SWWJ manuscript appraisal

[Susan]

I'm wondering if anyone has ever submitted a manuscript for critique to SWWJ. Full or associate membership is open to professional writers throughout the world. A one-year membership is available to unpublished writers, including a full manuscript critique, for £145.

The lure of a full critique at such a cheap price got me interested, since I could never afford typical rates. Plus, the society is clearly legitimate. But I've had a few problems since attempting to contact them.

Their application form doesn't make it clear whether to send the manuscript along with the application, so I emailed them at membership@swwj.co.uk to enquire. The email bounced back as undeliverable. I then filled out the contact form on their website but haven't had a response. This was only on Monday, so it may be that no one has picked up the enquiry, but it may also be that their contact form is broken too.

I decided today to bite the bullet and send the manuscript along with the application form. The woman at the post office told me the postcode on the application form is incorrect - should be AL1 1JJ, not AJ1 1JJ. If it wasn't for the fact that SWWJ are a long-established reputable organisation, I'd be awfully wary about all these little issues.

I had one other concern. The authors carrying out the full-length fiction critiques are romance novelists. My book is anything but romantic. While I'm extremely keen to receive feedback from absolutely anyone and very grateful to those who give me their valuable time, I'm wondering if it's wiser to seek paid-for appraisals from people who normally read your genre.

I'd be happy to let others know how things progress, in case this might be an avenue for you.

 

[Carol Rose]

Well ... um, they may be long-standing and legit, but if you're having this much trouble contacting them, I'm wondering why??

 

[Barbara]

I haven't heard of them so maybe I can't judge, but (and feel free to ignore me) a few things you say make me think you should avoid them. Like the plague.

Here they are:

1. Not easy to get hold of,
2. email bouncing back,
3. no clear guidelines for submission,
4. contact form with no response 5 days later? If you want business, or are in business, you respond ASAP
5. Wrong postcode ....

That's already five red flags.

hmmm.

They may or may not be legit, I have no clue, but if they're this difficult up front, would you actually receive the critique if you managed to send it in, or will you end up chasing your feedback????

Reputation doesn't mean a thing. People in companies change. Their modus of operandi changes.

Also, yes, they're cheap. There might be a reason, they're cheap. But like I said, I don't know.

Save up for a sensible one. Someone who treats your custom with the respect it deserves. If they treat you with respect up front, it's a good indication they will treat your MS the same. Good business practice starts with the first point of contact. There's a reason for typical / standard rates.

There are other critique services ...

Or find yourself a trusted writing buddy.

 

[Carol Rose]

@Susan have you checked out Submissions Surgery? Our very own @AgentPete will evauluate your entire submissions package in a one-on-one! Or, you can submit the first 700 words to Pop-Up Submissions as well. And of course, we have the Writing Groups.

 

[Kitty]

To be honest I've learned far more from Litopia than I have from any writing course or workshop. And it didn't cost me a penny!

 

[Carol Rose]

To be honest I've learned far more from Litopia than I have from any writing course or workshop. And it didn't cost me a penny!

Totally agree.

 

[Rich.]

I second that. I don't think there's any worthwhile writing advice that you can't find on or through this forum.

And more than a few of us have critiqued each others entire novels.

Be active in the Writing Groups (which you have been) and don't be afraid to ask.

 

[Barbara]

My final, and incomplete, thought on this:

Legit or not, do you really want to give your brainchild, your priceless MS which you worked so hard on, over to a company whom you're not 100% sure about from the get go, and who ...

 

[Susan]

I wasn't sure how soon is too soon to post my own stuff for critique. The writing groups became available to me yesterday, so I've been trying to comment on other people's work and not be greedy. I'll check out the various options suggested by @Carol Rose. Submissions Surgery isn't available, but probably best to get some feedback before attempting to submit work.

 

[Paul Whybrow]

There are websites which offer feedback on literary agents, publishers, writing courses and professional writing services. I had a look on Writer Beware for SWWJ, but they're not listed. Preditors & Editors has been down for a while, but has just been taken on by new caretakers, though they're not up and running yet.

Absolute Write's Water Cooler also has nothing on the Society of Women Writers and Journalists.

All the same, they're treating you with disrespect from the get-go. Why do business with them? You're worth better.

 

[Rich.]

I wasn't sure how soon is too soon to post my own stuff for critique. The writing groups became available to me yesterday, so I've been trying to comment on other people's work and not be greedy.

