Online Critique Group Operating Guidelines

The cyberspace critique group is available to current SDCWG members only.

What is the purpose of the critique?
The person critiquing will not rewrite your piece, find all problems or guarantee that if these changes are made, you will be published. It's not the job of the person critiquing to make the work salable - that's your responsibility.

A critique is not always 'correct'; there are often several ways to cast, slant or present work, all of which may be equally good. The person critiquing might see things differently than you do - and that's okay. A person who critiques well understands that his or her way is not the only way - and will present comments with that understanding.

The open and mature writer will take the comments, noodle on them without being self conscious or defensive, and thoughtfully apply what resonates. The writer will keep the intended market in mind as she rewrites because in the end the piece is a duet between the writer and the editor who have the final word.

The SDCWG encourages each Group member to pray for wisdom prior to critiquing. Remember, the goal of critiquing is to improve the skills of Christian writers and help them get their work published.

Be encouraging as possible. Provide useful feedback. Please be as objective as possible.

Who can participate?
The group is open to all current Guild members.

What genres are supported?
The group is open to all writing genres. When our numbers grew, we split into genre specific groups but you can still post anything: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, screenplays, devotionals, etc.

How to I sign up?
To subscribe, email your name and snail mail address to info@sandiegocwg.org. You will be emailed a brief questionnaire to complete that will help other members get to know you and your writing. Once the form is completed and returned, you will be added and introduced to the group.

For how long am I committed?
You can leave the group at any time.

What if I’m not a SDCWG member?
Participation in the SDCWG online critique group is limited to current SDCWG members. Members are automatically "unsubscribed" from the online critique group when their SDCWG membership expires.

How much and how often can I post?
Each member may post a maximum of one 1500-word piece per month. If your submission exceeds the word count it will be unapproved/rejected. If you post more than one submission in a month, the only the first piece will be approved.

How many pieces do I have to critique?
Members agree to critique everything that is posted to their small group. Group members will complete critiques within two weeks after posting or email the author to explain why you are not critiquing their piece.

Does my piece have to be for a Christian publication?
This is a Christian critique group. Material does not need to be overtly Christian; however, material must be suitable for a Christian audience and if deemed inappropriate by the moderator will be unapproved/rejected.

Critique Group members agree to adhere to the established guidelines of the SDCWG. Have a question about your content? Please email the moderators before posting.

Providing critique comments to others
All feedback is to be constructive and given with kindness. Try to include at least one positive and encouraging comment in the course of your critique.

How big is the group?
To maintain intimacy and accountability each online group is limited. When the groups grow too large, a new group(s) will be created.

What does the moderator do?
Moderators will ensure material is appropriate, within word count and will strive to foster a spirit of respect, accountability and encouragement within group.

What format is the material distributed in?
The Group uses MS Word documents sent as an email attachment. The moderator will scan all attachments for viruses before being distributed to the group.

What format should I use?
The industry standard for submitting material to publishers is “double-spaced” and “Courier” (New Courier or Courier New), 12-point font. The SDCWG suggests members use this standard for submissions to the online critique group.

Should I give any background information on the piece or just send it by itself?
Submissions should have an opening paragraph regarding the intended market and audience, and if the piece is assigned, on speculation or written just for yourself. Again, one paragraph should be sufficient.

How do I enter my comments on someone else’s piece?
While in Word, make any changes in red. Striking through a word(s) denotes deletion (like this) and should also be done in red.

How do I title my submission?
The subject should be the month-your initials. Example: July-CRT.
When you critique a piece, you send it back to the whole group. The subject should then be the month-author’s initials-critique-your initials. Example: July-CRT-critique-LSS.

How do I submit something?
After creating your Word document, send it as an attachment to sdcwg_critique@yahoogroups.com or whatever group name you are assigned to.
How do I change the font of a word or words to red?
Once in Word, there are several ways to achieve red highlighting:

- Highlight the corrected word(s)
- From the tool bar select “Format”
- select “Font”
- from the “Font” tab find “Font color”
- click on the arrow/triangle
- choose the red block
- click the “Ok” button at the bottom.

To add the “Font color” button to your tool bar:
- place the curser on the tool bar and right click
- choose “formatting”
- a capital “A” with a solid bar under it should appear on your tool bar
- highlight the corrected word(s)
- click on the arrow/triangle next to the capital “A”
- choose the red block.

Now the solid bar under the capital “A” should be red and from this point on clicking the capital “A” icon should turn your highlight word(s) red.

How do I strike through a word/words?
Striking through a word(s) denotes deletion and should be done in red also:

- Highlight the corrected word(s)
- from the tool bar select “Format”
- select “Font”
- from the “Font” tab find “effects”
- click the box next to “Strikethrough”
- click the “Ok” button at the bottom.

You can highlight the strike through in red by either of the previously explained methods.

What do I do with my comments once I finish critiquing a piece?
You email the Word document, which now contains your comments in red, back to the moderator. It will be posted for the entire group to see. When we read the comments made by someone else, we also become better writers and better critquers.

What if I don’t agree with the theology contained in a piece?<
This is an inter-denominational group so please leave any biases out of your critiques.

Can I email other members directly to ask for critique?
Group members are encouraged to support and motivate, to report publishing efforts and successes, and to foster accountability; however, material submission to the Group should always be accomplished through the moderator. Emailing material to an individual without his/her prior permission is not allowed and will cause you to be placed on “probation.” Repeated offenses will cause you to be suspended from the group.

Members who consistently abuse the guidelines will be placed on probationary status. Repeated offenses will result in suspension from the Group.