Continuing the series revealing what I do all day, here’s a post about my recent appearance on an American book reviewer’s blog.
My favourite form of transport: the flying carpet
One of the great joys of working from home in the age of the internet is that you don’t need to travel physically to make new friends and put in an appearance anywhere else on the globe. It’s like having a flying carpet – surely the most environmentally-friendly form of transport there is? (I so want a real flying carpet.)
Travelling by Blog
Booklover, book reviewer, book blogger – Stephanie Moore Hopkins
I’ve been taking advantage of travel-by-blog recently, when I accepted a kind invitation from US book blogger Stephanie Moore Hopkins. Stephanie is an avid reader and promoter of good self-published books. She vets and reviews books for the American award scheme, Indie BRAG Medallion, which honours self-published novels that meet very high professional standards. I have several friends who have been so honoured, so I know from their response just how much this medal means to authors.
Stephanie also blogs in her own right at Layered Pages, where she complements her other book-related activities with ever-interesting interviews and posts. When she told me that she was starting a new series of interviews investigating how authors use beta readers to help them improve their self-published books, I jumped at the chance to be in the spotlight.
One reason that I was particularly keen to do so is because I’d just benefited enormously from the input of a great team of beta readers before publishing my first collection of flash fiction, Quick Change. I saw this interview as a great way to acknowledge their support – and also to encourage other aspiring writers to do the same.
While you’re there, do scroll through to read more of her blog, which presents an endless supply of interesting posts about authors and their books. To keep up with her prodigious flow of new posts, you might also like to connect with Stephanie on Twitter: www.twitter.com/LayeredPages. I’m sure you’ll both be glad you did!
I’m also looking forward to turning the tables when I interview Stephanie for the ALLi blog later this month. More about that to follow…
Further Reading
If you’d like to know more about beta readers, what they do and how to find them, read my previous posts:
Following my post yesterday about how I’ve used beta readers to help me fine-tune my next book, you may be wondering how I found such a fine band of willing volunteers! If so, read on…
How do you find beta readers, willing to give up their time to help you further your writing project? Well, you just ask. “But who do you ask?” I hear you cry. “And why would they want to do it?”
Who to Ask
Just back from beta reading – to be published 21 June 2014
Best not to choose friends and family, who might be tempted to tell you what they think you want to hear – that it’s the best thing they’ve ever read. Worse still, they might hate it – not great for the relationship!
If you belong to a writing circle, commenting on each others’ drafts is probably something you already do – but if not, make the suggestion. You may find others are keen to do this, but just didn’t want to appear egotistical by being the person to raise the idea!
Equally, if you belong to a book group, ask for volunteers there. After all, people attend because they enjoy reading, and those who aren’t writers themselves may be pleased to be invited.
I recently read a short book called The Beta Reader by Elizabeth Eyles, who kindly offers to match up writers with beta readers. If you’d like to take advantage of her generosity, I’d suggest the decent thing to do is to buy and read her book before you do so. (I didn’t realise this until she’s volunteered to beta read Quick Change for me – she’s obviously practising what she preaches!)
Who I Asked
I found most of mine by putting a call out for volunteers on a private Facebook forum that I belong to – the Alliance of Independent Authors. This is the not-for-profit organisation that brings together the best self-publishing authors from around the world – i.e. those who take their writing seriously and aim for professional standards. I’m well known there because I edit the group’s advice blog, so I quickly had a list of volunteers. But it’s such a supportive group that I’m sure that anyone else would have had the same response, had they put up an engaging pitch for their manuscript.
The international element of the group is a bonus because it means I’ve had beta readers from other countries. I’m conscious that I’m a very British English writer, and I want to maintain that feel to my work, but without puzzling overseas readers with unintelligible Anglicisms.
In addition, I called on an online friend whose flash fiction I’ve enjoyed, Helena Mallett, author of Flash Fraction, a clever collection of 75 stories each 75 words long. As one of the stories featured a GP at work, I also called on my friend, Dr Carol Cooper (also a member of ALLi) to check it for accuracy. She’s not only a GP, but also a medical journalist, non-fiction author and novelist (where does she find the time?!) Her excellent debut novel, One Night at the Jacaranda, by the way, is currently on special offer on Amazon UK for only 99p for the rest of this month.
