Critique Groups

Critique groups are notoriously hard to track but many a manuscript has been polished and accepted for publication with the help of trusted critique group members. So how do you find and sustain a critique group? SCBWI San Francisco South Website offers a FORUM for registered members (of any of the three regions) to find, create, or join a critique group. Once you’ve registered with the scbwisf.org site and been approved, simply log in, then click on the “Forum” tab at the top or on the Main Menu at the right, and browse or create a post in either “Seeking a Crit Group,” “Crit Groups Seeking Members” or “Form a Crit Group.” Be sure to state your geographical location, genre, and other specifics. You can also delete any postings you created, at any time.

The Main Office of SCBWI also maintains a discussion board where members may search for a Critique Group, or even form an online group with SCBWI members around the world. To use those discussion boards, you must log in to the SCBWI International site at http://www.scbwi.org/ and then register and log in to the Member Discussion Boards. Information for how to do this can be found at the site, or by contacting the Main Office of SCBWI International. (The Regional volunteers of San Francisco/South are not equipped to answer questions about the International website.)

Here’s a link to Newbery Winning Author Linda Sue Park’s discussion on “The Give and Take of Critique ” a fine article on how to do both.

If you have additional information on joining or forming your own critique group, contact our Writers’ Critique Group Coordinator, JoAnne Wetzel at jostwetzel@aol.com, or our Illustrators’ Critique Group Coordinator, Jennifer Keller at jenkellerart@gmail.com.