calendar


Webinars


Critique Exchange


PAL Members

Blog Contents

My Tweets
Advertisements

What is SCBWI?

Founded in 1971 by a group of Los Angeles-based children's writers, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators is a non-profit, 501 (c)3 organization. There are currently more than 22,000 members worldwide, in over 70 regional chapters writing and illustrating in all genres for young readers, making it the largest children's writing organization in the world.

Member Benefits

Members of SCBWI receive exclusive access to tools, information, and industry professionals as well conferences, workshops, and critiques. Click HERE to find out more. Join us and take your writing to the next level!

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
%d bloggers like this: