Free Writing Critiques
Free Writing Critiques Introduction by Chris Fielden
Constructive criticism can help you become a better writer. Your family and friends might read your stories and help out, but they're not writers. Their feedback is going to be limited as they're unlikely to be experienced in fiction writing.
In my humble opinion, there is no replacement for a professional critique. If you employ an expert with industry experience, you will gain more valuable feedback than you might from other amateurs. However, when you're starting out and experimenting, you might not feel ready for professional feedback - you may just want a fellow writer to review your writing.
So, if you're a beginner, how do you gain helpful writing feedback and good advice without shelling out loads of money for a professional critique service you're not yet ready for?
Simples. You can seek help from a respected writing community offering encouraging free writing feedback.
I was recently contacted by one of my readers, Rana Tarakji. She suggested that a list of free fiction critiquing opportunities would be a good resource to build. I agreed.
When Rana was researching critiquing services, she came across a number of websites that offer free writing feedback, so she very kindly put a list together for me. You can see the list below - it details some of the best online services available.
After the free writing feedback list, you will find details of professional critique services. These are useful when you have developed your writing and are in need of help from someone with detailed knowledge and direct industry experience.
After that, you will find Rana's biography, as this was her brain child. Since she originally wrote the article, it has been updated many times as new platforms have emerged and old platforms have closed down.
If you know of / use / run a website that offers writing feedback or critiquing services, please contact me and I will add the details to the lists below.
Free Writing Feedback, by Rana Tarakji and Chris Fielden
Here are some of the best websites and online writing communities that allow writers to gain writing advice, tips and feedback on their stories free of charge. Websites are listed alphabetically.
1. ABCtales
At the time of writing, ABCtales hosts over 100,000 short stories written by nearly 20,000 authors. Their forums allow writers to share their work with an active community of writers who give feedback and constructive criticism.
In 2016, it looked like ABCTales might close. The writing community were hoping Tony Cook (who runs it) could find someone to either help out with costs, or take it over. While the 'ABC will Tales close' message still exists, the blog is up to date and there are regular new postings (this written in 2018 (and checked again in 2019)) so it looks like the site is still running. I'll leave this listing live until I hear otherwise.
It's worth noting that stories published on ABCTales are made public, so by using the site you might be giving away first publication rights to any stories you post.
2. Bookrix
Bookrix is a self-publishing platform that allows you to engage with community members and promote your work. They help you with publishing and distribution via Amazon and other major online retailers.
3. British Science Fiction Association
There are currently 7 groups, called Orbits, looking at short story or novel length stories. They are all online, usually by simple email, and focus on SF, fantasy or horror. Members of the BSFA enjoy free entry to one or both groups which are small and have been successful for many years now. The original Orbits were actually postal.
The normal ‘round’ is bimonthly, with a maximum submission of 15,000 words.
The aim is to improve writing skills so while all members are polite, and invariably very friendly, the feedback aims at professional standards. Members range from complete beginners to multi-published, and live in quite a surprising number of countries, so being a Brit is not a requirement.
Please note, you do have to be a BSFA member to take part, but their membership costs are very reasonable.
4. Critique Circle
Based in Iceland, Critique Circle is an award winning website that has been running since 2003. At the time of writing they have posted almost 120,000 stories which have received over 550,000 critiques. They offer active forums and a great community.
Here is a comment from one of my website users, Alex Guerriero, about his experiences with this website:
I have tried Critique Circle and I found it very helpful. Reading somebody else's work makes you more aware of your own mistakes.
5. DeviantArt
A website that is primarily aimed at artists, but is also aimed at any form of art, including fiction writing. DeviantArt has been running since August 2000 and has over 38 million members.
6. Indie Novella
Indie Novella are a non-profit cooperative. Their team comprises authors, writers and illustrators who hold MAs in literature and publishing. They have worked and studied with publishing houses such as Curtis Brown and Faber.
You can submit the opening 10,000 words of your novel / novella to them and they will provide feedback. If they like your story, they may request your full manuscript to read.
7. Inkitt
Inkitt offer publishing advice, free writing competitions and encourage kind and constructive feedback from community members. Their content is curated, but they boast a 24 hour turnaround time for any submission.
They employ a strategy to get authors to the top of Amazon best seller lists. You can learn more about that on their website.
There are 2 case studies about Inkitt on my blog. The first is by HR Kemp and the second is by Simone Elise.
