A circle is four members reading each other’s drafts on a regular cadence. That’s it. No public threads. No vote-up. No one-line “great chapter!” comments. You commit, you read, you give back what you saw.
How it works
- 01You match into a circle by genre, pace, and craft level. We do the matching by hand for the first six months — it matters.
- 02Each cycle one member submits up to 5,000 words of draft. The other three read it inside the next seven days.
- 03You write a critique at least 400 words long. Anything shorter is unfair to the writer who showed up vulnerable.
- 04The circle meets (text-based, in DraftFolk, or by video if you all want) once per cycle. About an hour. People go away with notes.
- 05If you ghost two cycles in a row, you lose your slot. The circle keeps going.
Critique the writing, not the writer.
Why four
Three is too easy to lose to scheduling. Five becomes a meeting. Four is the smallest number that survives someone being on holiday and still gives the writer a useful spread of reactions.
Who it’s for
Members at any stage. The circles work best once you’ve drafted something long enough to need real feedback — but you don’t need to be a finisher to start. If you’re still drafting your first chapter, join the forums, lurk a sprint, and circle up when you’ve got pages worth showing. We’ll match you with folk at your stage.