You're doing all the right things. And don't forget that in the Writing Groups you have full control over who you work with. You can post an open thread; or invite critiques, choose your partners and then close the thread to all but them before you post your work. For a full novel critique, you may wish to approach someone directly via PM, but there really isn't a right way or wrong way. Use your judgment and you'll be fine.

 

[Carol Rose]

I wasn't sure how soon is too soon to post my own stuff for critique. The writing groups became available to me yesterday, so I've been trying to comment on other people's work and not be greedy. I'll check out the various options suggested by @Carol Rose. Submissions Surgery isn't available, but probably best to get some feedback before attempting to submit work.

It's never too soon. We'd all be happy to help. Post away.

 

[Susan]

Hmmm, I've already sent the manuscript, so too late to do anything about that. You live and learn. Will probably take months to hear back from them, but in the meantime I'm super excited about diving into the whole critiquing business! So glad to have discovered this place.

@Paul Whybrow - thank you so much for those links.

 

[Barbara]

Hmmm, I've already sent the manuscript, so too late to do anything about that. You live and learn. Will probably take months to hear back from them, but in the meantime I'm super excited about diving into the whole critiquing business! So glad to have discovered this place.

@Paul Whybrow - thank you so much for those links.

Well, you might be pleasantly surprised and get some good feedback. All the best with it.

 

[Rachel Caldecott]

To be honest I've learned far more from Litopia than I have from any writing course or workshop. And it didn't cost me a penny!

Me too!

 

[Rachel Caldecott]

Although years ago I did use The Literary Consultancy and although expensive (for me) I thought they were good, helpful and their advice was sound. Although having said that, there was a massive booboo at the beginning. They sent my m/s to a reader of sci-fi, when I had expressly said it was YA. I waited for about 7or 8 weeks for his report and he finished with... 'you should submit this as a YA'. I was somewhat miffed and complained. It was clearly a mistake their end, so they sent it to a YA reader for free and she gave me her report too. By the end of the (very long) process, I had two very good and detailed reports to work from. Never heard of SWWJ though.

 

[Susan]

Never heard of SWWJ though.

The society has been around since 1894, but it’s only been open to professional journalists and writers until a couple of months ago, when they began offering a one-year membership with manuscript appraisal service to non-published writers.

I suspect it’s having teething problems, but if all goes well it might be a useful way for new writers to get cheap appraisals until perhaps the society hikes up the fees.

 

[Rich.]

I've just had a glance at their site and Twitter feed. They certainly look legitimate (seriously so, illustrious even), don't they? And based on what I've seen, I wouldn't question that they are the real deal.

Pity about the teething problems though. I'm afraid that if they couldn't offer me a professional service off the bat, I'd take my business elsewhere. It makes me think they've had a committee meeting about raising funds and launched a new membership service without thinking things through.

I hope I'm wrong.

 

[Barbara]

I agree with Rich.

A critique service is probably not their prime raison d'etre. It's probably a 'side-line' service for them while they're busy doing society stuff. Still, if they've been around a while, you'd expect them to have some experience on how to deal with punters, plus a '"receptionist" or allocated person of sorts who's ready to take calls and deal with the incoming MSs. If I was in their shoes and launched a new service, I'd be sitting next to the phone ready to take orders, or else risk alienating my customers. What's the point advertising / offering if you can't deliver? I'd we waiting for sales, leading to word of mouth. It sounds like they've launched this service too soon, and, being a society, I guess they're not thinking in business terms.

The reason other services are more expensive is because it takes quite a few hours to go through an MS. The cost of a site, plus the wages for a reader, advertising, yadyadya, plus a profit for the company of course, all means the fees have to be at a certain minimum price. I therefore wonder how in-depth their critique can be because paying a reader to do the feedback would probably cost more than the fee they're charging. Maybe they don't realise the effort involved for a reader. Who knows.

You may be one of those lucky ones who get a critique for chips while the company realises that the costs outweigh the fees, then whack up the price.

Then again, as you know, you can get superb critiques here. I've had my work in the Writing Groups a couple of times, and I just adore my reader-helper-elves. Yes, I've tried a critique service before I discovered this site, and the feedback was OK, but it felt impersonal, cold, as if they're just ticking off the work. What I get here on this site, feels much more heart-felt and 'collaborative', and is of better quality. People are doing it just because; for their love of all things written.

Let us know how you get on. I'm curious how this pans out. I hope you get back what you need.

 

[Carol Rose]

I agree with this. It might be a new venture they're trying to raise money, but haven't worked out the kinks yet. I hope it turns out well for you, @Susan. Let us know!