8. MIBBA
Mibba is a creative writing website with a growing audience. It was developed for writers to share their stories, poems, blogs and books and then gain feedback from community members.
9. Pen Factor
A platform that is passionate about giving emerging writers more encouragement and feedback. To participate, you have to give feedback to other writers before receiving feedback on your own stories.
10. Reddit
This was recommended by Chris Nelson, one of my website users. He said:
Reddit's r/Writing subreddit has a weekly 'critique' thread with the week's current submittals out for review and comment.
It looks quite active, so it well worth checking out.
11. Scribophile
Aimed at writers of all skill levels, Scribophile encourages members to share their experiences and give respectful feedback in their friendly community forums. At the time of writing they have served almost 650,000 critiques for almost 110,000 submitted works, so it's a highly active community.
American author, Rebecca Henderson, has written about her experiences of using Scribophile for my website. In her post, she shows how she used the critiques she received from Scribophile users to improve her short story 'The Keymaster'. She then submitted her story to BLYNKT - they accepted the story and published it.
You can read Rebecca's story and case study here.
A note from Poornanand Goswami, one of my website users, about Scribophile:
I personally checked out each site listed on this page and I found Scribophile to be the best. Let me tell you how this works. You've got to critique at least 4 works to earn karma points. Your critique should be at least 125 words. If you spend 5 karma points, your work is placed in the 'spotlight'. 1 story will gainat least 8 critiques, some short, some long. The longer the critique, greater the credit.
Scrib is good and free, but only let's you post 2 works at a time. I'll have to wait for at least 30 days for everyone to critique my work. Then I'll delete them and post another story.
12. Story Write and All Poetry
Story Write and All Poetry were suggested for inclusion on this page by writer Seay Donovan, who has been using the platforms for 20 years. Shay said:
The community is wonderfully kind and attentive, and made up of everyone from amateurs to published authors from all over the world. They offer free courses, contests, and author pages for posting to gain feedback. They provide paid memberships as well for writers who want to add art to their words or wish to post more and comment less. Author’s maintain full rights to their work on these sites.
13. Taylz
Peer review system aimed specifically at short stories, giving objective feedback via an online community.
This website was recommended for the lists by Dianne Bown-Wilson, one of my website users. Dianne has used the site and found it very helpful and learnt lots from it. For more information, see Dianne's notes in the comments at the bottom of the page.
A note from Poornanand Goswami, one of my website users, about Taylz:
I'd say Taylz is a good option, but the style of critique is not as good as Scribophile. The options are limited. It asks various questions regarding the story. It doesn't let you choose what work you'd like to review.
A response from Taylz founder, Jonathan. He contacted me after one of his users saw Poornanand's comments and felt that Taylz was being done a bit of a disservice, as Poornanand seemed to have missed the point of the website.
Taylz was designed for writers, not readers. It is indeed not in the style of other sites and, yes, the options are limited, but this is by design. The stories are allocated randomly and reviewed anonymously, so that there is no way to ‘game’ the system (back-scratching is very common on sites that allow users to choose the stories they review), and I maintain that it thus provides the most honest, frank reviews on the web. We are working hard to add more functions to Taylz, on a limited budget, but for the time being are focussing on delivering useful reviews, rather than the bells and whistles that other sites provide.
We want Taylz to be the place that serious writers choose.
Jonathan also shared the email exchange he had with Poornanand with me. His responses were polite, professional and explained everything very clearly.
Another note, from user Jack Effron:
A good British site! They are the only free site that has some good discipline (you must critique what they give you, no mucking about and you can complain about unfair critiques).
The administrator of Taylz is good, with a great vision, but his site has problems which I run to him with daily. He does sort them, though, patiently and supportively.
14. The Phare
The Phare is magazine that also offers a community forum where members can support other writers by offering feedback, advice and guidance. Members also have access to extras such as online workshops and events.
15. WritersCafe.org
A community offering proofreading, constructive criticism and general advice and feedback on both fiction and non-fiction writing.
16. YouWriteOn
Another site suggested by Dianne Bown-Wilson, who has used the site and found it really useful. Again, her notes can be seen in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
YouWriteOn is associated with FeedARead. Every 4 months, the authors who sell the most books on FeedARead receive feedback from publishers of authors like Dan Brown, Terry Pratchett and Ian Rankin.
A note from Jack Effron, one of my website users, about YouWriteOn:
YouWriteOn is still good but seems to have a small base of participants and some trouble getting stories critiqued. They also get bulk spammed in the forums which can be annoying.
