About Me
I am a dedicated and reliable critique partner with references.
I am educated, well-read, experienced, and professional.
I can provide useful feedback to any level and any genre. I seek useful feedback in return.
Whatever you need feedback on, I will have something similar to swap.
In order to get to know potential long-term critique partners, I prefer to start small — with chapter swaps.
If things work out with chapter swaps, we can discuss bigger chunks.
Prices
Free. No charge. We swap like for like. Typically chapter for chapter. You give me feedback. I give you feedback. No money ever changes hands.
Option 1 – Swap Services
Most people prefer to swap services.
- R&R (read and react) – most common preference
- 1st 250 words reads (hook and first page)
- 1st chapter reads
- copy edits (grammar, spelling, and punctuation)
- line edits (flow, clarity, impact)
- sensitivity reads (racial, sexual, or cultural)
Option 2 – Specific Targets Checklist
Sometimes people want me to look for specific things, such as:
- pacing
- structure
- world building
- character
- narrative voice
- interiorty
- sensitivity
- tone
- scenery
- spice
- tension
- gammar
- punctuation
- other (please specify)
Option 3 – Chapter Alpha Read Checklist
A chapter (or scene) alpha read assesses the Three Os and asks whether the chapter is doing more than one thing.
The Three Os
- What is the protagonist’s objective?
- What are the obstacles standing in their way?
- What is the outcome of this chapter? Win, lose or draw?
The first question should be clearly answered in the first two or three paragraphs. At least one of the obstacles should be apparent on the first page.
What is this chapter doing?
- Is this scene moving the plot forward?
- Is this scene building the world?
- Is this scene demonstrating internal character?
- Is this scene demonstrating external character change?
Every chapter should be doing at least two of these things in a significant way. In almost every chapter, question 1 should be one of the things it is doing. Important chapters should be doing all four.
Option 4 – Chapter Beta Read Checklist
Occasionally, people are preparing for Beta reads. In which case they want a full checklist done.
Source: A Space to Write
- Did you like the (main) character? (Be careful what you ask for. I will give you an honest answer.)
- Did you feel the (main) character’s personality come across?
- Was the situation relatable?
- Did you understand why the character did what they did every step of the way?
- Were there any parts of the story* that felt rushed?
- Were there any parts of the story* that felt too slow?
- Was there anything in the story* that you found confusing?
- Was there anything in the story* that you didn’t find believable?
- How did you feel at the end?
- Who do you think would want to read a story* like this?
* or chapter, scene, or passage
Who I Swap With
The current state of your draft does not concern me. Genre does not concern me. The level that you write at does not concern me. My background as an instructor and a coach means that I have the skills to adjust my feedback to any level. The only thing that matters to me is your reading level. If you read at or above the level of the majority, your feedback will be sufficiently helpful to me to justify at least one swap. Where we go from there will depend on how we both feel about the experience.
Contact me
If you are interested, please reach out to me by email: brentjohner@shaw.ca.