The Value of Good Critique Partners

I have a new critique partner just for my YA work. Not that my other CP wasn't great (*Hi, Jen!*) but sometimes you need someone who's working in the same sub-genre as you are.

So, my new YA CP and I traded books last month, and it was a great experience. Mostly because her book is great! I looked at her whole MS, made notes, and then inserted them into the word doc. That was a little odd -- when I reached the end of her book, I kinda felt like I was writing "The End" myself. :)
But, this second read made me see the book in a deeper and more involved way.

It's really great. Did I say that already?

My CP has a way of fleshing out her protagonist that I can learn from. She developed her protag fully, and I did that more with my secondary characters. But perhaps that is because she's working in third and I'm in first person. I get so busy seeing the world around my character, I forget to let the reader see her. I'm learning! Anyway, my CP's agented already, and I am feeling that this book may be the one that takes her to that next level. Yay, Dona!

On my MS, her comments were really helpful -- big picture things that I just didn't see being so close to my work. And, unlike a critique group or someone who's just seeing a chapter at a time -- having a CP read your whole MS means they can give you overall impressions, pick up areas where you "lost your thread", etc.

So, the book had the once over -- and immediately went out the door. It's had some interest, so I'm waiting to hear. In the meantime, I'm toying with my ideas for a sequel -- forcing myself not to write it, yet! My M.O. is to dive right into the next work without time for breathing, so this is quite hard. But, I know to do a really good job, I have to plan carefully and start in the right place. There's no sense in rushing.

I am catching up on some reading this week. Just finished Lori Handeland's Dark Moon and am now into a Meg Cabot (who is my unofficial Madonna!) book called Teen Idol. In the TBR pile are Scott Westerfield's Uglies and Pretties. After hearing Diana Peterfreund's rave reviews of SW, I figured it was time to read him!

So, I'm chilling. Waiting. Hoping. The waiting never gets any easier!