Worried

theo · Dec 21, 2007

I can't help feeling as if I have left something out.
My first attempt at a novel has been proof read and edited professionally and I have been through it to correct mistakes and smooth it out.
At present nobody else has read it.
I note constantly on here writers sending their work to be read and importance put on the critique.
I am loath to let others see it because I don't want to be influenced and dilute the rough edge I have written.
What would you suggest, am I doing the right thing or should I share my work to get a feel for others opinions?

seun · Dec 21, 2007

If nobody else has read it, how has it been proofread?

Calla Lily · Dec 21, 2007

theo, my $.02: Post the opening in SYW, grab some vodka, and don the rhino hide. SWY can be brutal--but I preferred my peers telling me what sucks than garnering more form agent rejections. They also told me what worked, too.

Don't you want an agent? To get published? There'll be no chance at those brass rings if you're afraid to let others see it.

Good luck!

joyce · Dec 21, 2007

When you say your novel has been professionally edited, I assume you mean someone else did it. That would mean someone else has read it. For years and years I wrote and never let anyone read anything. Of course, I was not trying to get published at that time. This year I completed my first serious novel and let people read it for the first time. I felt I needed help editing and wanted to get their opinions on it. I wanted to know were my characters believable, did it flow and basically did it keep their attention. I have shared my query letters here and a couple of chapters, but use my outside readers the most. For me, it works out better to have someone read it before I submit to agents. I can work out the kinks and make it better. They see things my eyes just pass over. Good luck with your novel and writing.

Claudia Gray · Dec 21, 2007

Best to get used to hearing and evaluating others' input now. If everything goes well, you'll be working with an editor eventually -- no book is truly created in isolation.

Prawn · Dec 21, 2007

Get some betas! I am printing out thirteen copies of my second novel to give to betas today. Who are they? Some of them are family and friends, but another is an editor, others are professors at a nearby college, and pretty much anyone else I can get to do it. The librarian asked why I was coming to the library every day if I wasn't checking out any books. She was beta victim number one. I went to a lecture by a forensic pathologist and went up after and asked her a question about liminol. We talked briefly, and I asked if I could send her relevant chapter from my novel. She said sure. I am going to send her the whole thing, and point her to the relevant chapter. If she reads the whole thing and gives me feedback, she's another beta victim too!

ACEnders · Dec 21, 2007

It is scary to put stuff on here to be read. I'm not gonna lie. I hold my breath everytime I do it, and when I get replies, I hold my breath as I read them. But what I've learned is that everyone on here is honest. Brutally so when necessary. And it's better to get this from people on here then from an agent.

What is your genre? What's your story about? I'd like to hear what your "rough edge" is all about.

theo · Dec 21, 2007

I didn't quite make myself clear. I paid to have the book proof read/edited and I considered that a technical eye rather than a critical one.
I will print off a few copies and hand them around and brace myself for the critiscism, be it good or bad.

NeuroFizz · Dec 21, 2007

1) You can write for yourself, or you can write for others to read. If you choose the latter, you will have to put it out there eventually. AW is a friendly place for crits (although they can be thorough and tough). Just keep in mind when people are offering criticisms on your work, the comments stop there--these people are not critting you personally, just your words. We are all readers here. Don't you want to know what readers think about your work? And it's free here.

2) How do you think you will ever improve in this craft if you don't get constructive feedback, and lots of it?

3) When you receive criticism, you don't have to act on it. If someone suggests changes that you feel might take an edge off your story, just thank the person and do as you feel fit.

4) Make sure what you call an "edge" is a literary one, not gratuitous or put in for shock value, or put in to make you (the author) look cool or smart.

5) This is all about story and craft. That's what will be critiqued here. If you can't handle that, you have two choices: keep the story in your bottom drawer or send it out as is.

theo · Dec 21, 2007

worried

How do I go about putting stuff on SYW?
Do I have to type it out or is there another way?

Calla Lily · Dec 21, 2007

Nothing to it.

Go to the SWY board (password is vista). Find your genre. Open that board. Click on new topic, tell us what the post is (chapter 1 etc) and approx. word count (try to keep it to a couple of thousand at first). Then copy and paste from your own doc.

A few hints: Please, please check the formatting! A decent font size makes critiquers happy, and adding carriage returns between paragraphs is kind of essential. So we don't see one big lump o' text.

