Victory Crayne
Independent Editor,
Writing Coach/Mentor,
Ghostwriter
Victory Page for Fiction Writers
Set a bookmark or add to your Favorites right now, so you can quickly find this page in the future.
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Victory Crayne
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Victory Page for Fiction Writers |
Set a bookmark or add to your Favorites right now, so you can quickly find this page in the future. |
Polish your novel or memoir to make it more salable!Are you having difficulty getting someone to review chapters of your novel or memoir, someone who will give you professional-level feedback?Or are you looking for someone to ghostwrite your book for you? |
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The Victory Page for Fiction WritersDo you want a professional critique of your novel or memoir to help you improve your writing skills? Do you yearn to write novels or a memoir that reach the New York Times bestseller lists but can't get anyone to even read your book? Have your searched for help in vain using keywords like: critic, critique, book doctor, novel doctor, critique novel, critique writing, writing critique, feedback, writing coach, writing mentor, writing, memoir, query letter, cover letter, synopsis — and you still can't find someone to help you? Guess what, my friend? Your search is over! Is this your story?You pour your energy and nine-tenths of your soul into your story. Night and day you wrestle with yourself over every page, every word at your keyboard, typewriter or writing pad. At last — you're finished! You love it and you're proud of yourself, as you should be. You ask for an opinion from those close to you: your husband, wife, lover, best friend, brother, sister, mother, father, son, daughter or a co-worker at the office. They all encourage you. They all give positive responses, but you’re skeptical of their opinions. Their tone or body language makes you doubt their sincerity. We’ve all had the same experience — that awful anxiety when we present our stories to others, hoping they will smile and say “Great story! I love it!” You wonder: do they like the story for the story — or only because they know I wrote it? Would they like it as much if they thought a stranger wrote it? How many times have they said of your story, “It’s interesting.” Interesting?!! You fear they’re just being polite and are afraid of hurting your feelings with the truth. You ask for some ideas of where the story could be improved and they just stare at you without a clue how to answer your question. But after all, they’re not writers. They don’t know how to make it better. (see "Next step" below) |
Career Plan for Fiction Writers Critique Groups in Southern California
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Next stepWith nervous anxiety you take the next daring step — you search for another writer. It takes you quite a while to find one who is willing to read even your opening chapters. You wonder — is this your masterpiece? Have you learned at last how to write a bestseller? You really tried hard to do so much better on this one. You wait until he finishes. He points out a few punctuation errors, he didn't understand one character's actions, and he didn't like your plot. He offers another of his own design, one that would change your story entirely. Then he smiles and tells you that you have a great story. But that feeling in the pit of your stomach isn't good. You don't want to change your story and you feel he doesn't really like yours at all. You came to him hoping to find praise for your wonderful story, or if not that, at least golden advice on how to make it better. Your shoulders slump in disappointment. You continue your searchYou find a writer's group on the Internet and join it with excited expectations that this will be what you've been looking for all along. Some of the feedback hurts. Sometimes they don't really tell you much about how you can improve it. And after a few critiques, no one will look at the rest of your novel and you are very disappointed. With growing frustration, you look for someone else to help you. You read the ads in the back of writers' magazines and you wonder. Are they for real? So many of them promise help, but your string of bad experiences makes you cautious. You've seen ads like those before and you fear a rip-off. (continued next column->) |
There must be a better way! You ask yourself:
Well, you can afford a professional review and you can try it out with just a few chapters. You don't have to wait months to get it. If you're frustrated because you can’t get decent feedback on your novel or memoir, if you have tried writers groups and have been disappointed, then maybe you should consider going to a professional. Perhaps you've written more than one novelYou may have obtained several critiques of your most recent novel, but unfortunately, most of the critics were writers of little experience. They meant well but they gave what you consider “shallow” advice or they simply didn’t understand what you were trying to do. And, of course, writers of little experience need time to gain the finer writing skills that you are working on. What you really need is professional feedback. Go the the expertYou can go directly to the "Expert" for help — Victory Crayne. I have critiqued the novels or memoirs of 300 writers over twelve years for millions of words! I will give you feedback on characterization, plot, grammar, punctuation, tension, conflict (internal and external), dialogue and much, much more. I'll also provide examples on how to improve your writing of your story. If you have any questions, please, feel free to write to me at victory@crayne.com. I have written two novels myself and know how beneficial it is to get feedback from knowledgeable critics. I know where you're coming from. It takes a long time to learn how to write well — if you have only yourself as your teacher. Get the help you need! - Victory Crayne, Independent Editor, Writing Coach/Mentor |
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