Looking for a Critique Partner

Many of you know I have two non-fiction books coming out next year, but I haven’t been as vocal about the fiction manuscript I’ve been working on the past few years. That’s probably because the non-fiction books have found publishers and the fiction manuscript has not.

I recently decided to do a complete rewrite of my fiction manuscript. It’s a story I love, and I’m not ready to give up on it yet. That being said, I see where the first draft of the manuscript failed.

What I need now is a critique partner – someone to tell me I’m headed in the wrong direction before I’m 75,000 words into it.

I’ve both been a part of a critique group and had individual critique partners. The biggest problem I ran into was having people critique my work who do not read or write women’s fiction, my genre of choice. The second largest problem I ran into was critique partners who only gave positive feedback. While I can always use some of that, I need some bitter with the sweet. I genuinely want to improve my writing.

So, I figured I’d try this – a public notice that I am looking for a critique partner for my women’s fiction manuscript. Here’s what I’m looking for in a partner:

• Someone who reads and writes women’s fiction
• Someone who sets deadlines and adheres to them (at least most of the time)
• Someone who thinks my story sounds interesting (see below)
• And, in an ideal world – someone I hit it off with!

I’m, of course, open to critiquing your work in return. Most of the time, I believe I can commit to critiquing at least once a week.

In the interest of trying to find someone who I hit it off with, here’s a little about me…

I’m an attorney who has largely given up practicing law to be a sports business reporter. I’m currently with ESPN and have previously been with Forbes.com and Comcast Sports Southeast. The blog you’re on is one I use to give career and networking advice to students who want to work in sports, and also where I  share other random thoughts, including my experiences as an author.

I was born and raised in Atlanta and have spent 26 of my 30 years living there…until two weeks ago when I moved to the only other place I’ve ever wanted to live: Amelia Island, FL.

I have a long-time boyfriend I adore, two dogs and a cat. We love the outdoors and are excited to live somewhere we can walk out the door and go walking on the beach, biking, bird watching (my honey’s favorite hobby, which I’m still trying to appreciate) or just enjoy the scenery.

I also think it’s important you have some interest in what I’m writing, so here’s a little about the story I’m working on currently:

Kate Dalton always thought Jake Bailey was her boomerang love – the person who was meant to be because they came back when you set them free.  So what if he left and came back over and over again?  Kate knew one day the timing would be right and they would be together.

 When he calls after six months of silence, she’s relieved he’s finally come to his senses and returned. Only that’s not why he’s calling. He’s calling to tell her he has Stage III cancer.

 Just a few short months later Jake is gone. Kate heads to her family’s summer home on Amelia Island to lick her wounds for a few days, but soon realizes she can’t return to her old world of billable hours and late nights at the law firm. After convincing her biggest client to let her manage their affairs from afar, she quits the firm and decides to make the island her permanent home.

 As Kate struggles to accept that she’s lost the love of her life, she’s reunited with the object of her childhood affection, Charlie Tucker. When Charlie surprises her with a kiss one night, her schoolgirl crush on him comes flooding back to the surface. Instead of being excited at the prospect of moving on, however, Kate is terrified that letting Charlie into her life means leaving Jake behind forever.

 Kate thought losing Jake was hard, but it turns out accepting he wasn’t The One is even harder.

I’m definitely looking for a partner for the long haul, not just this month or for this manuscript. If you think we might be right for each other, please meet me with a rose in hand…just kidding, I hate roses. An email will suffice. You can contact me here.