A note from Pete Pitman, in July 2020:
Hi Chris, I've been trying to get into YouWriteOn's website for weeks, but can't get in. So, finding your helpful website has given me the opportunity to try a couple of alternative sites.
I had a look and YouWriteOn's website is inaccessible. After a bit of digging, I found some information on Paul Samael's website. He said, "... in December 2019, YouWriteOn announced that it is to close, although it is hoping to re-emerge following a kickstarter campaign to fund a new website." You can see more information on Paul's website.
I'm assuming the kickstarter campaign was unsuccessful, although those types of crowdfunding efforts can take a long time. So, for now I have disabled the link but left the listing here. I shall update it if YouWriteOn re-emerges at a later date.
Another Useful Resource From Reedsy
Reedsy have a useful resource titled 50 Places to Find a Critique Circle to Improve Your Writing. This also gives details of other places you can get writing critiques / assessments and feedback.
Professional Writing Critiques
Free writing critiques are great - they can be helpful and give you great advice when you're starting out. However, as you become more accomplished, you will need an expert to work with.
These professional services cost money, but you are usually receiving feedback from a successful editor, publisher or writer who can draw on extensive real-life experience to help you develop your stories so they have a much better chance of being published.
Here are details of some professional services that might be of interest to you. My writing services are included in this list, but I also link to other well reputed services so writers can research the market and see which appeals to them most.
1. Christopher Fielden’s Critique Services
I relaunched my professional short story and poetry critique service in 2018 after putting together a team of highly experienced proofreaders and editors.
All are award winning writers and editors, some with backgrounds in education. Each member of the team has lots of real life experience to draw on, including extensive experience with writing critiques and helping authors develop their skills.
You can learn more about all my writing services here.
2. Flash Fiction Masters
Flash Fiction Magazine run a Flash Fiction Masters program that offers 1 flash fiction critique a month (for stories of 300 to 1,000 words). There's an annual fee, or you can pay monthly. They also run an active Facebook group, where writers comment on each other's work.
3. Henshaw Press
Henshaw Press run regular short story competitions and offer reasonably priced critiques to entrants. They also run a separate critique service, and a proofreading service, both of which are very reasonably priced.
4. JBWB
I used Jacqui Bennett Writers Bureau to critique and edit my first novel, Wicked Game. I worked closely with Doug Watts and found his feedback invaluable. JBWB offer an excellent service at an affordable price.
5. Lynn Love
Lynn is a widely published writer. She is a reader for the Bristol Short Story Prize and is represented by Susan Armstrong at C&W. And she is also a critical reader. You can find out about her services on her website.
6. The Next Big Writer
Launched in 2005, The Next Big Writer give members access to constructive criticism from 1,000's of writers living all over the world. They also run writing contests.
They offer a 7 day free trial, although the trial does not allow you to post anything, so you need to part with cash to make proper use of the platform.
7. Writer’s Digest
I haven't used these services myself, but have heard good things about them from my website users a few times. Writer's Digest offer reasonably priced services for all aspects of writing, including short stories, picture books, synopsis and query letters.
However, I have also received some negative comments about WD's services. Here is a comment from one of my website users, Alex Guerriero, about his experiences with Writer's Digest services:
Writer's Digest was a big disappointment because their critique was very superficial and although I was told a follow up was part of the process I had to send several messages before I got a reply. It was very frustrating, I had to wait a month. I don't recommend it.
While Alex's experience wasn't great, I have left the details here so you can research the company and make up your own mind. They do have a good a reputation.
Rana Tarakji’s Biography
Rana Tarakji is an American/Lebanese female entrepreneur, writer and digital marketer.
After having worked in one of the fastest growing companies alive - Groupon - Rana has launched and funded an internet start-up called Cary, a pre-owned marketplace based in the United Arab Emirates.
Since then, Rana has remained a co-founder at Cary but ceased being involved in the operations in order to start he own small online business Stylerail, an online beauty shop and blog.
Rana has been focusing mainly on her online business as well as on freelance writing, and has had articles published on dozens of respected websites and blogs.
You can connect with Rana on:
Big Thanks To Rana
I'd like to say a massive thank you to Rana for coming up with the idea for this resource and helping me develop it.
If you have any ideas about other useful writing resources that could be developed on this site, please get in touch with me using the comments form below or visit my contact page.
More Writing Advice
I hope you found this "Free Writing Critiques" article helpful. You can find lots of other writing tips and advice in the Advice section of this website.
