Progress and Submission Reports

[Silk]

Haha. Works for me if it works for you.

Progress: I ...uh... read a pyschology textbook?

[Chaos]

Cool, Chaos. I appreciate it.

I understand busy schedules, Silk. Maybe I'll make you a 'theta' reader

I think gamma or delta would be more reasonable

But yeah, Jenn, feel free to send me the manuscript whenever. I'll have all of Christmas free, essentially.

[Recovering_Cynic]

I'm always up for a beta read

[Frog]

Oh, pick me, pick me! I love beta reading.

Congrats, Veggi.

[LongTimeUnderdog]

Me too metoo!

[Recovering_Cynic]

One thing I've been thinking about when it comes to Beta reading, you might want to get a few sets of fresh eyes as well.  If we've work-shopped your book, then we will have some preconceived notions--which aren't necessarily bad--that might skew our perception of the book.

[Frog]

I wouldn't personally see that as an issue at this point. She hasn't submitted all that much yet... So I guess it all depends on how she wants to do it. One section at a time, or all in one go to those who want it.

[vegetathalas]

You ARE my fresh group.

The old group told me

1) I wasn't providing enough information, esp. about terminology and world history.
2) I needed to toss in more description.
3) I needed to slow down the pacing.

So...yeah.

At least I get closer to the happy medium with each swing. 

[Chaos]

More description? Methinks that is the least of your issues.

[Andrew the Great]

Yeah, I thought the description was fine.

Vegetathalas, I'd love to beta read it over my Christmas break as well, if you're willing.

[vegetathalas]

The more the merrier , Andrew

Well, it was a different draft. Picture the story with no description about ANYTHING. No setting. No physical appearance of characters. No dead bodies or feeding on intestines or anything. It was pretty much straight dialogue.

So, it's much better now The question is balance.

[Frog]

It was pretty much straight dialogue.

Yay! That sounds like my first drafts.

[Chaos]

Yup, sounds like mine, too. Haha.

Jenn, I'd recommend that you continue to push Godsplay through Reading Excuses and just have a select few alpha read it, to get a balance. There's something to be said for a chapter-by-chapter analysis, in-depth. But that's just my suggestion

[Andrew the Great]

I'd say the same thing (though you should pick me to be in the group that gets to read it all at once  ), if nothing else, because that way you can have a few people who focus on the book as a whole (ie was there anything in the story itself that really doesn't work?, how was the pacing, Character issues, etc), while some can focus on line edits. As Chaos said, there's definitely something to be said for a chapter by chapter analysis, and it catches a lot of issues that the overall readers will miss.

[ryos]

I'm working on Dalrymple, the King, and the Future. Rewrote the beginning, and I like it better. It's briefer, more dynamic, and less in awe of its own cleverness. I hope it would pass the Frog test. Beyond that, I've just been tightening up the phrasing, fixing the minor issues people pointed out, and trying my best to cut the brain without killing the tone.

You know what? Revision is hard. I've had little incentive to revise anything I've ever written throughout my life; why should I, when first drafts earn full marks? While I'm sorta getting the hang of it, it's taking me forever and a day. I can't imagine revising a novel-length work, and certainly not multiple times!