Let us know here when you've posted. If it's not erotica or child torture, I'll look at it.

Ravenlocks · Dec 21, 2007

theo said:
I paid to have the book proof read/edited and I considered that a technical eye rather than a critical one.

If you're going to pay a proofreader, it should be a last-pass thing right before you start querying agents/publishers. It's a waste of money to have someone proofread your first draft since many things may change in subsequent drafts.

maestrowork · Dec 21, 2007

#1: Sooner or later it's going to be read, unless you intend for this to be trunked. Better with some betas than prospective agents or reviewers...

#2: Be careful not to confuse "keeping your edge/voice" with the Golden Word Syndrome.

#3: Anything can be improved.

Ravenlocks · Dec 21, 2007

mollyluna said:
If they say they love the story and want to read more, or find themselves forgetting to critique because they want to get to the next part, they are your perfect beta reader.

Alternately they might be your mother...

The perfect beta has to both love your story AND be willing to be brutally honest when it doesn't work for them. You don't want someone who never tells you anything bad. Some of the best critiques can hurt like hell when you first hear them.

maestrowork · Dec 21, 2007

The perfect beta has to both love your story...

I don't think that's necessarily true.

job · Dec 21, 2007

What everyone said, Theo...
And there's this too,

At some point you have to learn to keep your own voice, while listening to what others say. You've finished a manuscript. This seems a good time to do it.

job · Dec 21, 2007

[[ the perfect beta has to both love your story ...<[[[

maestrowork said:
I don't think that's necessarily true.

It would be for me. I need a lot of 'I loooooved your story' before I get to the 'However ...."

Call me weak.

JoNightshade · Dec 21, 2007

theo said:
I am loath to let others see it because I don't want to be influenced and dilute the rough edge I have written.

Something I learned as an English major (and which I think is true) is that no piece of writing exists in a vacuum. Ever. Nor does the writer. I've come into contact with several people in the past who actually wouldn't read other books and wouldn't let other people read their work because they were afraid of being "polluted" or "influenced" by other people's ideas. They wanted to be "original."

What they don't understand is that writing is like a giant conversation over space and time. Everything reflects and builds on everything else. Not only is it unwise to try to isolate yourself, it's virtually impossible. And isolating yourself does NOT make you original. In fact, you're more likely to keep duplicating what other people have already thought of. It's like coming in halfway through the conversation and trying to rehash what everyone else has already discussed.

To be a great writer, if that is your aim (or a decent one), you have to become strong enough to handle becoming part of the conversation without losing yourself. Best begin practicing now.

astonwest · Dec 22, 2007

Ravenlocks said:
The perfect beta has to both love your story AND be willing to be brutally honest when it doesn't work for them.

I'd much rather have betas that are brutally honest (yet still fair) than have people that just love the story. It's fine to have people who love to read what you write, but I personally think people who "love" something are going to be hesitant to find problems with it.

Not to mention the side effect which could occur when you hear they love it...because then you're going to be hesitant to change anything they don't specifically point out, because why change it if people love it?

:tongue

Paichka · Dec 22, 2007

job;1904378It would be for me. I need a lot of 'I [I said:
loooooved [/I]your story' before I get to the 'However ...."

Call me weak.

Pfft -- I need this, too.

I'm perfectly willing to admit my works needs fixing, and I'm happy to hear that from my beta readers...I just need a teensy bit of ego-stroking before we get to the bits that need cosmetic surgery.

I mean, if the whole thing is a stinker, I might as well junk it and start over, right?

dpaterso · Dec 22, 2007

Just for everyone's info, theo has posted A tale of Dai and David in Share Your Work > Mainstream/Contemporary

-Derek

maestrowork · Dec 22, 2007

Paichka said:
I mean, if the whole thing is a stinker, I might as well junk it and start over, right?

But don't you want your beta to tell you it's a stinker and you should start on something else, if that really is the case or how they feel? There's no sense of having a beta if you just want to hear "it's good -- keep going with it" when in fact it's not very good.

Paichka · Dec 22, 2007

Maestro,

Oh yeah, for sure. If it sucks, I want them to tell me. But if the work is salvageable, BEFORE we get to the evisceration, I'd like to hear them tell me what they liked. That'll help me get through their critique with my grown-up pants on.

Ravenlocks · Dec 22, 2007

mollyluna said:
Also, if your mother is a famous author in your genre, by all means listen to her...

Good point!

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