Fantasy Book Club discussion
Self Promotions
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Interested in starting a beta-reader group?
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I agree with Jaq: being thick-skinned goes with being a writer. You can't please all of the people all of the time because everybody has different tastes. There are ALWAYS going to be people who absolutely hate your stuff because it just doesn't appeal to them. If you write and let anybody else read your work, you just have to get used to that. As writers, I think we're all capable of being sensitive to how much another person has invested in their writing, however. Honesty in feedback should be appreciated as long as it isn't offensive or hurtful. For example, "this character had all the personality of a wet dishrag" is offensive and is certainly not helpful! Instead, try: "I couldn't empathize with this character because she didn't hold my interest. I really wanted to know why she was so shy and reclusive all the time...." Those comments are constructive, polite and helpful. Honesty doesn't have to be compromised to give polite feedback. As for the personal taste thing... anyone who posts stuff for beta-reading could swap with as many people as they like. Nothing says you can't get feedback from however many people email you about your posting. I wonder if it might be helpful if people also add to their posting who their main target audience is for the piece ... men, women, age-group, vampire fans etc? Maybe that will help to guide potential beta-readers to the types of stories they are likely to enjoy?
OK, I'll be brave and put in a post since I started the topic...I'd like someone to read the first chapter of a novel I'm currently working on. This piece is very different from the stuff I usually write and I can't categorize it firmly into a specific sub-genre of fantasy because it definitely spans a few! The novel starts in our world and moves clearly into a more traditional fantasy story later. As a result, the first chapter does not read like a typical fantasy novel.... it reads more like an urban fantasy / romance kind of story. Romance actually isn't the main plot of the book, but I deliberately wanted the reader to think that it was in the beginning. (There is a reason for that and the reader doesn't discover that until chapter six.) As a result, this is definitely NOT targeted toward male readers or people who abhor romance in fantasy! The first chapter gives information the reader needs to know to start building depth in the main character and starts the story. The problem is, I'm not sure if I've made it interesting enough to grab and keep the reader's attention. I need someone who likes YA/paranormal romance/urban fantasy AS WELL AS swords and sorcery to read it and comment on that. My husband read it and moaned and groaned through Chapter One (though even he admitted that it picked up significantly after that). What I need to know is: is it truly boring (it's OK to tell me that...I can take it!)or was it just that he's a guy and this is stuff he just doesn't like to read about? The chapter is approximately 3400 words, and the tentative title of the novel is "Dreams". Any brave beta readers wanna try it? If so, you can email me at sjfaerlind@fantasyfictiononline.com and I'll send you the file.
S.J. You might be disappointed by my words, but are you sure you're ready to show your work? In my experience, a story is ready for beta readers only after it's complete and went through at least a couple revisions. During revisions, you might look with fresh eyes at what you've written and maybe delete the entire chapter or shuffle the material around (to the middle or to the end). As I understand, you haven't finished it yet, right?
Nope, I'm not disappointed at all...I wanted another opinion on the first chapter only at this time. What would be the point of wasting my time finishing the novel if nobody makes it beyond the first few pages because the beginning was lacking or the concept of it was unappealing? I've received a surprising number of emails about it and have been pleased with the feedback so far. I'm assuming there isn't a whole lot of interest in starting a barter beta-reader thread to connect fantasy authors with each other for mutual benefit - nobody's posted anything here except for me. Anybody else want to try it before this thread fades into obscurity?
If you have a piece of writing you want feedback from another author on, you post a comment under this topic. Include the name of the piece, what it is (chapter, short story, novel, trilogy...whatever), approximate word count and a brief synopsis. Also include your email address so interested beta readers know how to contact you privately. Other authors who want someone to read their writing in return can browse the posts, choose something they want to read, contact the people who have posted here by email and the pair can arrange to swap writing and beta-read for each other.
Some rules I think everybody should stick to for fairness:
1. Try to swap pieces of approximately equal length. Reading a short story for someone while sending them a novel of yours to read hardly seems fair! (Unless the other person is OK with that I guess)
2. Any feedback you give to another author should be constructive and helpful. Be specific about what you liked and didn't like about the story, characters, plot, pacing etc. and describe how it made you feel when you read it. It might also be a good idea to ask each other what you're each hoping to find out from the other person about the piece and focus on answering those questions in your feedback to each other.
3. Whatever feedback you give each other, be nice! Harsh criticism doesn't help ... it only undermines someone's confidence. The point of doing this is to help each other improve, not to make anybody feel like they're doing a terrible job.
4. It goes without saying that everybody respects each other's intellectual property rights and agrees not to distribute someone else's work without permission or infringe on their copyrights.
5. This is a mutually beneficial, volunteer / barter arrangement only.
This could be really fun!
So... if you're interested in participating, start posting below...