Lost Dreams Book Club - ON HIATUS

How this works

Step 1: Fill out the form in the Application form chapter. Make sure you add as much information as you can. That way we will be able to pair you up with a partner you will be happy with.

Step 2: When you apply to be a member of this club, we ask you to review a certain piece of writing. That way we can check out your reviewing skills. Please don't let this scare you off if you're new to reviewing; we are willing to help you improve if you're struggling. Check out the chapter How to give the best feedback to find out more about what we expect from you in this area.

Step 3: Once you are accepted, we will have an admin look at all of the info you gave us in the form. We will search our members list for someone who matches your preferences and avoidances. When we next update, you will find your name paired up with two other people; we will put everyone in groups of three. The reason we make groups of three, rather than just pairing two people together, is in case one person has to go on hiatus for whatever reason. This way, you'll still have a partner, even if that happens.

Step 4: What next?

Once you're paired up with a group, here's what we expect of you.

Every two weeks we expect you to read a minimum of SIX chapters of your partner's books - that is three chapters for each of your partners. This amounts to three chapters per week. If you want to read more and your partners agree, that is absolutely fine. That just speeds up the process and means you can be paired with someone else quicker.

For every chapter you read, you have to write a decent paragraph of useful feedback for the author. We'll go into more depth about what we consider decent in the chapter How to give the best feedback. As we will explain in further detail there, we highly recommend using inline comments as well.

We expect you to be kind and respectful towards your partner's book. They have worked hard on it and there is no point being rude about their work. Make sure your feedback is constructive and stated in a positive way.

On the other hand, we also expect you to be able to take criticism. You are in this book club to receive feedback and to learn and grow. Don't get defensive about every single thing your partner mentions. Try and learn from their comments. And if you disagree, just thank them for taking the time to review your work and let it go.

By signing up, we expect you to finish the book of the person you're paired with. Although we'll try to pair you up with books you'll like, it may not be your favourite book ever, so you need to be okay with finishing the book anyway. They are putting the same effort into your book, after all. In fact, it might be something to write about in your review; what part of the story made you lose interest and why.

Step 5: Once you're finished for the week, come back to the book club and comment (on that week's chapter) how many chapters you have read of your partners' books that week. Make sure to include the last chapter you read. For example, if you and your group have been paired for a while and have decided to read 6 chapters this week, you go to the latest chapter of the book club, this week's update, and you comment: Three chapters read of Speaker's Way; last chapter read: chapter 15, and three chapters read of The Root of Magic; last chapter read: chapter 15.

Step 6: Unless you have finished your partners' books, our next update will still have you matched with the same group. If you finish a book, let us know in your comment. We will pair you up with a new group.

Note: If your partner's reviews aren't up to scratch, please let us know. We will not be checking everyone's comments in great detail, but we will take action if we find out someone is doing a half-assed job. 

Also, let us know if your partner is doing a brilliant job and is giving you incredibly helpful reviews. We will have a reward system for people who go above and beyond, but since we don't check all comments, we need your help to nominate people who do extra well.