If
you need readers
And
if you can find them
Maybe,
just maybe you can hire . . . The B-Team
I
have what I consider an excellent beta team of readers. Some of them are writers themselves, though
not in my particular genre. Some of them
are aficionados. All are equally
important. The writers, I enjoy, because
they read with a writer’s eye, so they want to actually make my writing better,
clearer, cleaner.
Of
course, there’s the old joke about how many writers it takes to change a light
bulb: Six. One to change it and the
other five to say they could have written a character with better motivation,
deeper insight and wittier dialogue!
The
genre fans, though, are my favorite. As
I told one friend, “You're the kind of reader I want to write for, so I was a)
thrilled you were willing to read b) thrilled you were reading and c) thrilled
you enjoyed it.
I
figure if the writers and the fans agree that the story is compelling and fun,
then I might be doing something right with my writing.
As a beta reader, I appreciate your analysis. It is tough to ever find people willing to read your shit ... over and over and over again. My wife is my #1 beta reader, and in fact, she spent all day Sunday line editing the latest version of "Guy Parts" so I could send it off again. It seems to never stop.
ReplyDeleteMy wife is also my #1 beta reader (thanks, hunny!). She's a non-fan (except of me), and a non-writer, so her input is especially good. If she likes something, really likes it, then I think I'm on the right track.
Delete