- Joined
- Oct 2, 2010
- Messages
- 751
- Reaction score
- 81
- Location
- Lakeview, OR
- Website
- bryanrdurkin.blogspot.com
Update 02-12-11: I currently have a beta reader, thanks to everyone who showed interest! I'll update this post as needed if anything changes.
Well the title lays out the basics. Here's the details:
Genre: I put "Military Science-Fiction" in quotes because that's the closest I can come to for a definite genre right now with my admittedly limited experience in the writing industry. It's got guns, and explosions, and a goodly portion of fighting, so that's where the "Military" part comes in. The "Science-Fiction" part comes in in that the plot takes place in the future. Some of the tech is more advanced than ours, some is on a par. But neither the tech nor the fact that it's in the future plays much of a leading role in the plot. It's just the background and setting for the plot.
Feedback: Well, the novel has been through about half a dozen readers, but most of them knew me on a personal level, so I feel like maybe it was not as objective as it could have been. The basic grammar and spelling and making sure everything is easily understood has been gone over already and seems to be generally fine. My big problem is, the manuscript is 179,000 words long, and almost everyone I've talked to says that's too long for the industry standards and most agents wouldn't even look at that. So what I need is for someone to objectively look at it and tell me what can/should/needs to go or needs to be paired down without changing the basic style and storyline. BRUTAL crit is fine with me, as long as you've got a reason behind it that you can state. If you don't like it, please say why. If you've got a reason, I can take it if you can dish it.
Publishing: Eventual goal is to land it with a good agent and get it published through a good, professional science fiction publisher. I know it's a long way from being ready for that, but that's the end goal, just so you know.
Credentials: You don't have to be a published author, but I would appreciate someone who is at least really familiar with the military sci-fi genre, has read a great deal in it, and has maybe even written in it. What I need is objective criticism on what readers will or won't want to see in the plot, so if you just read military sci-fi, that's fine as long as you know what you want in such a book.
And that's about it. Sorry it was long, but I wanted to make sure you know what you're getting into. And, I'd be willing to return the favor, but be advised I'm not a pro. Thanks!
Well the title lays out the basics. Here's the details:
Genre: I put "Military Science-Fiction" in quotes because that's the closest I can come to for a definite genre right now with my admittedly limited experience in the writing industry. It's got guns, and explosions, and a goodly portion of fighting, so that's where the "Military" part comes in. The "Science-Fiction" part comes in in that the plot takes place in the future. Some of the tech is more advanced than ours, some is on a par. But neither the tech nor the fact that it's in the future plays much of a leading role in the plot. It's just the background and setting for the plot.
Feedback: Well, the novel has been through about half a dozen readers, but most of them knew me on a personal level, so I feel like maybe it was not as objective as it could have been. The basic grammar and spelling and making sure everything is easily understood has been gone over already and seems to be generally fine. My big problem is, the manuscript is 179,000 words long, and almost everyone I've talked to says that's too long for the industry standards and most agents wouldn't even look at that. So what I need is for someone to objectively look at it and tell me what can/should/needs to go or needs to be paired down without changing the basic style and storyline. BRUTAL crit is fine with me, as long as you've got a reason behind it that you can state. If you don't like it, please say why. If you've got a reason, I can take it if you can dish it.
Publishing: Eventual goal is to land it with a good agent and get it published through a good, professional science fiction publisher. I know it's a long way from being ready for that, but that's the end goal, just so you know.
Credentials: You don't have to be a published author, but I would appreciate someone who is at least really familiar with the military sci-fi genre, has read a great deal in it, and has maybe even written in it. What I need is objective criticism on what readers will or won't want to see in the plot, so if you just read military sci-fi, that's fine as long as you know what you want in such a book.
And that's about it. Sorry it was long, but I wanted to make sure you know what you're getting into. And, I'd be willing to return the favor, but be advised I'm not a pro.
Thanks!
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