Why Would They Do It?
My latest book, co-authored with Dan Holloway, helps indie authors interact more effectively with the book trade
Volunteers who are not authors will be
interested in seeing what goes on behind the scenes of producing a book
flattered that you value their judgment enough to entrust them with your precious manuscript
be glad to have a sneak preview of your book before it’s published
The last two of those reasons also apply to volunteers who are authors. In addition, this group of people will be:
interested to see how another author’s work looks pre-publication
pleased to feel that they are helping an author friend produce a better book
possibly hoping you’ll return the favour
My Experience of Beta Reading
I’ve been a beta reader for several author friends and have always found it very satisfying to feel I’ve contributed to the fine-tuning of their books:
I’ve picked up factual and grammatical errors that might have slipped through until an eagle-eyed reviewer complained post publication
I’ve highlighted confusing plotlines.
I’ve spotted repetitive words and phrases that the author hadn’t realised were cropping up so often as to become funny, e.g. so many characters rolling their eyes that it was starting to sound like an affliction
All of these things were very easy to fix, and the authors were always grateful. It’s also rewarding to receive an acknowledgement in the book when it’s finally published and a free copy of the book (signed, if it’s a print edition). After all, who doesn’t like seeing their name in print?
Go For It!
If you still need justification for asking, bear in mind that if your beta readers enjoy your manuscript, they may be persuaded to post up early, positive reviews when your book is finally published.
I hope this overview gives you the courage to seek beta readers for your own books. Good luck and happy writing – and reading!
In case you missed it, I wrote another post about beta readers here:
That tongue-twister heralds news of my new flash fiction collection, Quick Change, due for launch later this month.
Due for launch as an ebook on 21 June 2014
It’s a nerve-wracking time for any author when their precious manuscript is packed off for final editing and proofreading before publication. This week that’s what’s happening to Quick Change, the collection of flash fiction that I’ll be publishing as an ebook later this month.By the power of the internet, the final draft has zoomed across the ether to the other side of the country, for my editor Alison Jack to give it her expert treatment.
Last week it was the turn of the beta readers to read an earlier version of my manuscript. No, that doesn’t mean I’ve written my book in Greek.
What Are Beta Readers Anyway?
Beta readers are volunteers who read a manuscript prior to publication to alert the author to anything that might be improved. A great beta team will pick up inconsistencies and glitches that might spoil the flow of the story, e.g. a character whose name changes, an unbelievable plot detail, or excessive use of the author’s favourite words.
One of my lovely beta readers spotted that I apparently have an obsession with recycling bins: the frequency of their appearance in this book has now been reduced. Or you could say, I’ve put out the bins.
Another reader pointed out that Belisha beacon should be capitalised because it’s named after the first Baron Hore-Belisha, a former British Minister of Transport. Well, did you know that? By the way, I can understand why they plumped for his second name.
One person alerted me to a recent change in the law that had made one scene in my book illegal. It was news to me. (And I bet that’s intrigued you – but no plot spoilers here, sorry!)
Interestingly, none of my eagle-eyed friends spotted the blind man that I had checking his watch. That anomaly only jumped out at me when I was inputting their suggested changes to the copy. Which only goes to show that you can never have too many people checking over your work before you hit the “publish” button…
Publication Date Alert
I’ll be sending out a special newsletter to my blog subscribers nearer the launch date, Saturday 21 June, along with a free bonus story. To receive this alert, do either of these things:
If you don’t already subscribe to my blog,sign up here, and I’ll send your free bonus story with the next newsletter.
If you don’t want to join the blog subscribers list, but would like to be alerted when Quick Change is published, please add your email address here.
(If you’re already a subscriber to my blog, you don’t need to do anything – I’ll send you the newsletter anyway.)
In the next day or two, I’ll be posting here about how to find beta readers – useful for any authors reading this post, but also an interesting insight for non-authors behind the scenes of book production. In the meantime, I’d like to say a big thank you to my fabulous beta readers and editor by posting their links here:
