27 January, 2014
My commitment to posting this blog weekly has been based on my understanding that to optimize searches, blogs need to appear on the same day(s) each week. Since SEO is not an urgent issue for me, I’ve decided to spare myself the burden of a weekly schedule that revolves around this, much as I enjoy the process of writing and sharing the wisdom that evolves as I work with writers. So for those readers who expect my guidance on writing to appear every Tuesday, this is likely to be my last regular posting for now. If you miss me or you have questions, drop me a message through “Contact” on my website.
I do plan to write now and then, and to offer these as guest postings on Joel Friedlander’s blog at www.thebookdesigner.com. Since he has nearly a thousand times as many subscribers, my writing will reach a broader audience. I’ll let my list know when one of my blogs is going to appear.
Mechanics’ Institute Library in San Francisco, which offers a wide variety of programs for writers, asked me to put something together on working with “beta” readers. I’ll flesh out here the map I prepared on NovaMind mindmapping software (my preference for ease of use and the simultaneous outline it creates – which I was able to print as a handout for attendees).
The function of Beta readers (a term one of the library members borrowed from software development – a well developed product that needs user feedback) is primarily to save the cost of hiring an editor to dig into a manuscript that’s close to being polished. Since a lot of self-publishers think they can’t afford to hire an editor, this is a way to avoid paying anyone.
The benefits include feedback for improving your manuscript, discovering if it addresses the intended audience’s needs, to resolve doubts about what works or doesn’t (my basic premise is if you have doubts about part of your text, cut it out for recycling into another piece), and to have the support of community.
The primary challenge is around dealing with criticism – your own, of course; but also how receptive you are to critique. And you need to be able to discriminate what feedback is useful and what does not serve your intention. Just because someone has given you free editorial advice does mean you are obligated to incorporate it. (This applies as well to paid editorial advice, but I advise finding out exactly why the advice was given before discarding it. A good editor is never arbitrary – they can tell you exactly why they made a suggestion, so you can evaluate it and inquire with them about their perspective. In the end, it’s your book, so do it your way.)
The next challenge is choosing good readers. Family and friends are often not useful beta readers. You need to consider whether your readers are receptive to the genre, familiar with the content (for some non-fiction you might want someone who is IGNORANT of the content, to discover if you have conveyed it well), and know the audience. It’s nice to find a reader who happens to have connections to the publishing world.
Determine the way of meeting that will work for everyone involved. In person or phone or email can be appropriate. If you have a reading group, do you want them to discuss your manuscript as a group, or talk with you individually? If in a group, record the conversation so you don’t’ have to take notes. Do you want marked up hard copy or electronic file from then? Then what do you need to provide them to make their work easy?
I don’t recommend asking for feedback from your aural presentation. Not every reader absorbs information orally. And more challenging is the likelihood that your reading will be so inflected by your reading style that it would be understood differently if read visually with no inflection. I have noticed this is especially so with literary fiction.
What your beta readers should receive from you is primarily respect for the business of their lives. Agree to a timeline that does not stress them. Present your writing to them in publishing industry standards – standard because it is easy to read and easy to mark up: Times New Roman 12 pt, double spaced, indented paragraphs, 1” margins, unjustified right margin. Include a header with your last name and title, and insert page numbers in upper right. If you are sending the file electronically, incorporate the chapters into a single file, not as separate chapter files. It might be most respectful to send them a printed manuscript, printed on one side of the page.
Before sending your manuscript, do as much self-editing as you can, and PROOFREAD. It is disrespectful to offer a sloppy manuscript or expect your beta readers to be proofreaders – that’s not their function. If you have specific questions you want them to consider, either present them with the manuscript, or ask at the time of receiving feedback.
What feedback should you be looking for?
- Does the content work?
- Does it address the intended audience?
- Is that the best audience?
- Is the structure logical and engaging? Is information presented when needed, or held back enough to keep the reader excited?
- Is the style of writing or the voice appropriate to the content and the audience?
- Are characters developed sufficiently?
- Does the word choice need help?
Feedback should be firm, but not insistent – it is one person’s opinion. Beta readers should be open to dialoguing to maximizing the usefulness of their suggestions – which should reflect the author’s perspective, not the beta reader’s prejudices. And beta readers need to respect confidentiality both of the content and the process.
What are you to do with all the feedback? Evaluate it to see if it furthers or hinders your process. Ask for clarification if needed. Incorporate suggestions without losing the cohesive thread of your manuscript. Acknowledge the readers in the final version and send each reader a copy when the book is in print.
(A note to those dubious about outlining: I wrote this in less than half the time it usually takes to write my blog. My usual way is to write, then restructure as I proofread. I probably wouldn’t outline a piece this short, but since I had already outlined it, I sped right through the process.)
Until next time – whenever that is – delight in the process.
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Read PDF Version:Save on Editing and Perfect Your Writing by Engaging Beta Readers
Thanks, David, for this great post. I have been working on a nonfiction book this year, and the writing process involved a great deal of research and immersion — I became so involved in the topic that at times I could no longer distinguish between what was general knowledge on my topic and what wasn’t. I got into the habit of asking loads of friends and acquaintances to read chapters of the book and give me five minutes of feedback. I told them they didn’t need to proofread or correct. Just read, then CALL me — not email but CALL me and we’d talk and they could give me their immediate reaction to the content of whatever chapter they’d read. It worked really well — I often was surprised at what the feedback was and it often caused me to take new and interesting directions with my topic. It also helped to “thicken my skin” to criticism — ensuring that I did not become overly precious about my work but remained able to be a bit more objective. I assume this will be good training for my actual release, when anyone and everyone can make comments on Amazon! Yikes! Will probably also make good training for listening to the critique of a pro editor!
I’m glad to hear that five minutes can have so much impact, Alison. And, yes, calling and dialoguing are most useful, especially on the content of individual chapters. It’s interesting as a journalist and blogger that it was harder to take feedback to a BOOK in process. We all do carry images of what it means to write a BOOK. And yes, once a book is floating in the sea of print it’s vulnerable to all the typhoons and hurricanes of people’s reactions.
David,
Thank you so much for all the information and thought you put into these newsletters. Please let me know when your pieces will be appearing on the other site.
Your words are so helpful for me as I am at that editing stage of my book. I don’t want to miss any of your words of wisdom, and they are very wise.
Thank you again.
Hazel
I’m touched that you and others are finding my blogs useful, Hazel. When I get a few moments (haha) I’ll post all my pieces that are specifically about the art and craft of editing and writing and publishing as articles on my website – including those in the future.
Two thoughts:
1. I was recently in a writing class with an instructor who was otherwise very helpful, but she insisted that we show up with manuscripts and read out loud for comments. I respect that this is useful but it also seems to me that we are writing to be read and so getting response to reading out loud distorts the process and leads to inaccurate feedback. We need to know what READERS think.
2. I am coming to love Scribophile.com. I can post my work and get critique from people who mostly are familiar with the process, who are writers and who self select because they are interested in my genre.
It’s free.
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Good corroboration, Joel. And thanks for the Scribophile info
Hi David. I find your posts fascinating, informative, and insightful. Frequently, they fill in gaps in my own knowledge, tidbits that I only knew intuitively before. I always look forward to the next. Thanks.
Besides missing the pleasure of writing last Monday, now I feel guilty about withholding my insights, Terry. I promise I’ll blog now and then, just not to meet the demands of SEO …