In my time here on Wattpad, I've been a member of various book clubs, and I have enjoyed that. The following are some totally subjective and personal thoughts on how to get the best out of them. It's a little story in itself, told by a fictional new book club member, Janice__077:

📚 📚 📚

The neon sign formed the letters BOOK CLUB, and it bathed the sidewalk in a lovely, turquoise light. The club's door stood wide open. The bouncer at its side—a monument of a man in a beige suit—wore dark glasses, but he looked friendly enough.

Why not, thought Janice__077 and made for the door, expecting the suit to stop her for inspection. But he was concentrated on his phone and didn't even look up as she entered.

A faint and pleasant fragrance of coffee and paper welcomed her inside. Men and women of various age, clothing, and race were sitting at small tables. They were all interacting with their smartphones, tablets, or laptops.

A man looked up and smiled at her. With a gesture, he invited her to sit at an empty table next to him.

She didn't know anyone here, and he seemed harmless enough. Returning his smile, she walked over and took a chair.

He nodded and offered his hand. "I'm RainerSalt." His subdued voice was almost a whisper.

"Janice__077," she said, and they shook hands.

"You're new here?"

"Yes." Janice__077 opened her handbag and fished out her tablet. She unlocked it and placed it on the table in front of her. Wattpad app was running in the foreground, displaying her book's blurb page.

RainerSalt pointed his chin at it. "Did the bouncer check your book before he let you in?"

Janice__077 shook her head. "No, should he?"

"Well, that depends on the club." Rainer pressed his lips together and briefly raised his eyebrows, blowing air through his nostrils. "Some clubs do. It can help." He shrugged as if dismissing a thought. "Are you new to book clubs?"

Janice hesitated but finally decided for honesty. "Yes, I am." Hot blood flushed her cheeks.

"No problem." He smiled again. "Want some tips?"

"Yes, please." She nodded eagerly.

RainerSalt moved back in his seat. His face brightened, and he waved his hand in a gesture encompassing the people in the room. "Lots of members here. You'll read their books, and they'll read yours... the first few chapters, at least. That depends on the club."

"That's awesome!" Janice__077's hands reached for her tablet, but she realized that it would be rude to start reading now. With an effort, she forced them back to her lap.

"I know you're eager to get started." He caressed the keys of his laptop with his fingers. "I won't keep you for long. Just some words. You'll be giving critique, and that's not easy. And you'll be criticized, which may be even harder."

"Tell me about doing a critique, please." Being a good critic felt like a daunting task to her.

"There are some books with advice on writing critiques, and you're well advised to read at least one of them. You'll learn a lot there, not only about giving a critique but also about how to improve your writing. Here's one I like a lot, just as an example: "Wattpad 101" by elementalcobalt. They have two chapters on giving critiques, quite early in their book.

"I won't repeat it all here. However, some aspects you might want to address in your review are the following:

* The plot: Does it work for you? In book clubs, you'll—unfortunately—often be commenting on the first few chapters only, so you'll see but a small part of the story. Therefore, you can't comment on the plot as a whole. But you can, for example, tell the author if the plot in the first few chapters is sufficiently good to draw the reader in.

* The characters: Do they work for you? Do they gain sufficient depth as the story proceeds? Are they consistent? Does one of them draw you in? This last point is probably the most important one: a book that lacks a focal character to capture you will have a hard time attracting a readership.

* Feeling: How does the story make you feel? Does it leave you cold? Does it make you smile or sad?

* Technical aspects: This includes more mundane topics, such as point of view, tense, and sentence structure. It also includes vocabulary, grammar, and spelling. Not every critic comments on grammar and spelling, and not every author wants to hear about them. Personally, I think that bad spelling and grammar can mar a book, so they're important. But it's up to you if you want to include them in your review. You can also ask the author if they want spelling and grammar feedback.

* Suggestions: If you see things that can be improved, name them.

"But, please, don't limit your critique to the negative points. You should also mention what works for you, what you like. This is useful information for the author. Not only does it encourage them, but knowing the strengths of their story and their writing can help them to be a better writer.

