Online Feedback Resources for Fiction Writers
I love my writing group. A lot of us have been in the group for over 10 years, by this point, which means we know each other’s writing well—and that’s usually a good thing. Knowing the perspective each person is coming from helps to interpret their comments and put them in context, which makes it easier to fix the issues they spot without losing my voice. Their comments are also more likely to have that voice in mind since they’re so familiar with it.
That said, though, there are times that feedback from my workshop group might not be the most productive thing for the piece I’m working on. Sometimes it’s helpful to see how a story is reading to people who don’t know my writing, like when I’m playing in one of my established sandboxes and want to verify that it makes sense as a stand-alone, or if I’ve already workshopped the piece with the group and need a fresh perspective on how it reads after incorporating their suggestions.
Whether you don’t have a regular workshop group, or are looking for supplemental sources of creative critique outside your usual circles, here are some places you can get feedback on fiction without leaving the comfort of your house.
Margin
This is a newer site so it doesn’t have a ton of activity yet, but it’s a very cool concept that I expect will only get cooler as it grows. When you create an account on Margin, you can upload story drafts into folders that you can share with select people, either folks you already know IRL or other writers you meet on the site, to get their comments right through the interface.
Margin also has a network of freelance editors offering paid feedback, along with writing organizations that offer classes if you’re looking for something more involved. You don’t need to pay anything to use the site, though—setting up an account and connecting with folks for “friendly feedback” is free.
I’m still getting to know the layout of Margin myself but I think it has tons of potential, both as a platform for writers to connect with feedback and as a tool for existing workshop groups to streamline the process of sharing comments.
Critique Circle
https://www.critiquecircle.com/
A free online community for writers, Critique Circle uses a reciprocity model to encourage people to share critiques. Members gain credits by critiquing others’ writing, then can use those credits to submit their own stories for comments.
Critique Circle has been around for a while (since 2003) and has a fairly active membership. Stories you post for feedback can’t be viewed by non-members, so there’s no worries of them being considered “previously published” when you submit them to journals.
Scribophile
Another version of the same concept used by Critique Circle. Give feedback to earn karma points, then spend those points to post your own writing for critique. They also have a directory of beta readers, for folks who are working on book-length manuscripts.
Scribophile’s been around for a while, too, and has a similarly active and supportive community. It’s another one that’s free to use (with a paid tier that unlocks extra features), so it could be worth it to sign up for both and see which interface and community seem to suit you the best.
Journals with Paid Feedback
I did a post about journals with guaranteed feedback about a year ago but things can change quickly in literary publishing land so it seems like a good time for an update.
There are a few journals that offer free feedback open currently (or opening very soon):
- BlazeVOX Journal – Online journal of BlazeVOX Books. They’re always open to free submissions and give feedback to all submissions. A good spot for more voice-driven, literary stories.
- The Dawn Review – Open January 15th-March 15th, then again from July 15th-September 15th. They consider literary fiction up to 10 pages, and offer around 300 words of free feedback to the first 150 submissions they receive (so send your work early in a reading period if you want to get comments).
- Utopia Science Fiction Magazine – As you might guess from the name, this is a journal for sci-fi. Specifically, they want stories that have an optimistic view of the future. They have rolling submission deadlines, with the next one for their disability pride issue (submit by April 1st) followed by an unthemed issue (deadline June 1st). Check the box at the bottom of the submission form if you’d like to receive feedback (though, as they say, it isn’t guaranteed).
Some other currently open journals with a paid feedback option:
- After Dinner Conversation ($65) – This is a journal with a very specific niche: they only publish fiction that poses an ethical question. If you have work in that vein, they’re open year-round and offer a few lines of feedback to all submitters. You can also pay for more in-depth feedback from their editors with the Story Feedback option.
- Baubles From Bones – A publisher of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror stories, open through January 29th. They’ll consider up to 8,000 words but prefer things on the shorter side of that range. The cost for feedback isn’t listed on their guidelines but you can request it by clicking the button on the submission form.
- Black Fox Literary Magazine ($59) – Black Fox is open to fiction of all genres and styles, and offers paid feedback for ficiton up to 5,000 words, in the form of a letter from the editors.
- Chestnut Review ($15 or $99) – This is a beautiful market for literary fiction. The next rolling submission deadline is March 31st for their summer issue. Submitters can add 2 tiers of feedback. The $15 feedback gets you comments from the readers, while the $99 version is editorial feedback, including full document mark-up and a written response from one of the editors.
- CRAFT ($59-$99) – Another primarily literary market. The cost of feedback from CRAFT depends on your story’s length (up to 6,000 words). The feedback includes both line-level edits and a 2-page letter of comments and suggestions.
- Fahmidahn Journal ($9-$70) – This London-based online quarterly also has a press focused specifically on the work of POC and women identifying writers. They’re primarily interested in literary work, though they’re open to experimental and genre-bending. Paid feedback options range from $9 reader feedback to more extensive line editing and editorial letters ($35-$70, depending on number and length of pieces).
- The Masters Review New Voices ($69) – This category is always open for writers who don’t yet have a full-length book published by a major publisher (self-published and indie published authors are still eligible). They’ll consider stories up to 7,000 words and tend to publish literary fiction.
- Mud Season Review ($45) – Mud Season looks for “deeply human work that will teach us something about life.” They’re open through January 31st for the current reading period. While they’ll publish stories up to 6,000 words, they’ll only offer feedback on up to 3,500, in the form of a 250-500 word critical response.
- Nunum ($10) – Nunum publishes flash flash fiction only, 500 words or less. Their reading period for feedback submissions ends January 31st. They’re open to a range of genres, and also publish a sci-fi specific anthology each year. Feedback takes the form of written comments from editors.
- Oranges Journal (£13) – Another one with a tight focus, Oranges Journal publishes intersectional feminist writing. They’re looking for work with a unique point-of-view and rarely take anything longer than 6,000 words.
- Orca ($12-$49) – Orca publishes literary and literary speculative work, up to 8,000 words. Their basic ($12) feedback is up to 500 words of general craft-based comments. You can also get in-depth feedback for $29-$49, depending on the story’s length.
- Sixfold ($5) – This unique online lit mag is submitter-voted. The works published in each issue are chosen over 3 voting rounds, and submitters get comments from the other writers who read and voted on their stories. All genres are welcome, up to 5,000 words. The deadline for the next round is February 28th.
- Spank the Carp ($4) – Spank the Carp publishes literary and sci-fi stories up to 5,000 words. You can get personalized feedback along with a quick response by picking their Tip Jar option.
- Uncharted Magazine ($69) – This is another arm of the literary octopus that also runs CRAFT, Masters Review, and FracturedLit. Their focus is on genres, specifically sci-fi, fantasy, thriller, mystery, and historical fiction. They’re also one of the few short fiction markets I know of open to YA. They’ll consider stories up to 5,000 words and feedback comes as a 2-page letter with revision suggestions and overall comments.
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