Critique for Japan...and what is this madness?!?!?

My pals and I over at the League of Reluctant Adults have been really distressed about the situation in Japan, and wanting to do something. So what did we come up with? Two writerly auctions! 


Basically, the winners will get to submit a synopsis and first pages (up to 6000 words) and get league authors as their writing group on it. (see details below) So, you get not one person critiquing, but SEVEN. That could sound scary, I suppose, but as a major user of writing groups throughout my career, I think the group dynamic can be hugely helpful  - people can build on what others say, disagree, bring their own styles,  suggestions, and ideas. You can see where there is consensus and disagreement.


Knowing what is working beautifully is as helpful as knowing what isn't working, so on critiques, I attempt to bring both things, and I think most authors do. I think that's what you can expect, except from seven perspectives. 


From our ebay page:

Get a helpful critique of your first pages and synopsis from a group of authors from the League of Reluctant Adults! 

Highest bidder (100% of proceeds go to the Red Cross to help Japan) gets to submit a synopsis and first batch of pages (up to 6000 words between the two - you decide how that works) of any fiction project for "expert analysis" by Team Fang, a group of authors from the League of Reluctant Adults! (We're a group of published authors of urban fantasy, young adult, and paranormal romance.

What you get: We'll each commit to taking at least an hour to read your stuff and let you know what we think is working great, and what we think isn't working, and give ideas for improvement. Some members may concentrate more on the synopsis, some on the pages, but we'll all be giving our best constructive advice. Be ready to get a spectrum of opinions, and possibly disagreement between league members, either noted on the document itself or on separate documents. It'll be like we're all sitting in a room, discussing your story and early pages. You will have six months to submit your document (Microsoft Word ideal), we'll have a month to look it over and comment. (note, this is for craft/story feedback only, and not in any way a guarantee of representation or publication). At the end, we'll email your word doc back, full of all of our comments, either on the document, or on separate documents. 

There are TWO critiques being offered: 

Team Claw: Sonya Bateman, Michele Bardsley, Carolyn Crane, Kevin Hearne, Jackie Kessler, Diana Rowland, Jeanne Stein

As you can see, Team Claw is the far superior team! And the good news is, as of this posting, the bid is only $163! For at least seven hours of work from some very majorly published and popular authors. This is an amazing deal! See the ebay page for Team Claw and bid here.

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Team Fang: Mario Acevedo, Dakota Cassidy, Stacia Kane, JF Lewis, Nicole Peeler, KA Stewart, Anton Strout

What is this madness? I have just checked and bidding has driven up the Team Fang critique price to $203!! WHAT?!?!? How can Team Fang be beating Team Claw?!! Not only does Team Fang feature my nemesis, Stacia Kane, but as you see, there are several other lazy bums and no-gooders on it. Not that you would want to make a bid for a critique from pathetic Team Fang, but you can visit their page here. 

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Richelle Mead and a number of other authors also have a fabulous auction of signed editions and even hot ARCs to bid on here.