"And, when giving praise, try to explain why you like something. Expressing what I like about others' work has taught me a thing or two about writing.

"In fact, sometimes a good critique will not contain any negative points at all. Don't nag if there's nothing to nag about."

Janice_077 took hold of her tablet, unlocking it again. "OK, thanks."

"Wait." RainerSalt raises a finger. "We're not done yet."

She exhaled, letting her tablet sink back to the table.

"When doing a critique, I usually also look at the cover, title, and blurb of the book." He tapped a finger on Janice_077's device. "They are crucial on Wattpad. I haven't yet found someone who could give me a convincing, golden rule how to do them right. But when you're looking at them with an open mind, you sometimes see things that work and others that don't work. Tell the author about them.

"Also, I sometimes pm the author before starting a review, asking them what they want me to pay attention to. I have found that a personal contact often improves the quality of feedback I can give, as well as of the one I receive.

"And that's all I want to say about giving critiques."

"Thanks." Janice__077 smiled at him.

As she was about to turn her attention to her tablet, RainerSalt stopped her. "Wait."

She sighed and looked back at him, trying to keep her face calm while a gang of impatient demons started hissing in the back of her head.

"We also have to talk about being criticized."

As if on cue, a teenage boy some tables down the row got up with a curse and threw his phone across the room at the wall opposite. Then he left, muttering prayers to some private goddess to bring the plague over an unnamed critic.

"You see." RainerSalt nodded after the boy. "Being criticized is not easy. Never take it like that one. Don't join a book club if you don't want to get criticized. In fact, don't publish anything."

"No problem," Janice__077 said, "I can be cool. If they are wrong, I'll just explain what they didn't get."

"No, don't." RainerSalt's voice gained an edge it didn't have before. "You don't have to argue with a critic.

"Let's look at an example: Your book describes a scene where your main character, blonde Sarah, throws a cake into the face of handsome George as he enters the room. The critic writes that he does not understand why she did that.

"In that case, please don't reply by explaining that Sarah did it because George had insulted her during that date they had seven chapters back. Rather, sit back, take a breath, and try to understand why the critic didn't get it. Then, think of ways how to make sure that the next reader does get it.

"In other words, when a critic sees a problem, it usually is a problem. It may be a problem that only a few of your readers will have—namely those that are as dumb and retarded as that critic. But the feedback might help you make your book palatable to a larger readership.

"Another point: If you don't plan to edit your book, don't join a club. It makes little sense to be in a book club if you don't want to act on the critiques you receive.

"And..." RainerSalt locks eyes with her. "Have you run your book through a spellchecker?"

"Yes," Janice__077 replies.

"Good. That's just part of being polite to your readers and critics. Which takes me to the last point.

"Never forget, a critic has invested time and thought to write a critique. It's a matter of mere decency to acknowledge that. Thank the critic for their efforts. Don't leave their comments unanswered. Well, if a critic has sprinkled your chapter with ten micro-comments (such as LOL, WTF, or any combination of emojis), there's no need to reply to each one of them, of course. But do tell them at least once that their feedback is appreciated.

"So, that's it. If you stick to these rules, book clubbing can be a rewarding, entertaining, and enriching experience."

"Thanks." Janice__077 did not dare look at him, afraid to encourage him to go on. She brought up Wattpad again. "I've got to do a review now."

From the corner of her eyes, she saw RainerSalt bringing up the web client on his laptop. A mesmerizing red dot appeared at the top-left of his avatar. He clicked and started reading a comment he just had received.

He shook his head, slowly. "Who do you think you are?" His hiss was like a cold, northerly wind, making everyone in the room shudder. "How dare you criticize my writing?"

The harsh emojis he conjured up on his screen made Janice_077 blush.

A/N

Thanks for reading this little exposé on book club etiquette. What do you think? Did I forget something? Am I exaggerating? Please do leave your thoughts below, I'm happy to update this with any good ideas you have.