Want to find a writing buddy? A critique partner? A beta reader? Here’s your stop!
If you’re looking to find a writing buddy, critique partner, or beta reader, this annual link-up is designed to help writers connect with each other and build meaningful creative relationships.
A writing buddy is another writer who offers feedback, accountability, and support throughout the writing process.
Writers need feedback. And friends! 
But sometimes it can be difficult to find someone willing to read your work who is also a good fit for you and your writing.
There are many different forums and groups online designed to help writers link up with each other for beta reading and helpful feedback. You can find some of those groups listed in this post. You can also reach out right here in the Wordplayer community!
Once a year, I post a “writing buddy linkup,” which opens the comments to anyone looking for a critique partner or accountability partner. It is always massively popular, and I always hear from writers who have successfully found writing partners. I’ve even heard from people who connected in the first link-up I hosted years ago who have become lifelong friends!
If you want to join the fun, keep reading.
Find a Writing Buddy: How This Link-Up Works
How to find a writing buddy in this post:
- Leave a comment with your details
- Browse other writers’ comments
- Reach out to potential matches
Just leave a comment! Tell us:
- Your genre
- A short summary of your current story
- Your level of experience (i.e., how many years you have been writing)
- What you’re looking for in a writing buddy
- Your email address (I recommend formatting it as follows to avoid spam: kmweiland [at] kmweiland [dot] com)
How to Connect With Critique Partners and Beta Readers
You can subscribe to the comments to read additional entries as they come in (however, be aware that there could be hundreds of comments!). If you see someone you think would be a great match for you, drop them a line!
If you’re hoping to find a writing buddy, this is one of the simplest and most effective ways to connect directly with other writers who are actively looking for the same thing.
Why Writing Buddies Matter for Your Growth as a Writer
The writing life works best when we’re able to reach out and offer a helping hand to one another. The right critique partners and beta readers can help you see your story more clearly and stay accountable to the work.
Join the Writing Buddy Link-Up and Meet Fellow Writers
If you’re ready to find a writing buddy, jump in, meet someone new, and start taking your writing to the next level!
Want More?
K.M. Weiland’s revised and expanded Structuring Your Novel Workbook—now available as a deluxe, fillable digital PDF for writers who want hands-on story-building tools.
If you’re starting to get feedback on your story, one of the biggest challenges is knowing what to do with it. Comments about pacing, structure, or “something feeling off” can be hard to translate into clear next steps. It’s easy to sense the problem without yet having a framework for fixing it.
As you begin the journey with a new writing buddy, you might find the Structuring Your Novel Workbook (especially the deluxe fillable PDF edition) a handy guide to take along.
This workbook gives writer practical ways to take what they’re learning about story structure and actually apply it to their own work, step by step. The workbook walks you through each major beat—from the Inciting Event to the Climax—and helps you map your story in a way that makes both strengths and gaps visible.
It’s designed to be something you can return to as you revise, especially when you’re working with feedback from critique partners or beta readers and need a clear path forward.
Available in paperback, e-book, and a deluxe fillable pdf download.
Wordplayers, tell me your opinion! What are you looking for in a writing buddy? Tell us in the comments!
The post Find a Writing Buddy (2026 Edition!): Critique Partners, Beta Readers & More appeared first on Helping Writers Become Authors.
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Author: K.M. Weiland | @KMWeiland