You have just finished your manuscript. You might be wondering if it is really any good. The thing to do first is get an honest review. Having family and well meaning friends have a look at your work is okay, but you can never be sure how biased they will be or how reluctant to say what they really think. You may even influence them in ways you couldn’t even realize.
There are several alternatives that you can explore online to get honest reviews of your creative writing. Now let’s face facts, it is hard to gauge how much time it would take professional reviewers but one thing is for sure, they are probably swamped with books. Backlogs and backlogs that would make your head spin. So, this may not be your best option; especially if you are looking to get a review in a reasonable time frame.
Online review forums are plentiful as well as writing clubs. Joining either will help you get your creative writing reviewed and also give you a social network of creative writers with which to share ideas and to learn from. The creative writing circle has left the library and became a staple online. You can find one for almost any genre. Try webooks.com or critters.org; these sites have excellent reviewers and are easy to use. You can upload your work and the reviewers will critique it for you. You also get to read and review the work of other members on the site. Other great sites are reviewfuse.com and writingforums.org where you can get unbiased opinions and get some exposure.
There has been no mention of getting your work reviewed the traditional way and you may be wondering why. Traditional reviewers are unfortunately really not that interested in looking for that brash new talent, or bold visionary that they claim to want. They want to play it safe which means getting an opportunity to have one of them take even a glimpse at your work is usually a job and a half. This fact alone has stalled a few careers. Most established reviewers will not even bother to read the preface of a book that did not come through the usual channels.
What you can do to get your creative writing reviewed whether in galley form or if it has already been bound is to do a little research. Here are some good sites to get you started:
http://writerspace.com/
http://www.ebookcrossroads.com/index.html
http://www.huntressreviews.com/
These are just a few and there are plenty of others out there online. Depending on your genre and the kind of feedback you are looking for all you have to do is put the time in to find them.
BIO
Rick Valence loves to read and write short stories, books and especially blogs. He has a vast array of writing interests that include fiction, non-fiction and how-to guides. Rick works Monday through Friday as a digital camera repair specialist at C.R.I.S. Camera Services in Chandler, Arizona. He is also the webmaster of his company’s camera repair blog.