Flexible Book Exchange (Open)

Club rules

1.  Please be respectful in your comments and replies. We are building partnerships in this club and keep in mind that other club members will see your comments and may base their decision to send/accept an exchange with you on this behaviour.  

Constructive criticism is absolutely allowed and encouraged if that's what your partner has asked for, but personal attacks are not. Anyone found posting comments that attack an author instead of focusing on their story will be issued a warning. If their partner has not completed the exchange, they will be released from the said exchange if desired. If someone has had legitimate complaints against their feedback/responses 3 times, they will be asked to find a different book club.

2. You must follow the comment guidelines when commenting on someone's story. 

Comments for Light and Fun:  5+ inline comments per chapter AND total comments should add up to 30+ words per chapter.

Comments for Moderate must be specific, related to the story, and add up to 7+ lines (PC)/13+ lines (mobile) on every chapter you've agreed to read. These comments can be contained in one final review comment or spread throughout the chapter in inline comments, provided the sentences are detailed. For example, you could leave 3 inline PC comments that were 2 lines each, and then write a little review at the end of 3-4 lines. In total, you'll have written 9-10 lines which meets the 7+ rule for PC.

Comments must address more than just grammar corrections unless you have been specifically asked to stick to that. Many of our users leave very detailed feedback and would appreciate the same in return.

You will be notified if your comments don't meet the guidelines (too short/too generic). Your exchange will be marked incomplete until the comments are fixed. If they are not fixed you won't be able to participate in future months.

3. Please log your exchanges in the accepted and finished sections of the exchange chapter in a timely manner. 

4. You must complete your exchanges to continue participating in the club. Incomplete exchange = not allowed to join in future months.

5. New members may only have 2 open/incomplete requests at a time. This increases as you show your reliability by completing exchanges, see rewards chapter. 

6. I post a sign-up chapter monthly. If you've participated in the previous month(s), you must comment on that chapter to be added to the next month's exchange. 

7. If you are found deleting FBE comments on your book before they are verified, you will be issued a warning. If you are found doing this again you will be asked to leave the club. You are creating unnecessary work for the admin and for your partner. After they have been verified, you may do what you please.

8. Requests with a member you haven't worked with before should not exceed 5 chapters. The exception to that rule is if one member has very short chapters and you are matching word count. Then the number of chapters of the user with the longer chapters cannot exceed 5.

9. Late exchanges and extensions. In the case that you cannot complete your exchange before the deadline, you may request an extension. You will be given 14 days to complete your exchange. If you are unable to complete the exchange within 14 days, you'll be issued a warning. If your exchanges surpass the 14-day extension period during a second month you will no longer be able to rejoin the club. Please note we do make exceptions for medical or family emergencies. 

Tips for successful exchanges

Read the story description carefully to see if someone's story would be a good fit. Also, read them before accepting an exchange. 

Keep their feedback preferences in mind when offering feedback just as you would like them to consider yours.

Check how many incomplete exchanges someone has before sending them a request. If they already have more than one, they may not be able to accept your request right away. If you find someone with 1 or fewer incomplete requests, you'll probably be able to start the exchange sooner. 

Please note that users earn more incomplete request spots as they participate. See the stars by their username *= 3 incomplete requests **= 4  incomplete requests to see how many requests someone can accept at once.

If someone has asked for constructive feedback, it's also good to balance it with some positive aspects so they aren't completely overwhelmed. Unless of course, they've asked for that or you know them well, then do what you think is best.

If you have received critical feedback and are upset about it, don't respond immediately. Take time to process the feedback, read over your story with that in mind, and you'll find yourself in a less emotional position to respond. You do not need to make every or any changes suggested, but please be courteous as your partner's goal was to help you improve your story not to tear it down even if it feels that way at times.

When giving constructive feedback, keep in mind that grammar rules vary in different regions, that sometimes creative choices are made deliberately, and that softening words like 'could, perhaps, maybe' can be less blunt than phrases like 'need to or should'. Not every writing rule you've heard is absolutely true, and it never hurts to double-check your advice before posting. 

Rereading your comments is also quite helpful for the sake of clarity and to see how your tone is coming across.