Roughseasinthemed’s Comments (group member since Feb 12, 2017)

Roughseasinthemed’s comments from the Navigating Indieworld Discussing All Things Indie group.

Showed up for me.

Interesting post. I worked on a book recently and found myself editing out 'just' and 'now'. Superfluous text.

It hadn't been? But I think shouldn't have works. It's past tense anyway. ie It should not have been.

You could also use couldn't. What you are trying to do, I think, is convey a sense of how long it could/would/should take to get somewhere which is actually conditional tense, not past.

People. If you don't know what tense to write in, quite honestly you shouldn't even be thinking of publishing.

Message me if you want. Advice is free.

Amy wrote: "OK anyone who knows me, knows I'm rubbish at finding things. How do you find beta readers who will read erotica?

I can't pay hundreds, but I could pay a few quid. (Bearing in mind I won't be expec..."

How about you ask for erotica, list word count, and if you have a budget ceiling add that too.

I'm happy with erotica, my prices start from £50/$60 for novels. May not suit your budget. Up to a ten page report, plus editorial commentary if you wish.

Or, go to the erotica forums on GR.

It's quite hard to comment hypothetically. Why don't you post a brief excerpt? Or ask if people are willing to comment via email? The excerpt may be more helpful for others though …

I'm signed up with one book tour company to review books on my blog, but I'm pretty selective about what I choose, ironically I do choose crime thrillers. I also review books at random that I've read, and that includes memoirs, contemporary, historical (but not the bodice-ripping sort), travel, children's, animal stories, photo books … I try and provide a good selection so there is something for everyone. Some readers do go on to buy the books I write about, so as Alexis says, contacting bloggers directly can work.

The issue however, is to become an established member of the – book/literary – network, so that you have already built up contacts by the time you request a tour/reviews.

I think you have the right idea. Generally if the relationship is ongoing then it's reasonable to use present. If it's over, then clearly, it is past tense.

Something like height depends on whether or not you are writing your narrative in present or past, 'Mary had long auburn hair, a slim figure and was around five foot nine', (although I'd probably say tall rather than being so specific). Similarly for character traits. 'Tom was always so calm – unless his football team was losing.'

Hi Carole, that's the Amazon rating. GR is slightly different, I explained them on this post (where I guest blog):

https://kcbooksandmusic.wordpress.com...

Reviews are based on personal preference and that says it all. More to the point, that is all it is. An opinion. No more, no less.

I read widely, but when I rate, I consider it within the genre. Bonus marks for originality, minus for poor editing. For me, writing style is the most important thing. Some authors write better than others. Some 'authors' are traditionally published and write a total load of tosh. Luck of the draw. I have read some very, very good indie authors, only let down by less than perfect editing. And, as I edit and review professionally, I have to take that into account when I rate a book.

The other aspect is that many people make a decision based on the lower star reviews as they are often more telling. So, they can be useful, not just in terms of feedback – assuming it's constructive – but also for giving a different perspective, rather than OMG I just loved this book sort of comment.

I don't see it as a bad review. The reviewer is saying it isn't to their taste, but not criticising the writing. Plus three stars is not negative.

I gave someone three stars recently and the author contacted me to say they had found my comments helpful.

Not everyone gives four and five star reviews all the time. I don't, yet, I have people who are pleased to get a positive four star review from me. Plus, it does look a bit fixed if all the reviews are four/five stars. At least three breaks it up a bit!

Epub or mobi for me. PDF is yuk.

Apple's pages gives the option to save to word, pdf, epub and pages.

Alex
One author whose blog I read (as well as editing for them) has started putting up chapters of their latest book as they are written. Unedited. There was quite a lot of interest initially, although there haven't been any serialised chapters for a while. Sadly as I was enjoying it.
I've read a few NaNoWriMo stories on blogs too, some password protected, which is one option. One of the authors later took the whole lot down and self-published it. So, it can be, and has been done. Pretty much everyone puts them up unedited, but they aren't usually too terrible.
Maybe you're mixing in the wrong circles? The more I think about it, the more bloggers come to mind. Mix of Brits and Americans for what that's worth.

Afternoon naps are eminently sensible. I look back and wonder how I got through 12 hour + work days.

Mind you as I live in the land of the siesta …

Absolutely Alex. We can all read style guides, whether Oxford, or Chicago for Americans, until it's coming out of our ears. Truth is your average reader, me included, doesn't give two hoots if you've got a comma splice or an incorrect semi colon if the story is good, well paced and interesting.

I think fixating over punctuation is seriously loopy. 'Ooooh, someone's put a comma in the wrong place.' I ask you. Wrong spelling, eg bare/bear, and missing/incorrect punctuation around dialogue do need correcting. Priorities, people.

@ Alexis

I grew up with the two rules. Never start a sentence with a conjunction, and, never end one with a preposition.

Imagine my horror as a trainee journalist when I was told to insert And or But at the beginning of a sentence!

Truth is though, used selectively, it works, especially for emphasis.

When I'm editing for clients I don't delete them, and have occasionally added them in narrative. It can help with the flow (as Erica said) as well as providing emphasis.

I do tire of grammar pedants. The most important thing is that the writing reads well, not that it would qualify with first class honours in English Grammar.

@ Crystal, but harsh to suggest $5 per thousand is a once-through proofread on Gramm. I'm currently on my second edits for two authors after a number of initial beta-ish comments/questions. I don't use software.

Totally agree that the rates are poor. Doesn't pay the bills or mortgage or rent. But is it better than nothing? And, that's before we start competing with students offering betas/edits/proofs for a few bucks. I've been doing this for 35 years. Big difference.

@ Chris. Fair enough to promote someone you were pleased with. Sounded all right to me looking at his website.

I know in other discussions, people say they go with paid-for beta readers because of the reliability, and having some idea what to expect – rather than 'great book/I liked it'.

I still do free beta reads, but usually a chapter (or two) or (very) shorts. Mainly due to time constraints, but I do want to contribute to the indie community.

My free reports are a page or so, the paid ones are ten or more pages if they include an editorial appendix. It's a lot of work though for a full novel; usually involves a minimum of two full reads, plus checking specific sections.

If people find good free readers, that's great. If not, there is always the paid option. Just check what you can expect for your money.

Chris wrote: "Roughseasinthemed wrote: "Back on topic. That's a similar rate ie £400/$500 to what I charge. And I still get people saying it is expensive. Yet, there are editors out there charging thousands for ..."

I read a book maybe two years ago by an indie. I asked who his editor was it was so professional. Self-edited. He got it translated into Estonian (book was set in Estonia) and got a different cover. When I featured it on my blog (yeah, I do review indies) the new cover got accolades from other authors and artists.

So I agree with you. There is some great indie stuff out there. There is also some crap from trad houses and I criticise those. (Eg Rowling.) I read a famous British crime author (who I like). One minute the hero had a wound in his left thigh, the next it was in his right! Uh? But that's one of a few errors in a book. When I read hundreds, that's way below par.