The Sto Po: A Hypothetical Rant Against the Knee Jerk Content Constabulary

By Marjie Alonso

Recently I posted to a Facebook group for fellow writers:

Would anyone be willing to be a beta reader and review the first draft of my book about my trip through White Sands National Park, New Mexico, when I was abducted by aliens?

Everyone in the group where I posted this request is a writer. As writers, we all need readers for first drafts. We’re all citizens of the same literary community. I have read people’s drafts in this way, and, while this was the first time...