Tag: beta readers
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Thank you, beta readers
It’s done. Novel #9 sent to my editor. More than any other novel I’ve written, the writing of this one has made me understand the true purpose of beta readers. Writers have blind spots. Or possibly soft spots. Maybe I get a little to sentimental at times and think a few chapters can get by […]
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Be Willing to Make a Major Change in Your Writing
As I’ve mentioned, I had sent novel #9 out to some beta readers for feedback prior to final draft and sending it to my editor. Two beta readers, whom I respect a great deal for their knowledge of literature and their ability to just tell me honestly what they think, said basically the same thing. […]
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Beta Readers: Choose Tough Ones
I just heard back from my first beta reader concerning my newest novel MOSES THE SINGER. She’s ready to answer my questions. Am I terrified? Of course. She is the first person in the world to read this manuscript after myself. I have five other people working their way through it right now. Is it […]
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A Meeting with a Beta Reader and More Genre Issues
I had a wonderful opportunity yesterday to sit down and discuss my new, unreleased novel with one of my beta readers yesterday. He provided some terrific insight in regards to characterization and novel pacing. He even shared with me that he felt that the novel didn’t feel like a novel in some regards. He kept […]
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What I Learned by Re-Re-Writing My New Novel
A while back, I posted how I decided to re-write my new novel which I had previously re-written and re-vised enough. (or so I thought) But once I started getting some feedback from readers, I realized that I had made some mistakes, and regardless of how painful and time-consuming it would be, I needed to […]
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Re-Writing a “Finished Book” is Actually Quite Fun
A few days ago, I posted how after receiving feedback from some beta readers, I decided to do a complete overall of my newest novel. I was dreading this, actually, thinking that it would be a complete drag to watch chapters be gutted, characters be re-written, and storylines be overhauled. But I was wrong. I’m […]
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Indie Authors: Are You Listening to Your Beta Readers?
I’ve recently run into something as an author I previously haven’t encountered: Beta readers who are less than enthusiastic about my new novel. In my four previous novels, the reviews were excellent. They bought into what I was doing, gave good insight, but were always very positive. And these aren’t “yes-people” either. They were being […]
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My Novel is Finished. I Hate This Next Part.
I finished the third revision of my new novel, “Which Half David.” It hasn’t gone through the final editing process yet, so it technically isn’t done, done, as in done, complete, not going to touch it again. But it is finished as in I need to get some insight into what I have here. Yes, […]
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Ready to Move On, But Another Revision Awaits
I’m a firm believer in letting a finished work sit for a while before giving it its final revision prior to its final editing. But there is a problem that arises as well – or at least it does for me – and that is my brain has already moved onto other interests. What to […]
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That Sinking Feeling that a New Novel is Almost Ready
I spent part of the afternoon looking over some edits I received back from my proofreader for my third novel, The Reach of the Banyan Tree. As I was polishing some language and grammar, I found myself analyzing every word I had written. Sudden angst welled up within me, and I started to think that perhaps […]