5 ms·
Howdy, author here. Completely agree on the early reader feedback. I went through two rounds of readers (alpha and beta) and it was immensely helpful in grindin
by zhubert 10y ago
Howdy, author here. Completely agree on the early reader feedback. I went through two rounds of readers (alpha and beta) and it was immensely helpful in grinding down some of the rough edges of the book.
A development editor would be fantastic as well, I honestly just didn't know where to find one!
- jeffwass 10y agoHow did you work with your alpha readers? Ie - did you wait for your first completed draft before showing them the whole thing, or did you show them chapter/scene works-in-progress as you wrote them?
- zhubert 10y agoI gave the 15 alpha readers a "finished" book, by which I mean, I thought it was ready to go, so I had already edited it myself a few times. The consistent feedback I received from those readers weighed heavily on the major edit which followed. I had made some mistakes, no doubt about it. The work is now better for it. I then gave the "finished" book to a much smaller group of beta readers and repeated the process. Then I went through the book a few times myself to improve the flow. Finally, it went to the copyeditor.
- ilamont 10y agoThanks for sharing your experience about using beta readers. I think this is so important for any type of media creation, from books to music to videogames. I am actually developing a framework that explores this called Lean Media: What is Lean Media? It’s an approach to creating media content that emphasizes low-cost production, careful observation/measurement of audience feedback, and fast iteration. Properly incubated and carefully scaled, Lean Media projects can attract loyal audiences and grow into successful works and brands. (more information via http://leanmedia.org http://leanmedia.org) Would you be interested in being profiled on the blog about your approach to using beta readers? If so please email me at ian -at- leanmedia.org ... I think what you are doing would provide a great example!
- aantix 10y agoStephen King, is that you?
- aantix 10y agoTough crowd.
- memset 10y agoIt turns out that many editors who work at major publishers also freelance edit on the side. (Source: I have many friends who work at Penguin in NYC.) If you want, I can ask some of them if they know any leads who might be interested.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- alexpete 10y agoI'd be interested in that as well. Trying to build something that's geared heavily toward developmental/structural editing, and connecting freelancers with writers. Could I send you an email?
- aquarin 10y agoYour second "Createspace" link is wrong.
- zhubert 10y agoFixed, thanks!