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NOVEL SIG
Participation guidelines
Please read these guidelines before attending your first meeting and either print or bookmark this page for future reference. The Fiction and Novel SIGs provide opportunities to get thoughtful, detailed feedback for your works in progress. SIGs do not replace writing programs, classes or workshops, nor are they classrooms for learning basic grammar and sentence structure.
SIG Evites
If you'd like to start attending the Novel SIG, send a message to both SIG Leader Miriam Johnston and evites@alamedawritersgroup.org. You'll start receiving Evites with meeting details. You'll also get emails—with pages attached—from members whose work will be reviewed.
Use the same two addresses to remove yourself from the SIG list. (You will stay on the list for the general monthly meetings, however.) Nobody wants to waste their time and yours by sending you pages you won't be reading. You can rejoin the Novel SIG when your schedule permits fuller participation.
Privacy, Please
As Novel SIG pages or other correspondence make the rounds, you'll have access to other AWG members' email addresses, and sometimes phone numbers or other contact information. Ensuring the privacy of our members and guests is very important. It is acceptable to contact other members for writing-related purposes. Or even social ones ("I had such a good time chatting with you, I'd like to invite you to my open house.")
However, it is never acceptable to use AWG contact information to solicit for commercial, political, religious or other purposes. Do not include your AWG colleagues in mass emailing of jokes, unless you have their permission. Do not share their contact information with other organizations. Members who violate the AWG's no spamming/harassing policy will be warned and even terminated from the group.
However, the AWG does have a great way to share information. If you'd like to share details about a competition, networking night or other writing-related event, post it on the AWG Yahoo! Group message board. All memberships in the AWG Yahoo! Group are approved by the Group Moderator. Email for an invitation.
Getting Roasted (er, critiqued)
To get your pages into the rotation, you must be a current, dues-paying AWG member and fully participate in at least three Novel SIG meetings. By "fully participate" we mean read pages and provide detailed, thoughtful feedback.
Deadlines Are a Bitch
SIG attendees must receive the pages for the upcoming Novel SIG at least two weeks (preferably three or four) prior to the scheduled SIG date. This means having your pages written, properly formatted, numbered and saved as a Word document and as an .rtf (rich text format) document so that they can be opened by all readers.
We recommend that you include a short (one single-spaced page) synopsis for your novel and include that with your pages. It helps readers to understand the entire plot, so we can evaluate your pacing. This will also save valuable time during the SIG. However, you should always include a "story so far" blurb unless you're beginning with page one to refresh our memory.
If you are scheduled for review, then miss the distribution deadline, there is not enough time to put another member into your slot. Please adhere to the deadline!
When your pages are ready, request the updated participant list and send 'em out! In addition, upload your pages and synopsis to the Yahoo Group file area so that newcomers and those who misplaced your original email can access your work.
Other Author Essentials
Besides emailing your pages, write a concise two paragraph (maximum) "blurb" for the Evite and email it to the SIG leader. Remember to:
Identify the genre (general fiction, mystery, chick lit, historical, sci-fi, juvenile, etc.)
Explain what happened in the story before the pages we'll critique
State your goals for the pages
Don't Hold Back
Many writers don't want to give away the ending, so they're coy about what happens next, even within the SIG. That's a mistake! When you reveal your ending, we can offer crucial feedback on whether your pages "fit" your plot.
If the ending is supposed to be a surprise, and we see it early on, you'll have a chance to fix it. Or if your ending is too left-field ("Then the aliens came down and blasted everyone to bits. The End."), you can weave in more clues to make your ending work.
F is for Formatting...
Get in the habit of using standard formatting. Publishers expect it and readers will give full attention to your content, rather than being distracted by an odd layout. Your excerpt should:
Not exceed 30 numbered pages
Use 1 to 1 ½” margins on all sides
Use standard 12 point fonts
Be double-spaced and left justified
Have paragraph breaks (and standard indentations) whenever there is a change in speaker, action, or POV
Be spell-checked
If the natural chapter break is at 32 or 33 pages, you’re pushing it. Don't get creative with fonts, margins or paragraph breaks to squeeze more words into fewer pages. If the chapter break is at page 37, submit one less chapter or find a natural break somewhere before page 30.
Putting the "Feed" into Feedback
It is customary to bring snacks and drinks to the SIG on the night your work is being reviewed. There is no truth to the rumor that the tastier the food, the gentler the feedback, but a good feed doesn’t spoil anyone’s mood! Don't forget paper plates, napkins, paper cups and anything else necessary to serve or eat refreshments.
What about alcohol? The author is not obligated to bring wine or beer (or as happened on one memorable night, Jack Daniels). However, unless you specifically ask for a "dry" reading, other participants may bring alcoholic beverages to drink or share.
Be an Eager Reader
Don't wait until the day before the SIG to start reading and making notes. Participants must read and make notes on the pages at home, either by printing the pages and making manual notes on the hard copy, or by making notes on the computer, then printing out the document for the writer. If you are unable to attend the SIG meeting, you still need to email your critique to the writer—both as a courtesy to the writer and to complete the requirements for presenting your own work.
Participants must also provide one full typed page of “coverage." This includes notes, comments, and suggestions about the work as a whole. If you've never done this before, you’ll discover this process offers tremendous insights you can use in your own writing. You’ll also find that while you may not think you can complete an entire page, once you get going, you’ll probably fill more than one!
Note what you liked about the work, as well as any major blunders or gaps in believability. If you are working to earn a spot in the reading rotation, you must fulfill all three steps of being a participant: notes, coverage, and attendance at three SIG meetings.
Go The Extra Mile
Try to attend as many Novel SIGs as possible, even if the work isn’t in your favorite genre. The insights you gain from “tasting” another kind of work are well worth the investment of your time.
The AWG SIG system is writers helping other writers. We're all busy, and barely have time to write, let alone read and give serious thought to someone else’s work. But when we do, we gain so much in return.
For More Information
For questions on grammar and punctuation, refer to "The Elements of Style" by William Strunk and E. B. White or "The Chicago Manual of Style." Both are available at bookstores and libraries.
Check these links for articles about fiction formatting. When writing for publication or to enter contests, always follow the formatting guidelines provided by the editors. Remember, they are flooded with submissions. Don’t give them an excuse to reject your work!
Writing World: A Quick Guide to Manuscript Formatting
William Shunn: Proper Manuscript Format