Dear O'Abby: I offered to read for another author and this happened...

 Dear O'Abby,

I was looking for new critique partners/beta readers and reached out in a Facebook group I'm part of.  A couple of people offered to read for me in exchange for me reading for them.  I jumped at the chance especially since both these writers are published authors and I thought they would be able to give me valuable feedback.  I also thought I could learn a lot from reading their works in progress.

One of these authors has been a delight to work with.  Her feedback was incredibly useful, and she was very gracious and grateful for the feedback I gave her on her book.

The second was a completely different story.

I spent over a week of my writing time working through her MS, writing comments through the text as I found things that I felt were unclear, lacking in motivation or just questions I had. There were also a lot of spelling and grammar errors through the MS, and places where the POV switched for a few pages then switched back.  Character names kept changing, which confused me. Then I spent another day writing an edit letter, outlining everything I liked about the story, disliked about the story, the characters, the setting, the style of the prose and more.  

It took her over six weeks to get my MS back to me, and when I received it, I eagerly opened the email, waiting to find out where this writer thought I could improve.  The email was short.  Just a couple of lines saying she didn't think the book was ready for publication yet.  Which I already knew.  That's why I had asked for feedback.  So I opened the MS, expecting comments through it.  There were three in the whole MS.  And one of them was on the fourth page, saying she didn't understand the character motivation.  The fourth page, where the character has barely been introduced, let alone given enough backstory to be able to understand why she might do something that could be considered peculiar. I'm not even sure she read past the whole book because there were no comments after page 98.

To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.  I'd been waiting for this feedback for six weeks.  I'd spent hours of my time working through her book.  And I got three comments and a note saying it wasn't ready to be published.  

Am I overreacting here?  Was I wrong to expect more from this writer?  I'm furious, but even more, I'm now wary about doing this kind of thing again. I can't afford to hire an editor or pay for a professional beta read, but I also can't afford to be giving so much of my time to someone who doesn't give back.

Best,

Disappointed.

Dear Disappointed,

I don't think you are overreacting.  This is disappointing and you have a right to be angry about it.  You are also right to be wary about doing this again.

Everyone has their own way of offering critiques, and it's worth finding out if your critiquing style matches with a potential crit partner.  Whenever I begin a relationship with a new writing partner, I offer to critique a single chapter first, so they can get an idea of the way I approach critiquing other writers' work.  If I'm swapping with them, I ask they do the same for me.  Especially if they are people I don't know well.

Some writers just aren't ready for real critique.  They want to be reassured that their work is wonderful and   don't want to listen to anyone who says otherwise.  If I send back a first chapter with a note about what is working and what isn't, and a whole lot of comments, I learn a lot about the writer by how they respond to that.  

I also learn a lot about their writing in that first chapter and will know whether I can actually spare the time to do the critique.  If there are masses of things to comment on, POV slips, spelling mistakes, grammar errors and character inconsistencies, I know the book probably isn't really ready for me to critique yet.  And I will tell the writer that.  I won't spend the time necessary on a book that clearly hasn't had care taken on it by the author.

It probably doesn't make me the most popular person in publishing, but I believe in being honest.  And I also believe my time is valuable and I need to ensure I'm make the best possible use of it.  And critiquing a book that clearly isn't ready for that isn't the best use of my time.

My advice to you is not to give up because you had one disappointing experience.  There are people who will help and if you keep looking, you may be lucky enough to gather a group of like-minded authors around yourself that you can rely on for good, constructive feedback.  Just start small.  Offer a few pages of critique first so you can see if your styles gel, if the other writer's work is ready to be critiqued.  And don't be afraid to say no.

Good luck!

X O'Abby