Beta Readers

When I began my writing journey, I belonged to several critique groups, moving on when I outgrew them. Eventually I began to rely on two people to read my stuff, and two more author friends to bounce ideas off of. That method seemed to work for a while, but it's now time to take things to the next level. And to do that, I need beta readers.

To those of you not familiar with the term, here's the definition according to Wikipedia.

A beta reader is a test reader of an unreleased work of literature or other writing, who gives feedback from the point of view of an average reader to the author. A beta reader is not a professional, so that the opinion of an average reader can be heard. Usually, a beta reader will be unpaid.

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For my latest endeavor, I used five beta readers, three of which were authors who also are readers of the romance genre. I just got back the final one, and was kind of surprised and pleased that the problems they noted were eerily similar. Timeline issues, scenes that drug along, scenes that didn't advance the plot, or the reader didn't buy the concept of the scene. The reason I'm pleased with the outcome is because that means I only need to concentrate on a few passages to straighten things out. One of the beta readers is known for her steamy sex scenes so she mentioned I few improvements I could make there. Another writes really good action scenes, so she helped me with that portion of the story. 

They say writing is a lonely job but it take a village to bring a manuscript from the typed page to a complete novel. In this case, it hasn't taken a village but a complete city. I greatly appreciate the hard work and hope the final product is better than anything I've written so far. 

Artistic Pursuit

The Voice is back on the air, and along with the shenanigans of Blake and Adam we are also witness to Pharell Williams. He's quiet, especially in comparison to the two other men, but he never fails to offer a phrase or two that resonate with me, as they could with any artist.

This time his pearl of wisdom was "Whatever makes you different makes you special."

If you read enough author bios, you'll see most of them say their love affair with words and writing began when they were children. A lot of writers are socially introverted, and prefer to spend their time in their own heads. My sister can always tell when I'm trying to work out a plot line, since I stare into space and my eyes go unfocused. She's learned not to bother me when I'm in this state. It makes me different, and according to Pharell, it makes me special. Who am I to argue?

I'm working on the last book in the Cotillion Ball Series now. I'm nearly done with the sloppy first draft, and I like the story line so far. I've taken a couple workshops recently, which I hope have made me a better writer. And I found a good beta reader who will let me know before the book is published if I'm overusing words, or rushing the story. I hope these developments will elevate me from being "special" and make me "extraordinary."

The Forgotten Debutante will be available in March, 2016.