Canalave Library Longform Writers' Review Exchange

Welcome to the trial version of Canalave Library’s longform writers’ review exchange! Do you have a chapterfic you’d like more feedback on? Are you tired of getting reviews of chapter one when you’re already on fifteen? This might just be the place for you.

How does it work?

In a nutshell, this is a system for getting paired with other writers and exchanging reviews with them, once every month. Sign up, and you’ll be asked to put forward a fic to be dropped in the hat. Your organiser will then pair these fics up and post a list in the #longform-exchange channel to each author to let them know who their partner is. From then, you’ll have one month to review their work in its entirety and in whatever way suits you best. When you’re done, post a link to that review in #longform-exchange to confirm you’re done, and stand by to receive another partner!

There have to be rules, right?

1. Your fic needs to be posted on the Canalave Library forum to be eligible. You should post your review in the fic’s thread on the forums.
   
2. Again for this trial at least, your fic should be pokémon fic. We can’t guarantee other members will know your fandoms, after all.
3. Your fic should be a chapterfic; if you want one-shots reviewed, consider signing up for the book club instead. Please also give us an estimate of your fic’s length, for reasons outlined in rule 5.
4. If we have an odd number of members, the organiser will step in to pair with the person left without a partner.
5. The organiser will try to pair your fic with another of a similar length, but you may end up having to review more chapters than your partner if their fic is longer than yours. However, if you are assigned a fic that’s over 200,000 words long, you need only review the first 200,000 words of it to fulfil your obligations – though you’re free to review all of it if you choose.
6. When you’ve written your review, you must post a link to it in the #longform-exchange channel to let the organiser know to check it over.
7. You’re free to review the whole fic at once, or chapter by chapter, or in multi-chapter chunks. However, you can’t get away with one-line reviews; you have to give in order to receive. For every chapter, you'll need to write at least four or five sentences, positive or negative, about at least four topics. You could write about the characters, the dialogue, any spelling or grammar mistakes, the plot, the writing style, or anything else – just as long as you provide at least a couple of details about it. And of course, you’re free (and encouraged) to let the author know how you liked their story, too. ;)
8. Fail to deliver a review, and you’ll be given a warning and asked to catch up. Fail to deliver two consecutive reviews, and the organiser will contact you to try and work out why things aren’t going well. Barring someone from the exchange is a last resort.
   
9. That said, if you’re working on a longer fic and need more time, extensions are freely available – we just ask that you let the organiser know if you think you’ll need one.
   
10. It is automatically assumed you will be active for the next rotation. Let the organiser know if you won’t be available. If you want to drop out, temporarily or permanently, you must complete your current week’s assignment first. If you don’t, that will count as a failure to deliver, as detailed in rule 8.
    
11. All our usual forum rules apply to reviews made through this system. Treat each other with respect, and if offering constructive criticism, offer it with the aim of encouraging and helping the author to grow, not tearing them down.
    
12. Double posting is allowed if no other user has posted since your last review.

And that’s it! The current organiser is girl-like-substance, so feel free to contact xem if you have further questions or feedback.