Met with my class and we went over the critiques each of us received at the conference. Most were good - and productive.
I watched Radiohead play 'The Daily Mail' tonight. Song lasts about 3 and 1/2 minutes. The first 4 1/2 measures were the piano playing the intro, the next 8 and 1/2 measures consisted of the piano and one singer singing a ballad-type song, after that trumpets were added, a few measures later the drums were added.
I bring this up because of the critique process at a conference/workshop. The number of pages usually allowed to be sent to the critiquer is ten. (sometimes out of a book of 80 - 100,000 words). A lot more than 3 1/2 minutes of play time.
As I stated yesterday, my critique was good (loved my voice), but she didn't have a clue as to what the book was about. I should have (I kept kicking myself that I didn't) sent the hook. The hook would have explained it all in two seconds flat.
I think that, since we are paying for these critiques, the amount of pages critiqued should be a little more. I understand that most readers will read about thirty pages of a children's book before they give up or fifty pages of an adult book.
These critiquers are professionals. They swear they can sometimes tell if a book is going to be good after the first sentence. I believe them. I think they should give a paid critique at least thirty pages at these conferences. IMHO
And they should send back any MS that is not proofread and grammatically correct. That would level the field immediately.
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