Writing, Fiction, Writing Tips
Critique Partners and Why You Need Them
An overview of what CPs are and why they are so valuable
I’ve mentioned critique partners in a few previous articles and I’ve said before how essential they are to any writer who wants to improve their craft, especially if they want to be traditionally published.
But it is all easier said than done. Critique partners are invaluable but not easy to find. To that end, I’m going to do another article about how you find critique partners and a few best practices for working with them, but this is your broad overview of what they are and why you need them.
What is a CP?
A critique partner is someone with whom you exchange work, feedback and notes on your books.
Usually, critique partner relationships are reciprocal, but not always. There’s nothing wrong with having a one-sided critique partner relationship, especially if that is your choice. You go in knowing you want to read that person’s work and give them feedback, and you don’t really mind whether or not they reciprocate. A CP relationship may be one-sided for a short time, say a year, and then later, when you have work to share or vice versa it becomes reciprocal.
