It’s time for the “beta reader” step… but it’s not the first time for me…
What I mean is this…
I did something that seemed smart to me at the time, and some established authors told me, “Good luck with that!”, but I did it anyway.
Earlier in the process I sent out my book to beta readers CHAPTER AT A TIME as I was writing it and then self-editing it.
It worked great for a while… everyone was excited (most of them were friends after-all), but life acted like, well, LIFE and got busy for most of them. OK, all of them. The only person who stuck with me each week as I sent out the next chapter was my dear mother, who is of retirement age and actually enjoyed having the book to read each week. Everyone else, me included, simply got too busy to keep up with a weekly commitment like that.
My mistakes:
- Not being consistent – my life got busy too, so I wasn’t able to get the chapters out on time every week.
- Not being disciplined to write – this contributed to me not getting the chapters out on time.
- Not staying on top of the edits I received. After a while they became too overwhelming each week (when everyone was still on board).
- Starting the beta read process WAY TOO SOON.
My lesson learned: WAIT and do a beta read (if you do one) all at once when you are finished with the book.
BUT NOW IT’S IN THE HANDS OF “REAL” BETA-READERS
… or should I say, beta readers who I’ve recruited and timed in a more traditional way… or are beta readers really traditional at all? Nevermind.
The point is, I’m very excited about that!!!!!!!! (Can you tell?)
I’ve given my 20-some folks right at two weeks to read the book and return their comments, suggestions, and other stuff related to the book. Then I’ll take about a week to get things digested and edited and move ahead with the next step…
A new online friend from Google+ (you ARE on Google+ aren’t you?) has agreed to help me fine-tune everything. She has a process designed specifically for writers and we’re going to walk through it regarding this book. You can find M.J. at www.writingeekery.com.
