Barbara V Evers

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles Freedigitalphotos.net Last week, I discussed the need to find critique groups or partners. The rest of the post explored a few guidelines on how to discern what's valid and invalid in the feedback you receive. If you missed last week's post, you can find it here: When Should You Listen to Writing Feedback? Part 1 Although I covered four tips last time, I have four more to share this week: Do take time to understand the personalities of the person or people giving feedback A group offers the ability to gain several viewpoints on your writing. Sometimes, one person will say something and everyone agrees on that point. Sometimes, you'll get differing opinions. Feel free to ask the other members if one reviewer says something that you’re curious about. Everyone in our group provides something of value, but I've learned to rely on different people for different needs. When I first joined the group 12 years ago,  I listened t...

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles Freedigitalphotos.net All writers need a reliable critique group or partner if they want to publish their best manuscript. Even if you self-publish, relying on your family's and best friends' feedback is not wise. You’ll spend a lot of money and time on what probably isn’t your best work. If you want to sell books or catch the eye of an agent, knowledgeable feedback remains a significant part of the writing and revision process. There are many guidelines about what’s acceptable in today’s publishing environment, many of which I’ve discussed in this blog. Without feedback from knowledgeable people, you may spin your wheels trying to get an agent. Or worse, you self-publish a book that fails to take off or gain positive reviews. I've written numerous posts about critique groups and partners here if you want to explore this topic further. The practice of critiquing someone's writing is often subjective, not objective. Tw...

Independence Day feels like the right day to share this story from a 2012 post on my other blog . Most national events remind me of a story my fifth grade teacher told us about the national anthem.  While she was in high school, the teens of America voted on which song would become our national anthem, "The Star Spangled Banner" or "America The Beautiful."  I remember thinking how stupid they were to choose "The Star Spangled Banner."  My young mind appreciated the melodic strains of "America the Beautiful" so much more. Try as I might, I've found nothing on the internet about this election.  The details of how this song became our national anthem are slight.  After I ran the post in 2012, I received comments from four different people who had heard the story from an older relative. It turns out all of the school children voted on the song, and "My Country Tis" of Thee was, also, on the ballot. What did I find on the interne...