Beta Project 2017

Sage · May 20, 2017

JJ Litke said:
Note: pay attention to entry numbers--not the same as post numbers.

Not that I just confused myself with that. Nope.

I'm so sorry, because I meant to specifically warn you of that. Yes, the entry numbers and post numbers are going to be one off because I have the intro post. Make sure you're paying attention to the entry number, which is the header for each post. If you aren't quite sure which you're supposed to be doing, feel free to ask me for the titles.

Okay, so more fun things:

Dysnomia said:
Thanks so much for doing this, Sage!! I'm curious, how's the critter puzzle done?

Also, is anyone else having an issue with pressing space towards the end of the PM box turning the next line into a new paragraph? As in, when I reach the right hand end of the PM box and then press space for my next word, it automatically becomes a new paragraph. Something I won't be able to tell unless I preview the message. Is there a way to resolve this? Minor issue, but it's just slightly annoying...

Anyway, there are so many wonderful entries so far! Thanks for the reads, all of you!

I'm sorry I don't know the answer, Dysnomia. Maybe ask in the Tech Help forum. I bet AW Admin has a solution. In the meantime, try clicking the A/A button at the top lefthand corner of the text box and see if there's some sort of code that could be causing it?

(Personally, I suggest always putting together posts in Source Mode, especially if you're posting in SYW or in a contest like this)

The crit puzzle is done in Excel, with all the entrants on one axis and the titles on another axis. I black out your own novel, and then color-coordinate for things you definitely don't want to read (or already have), things you probably don't want to read, things you said you liked, things you said you loved, and, oh, yes, this is an entry you're going to crit. And then I was a wild card, as was the one person who didn't get me genres he liked to read (but I was still nice to him, knowing his taste :tongue

) I do the easy ones first--the genres that don't have many readers or don't have many entries--and work my way to fantasy, where I pay more attention to what the entrant wrote and try to guess what they'd like to crit, unless they gave me other clues like, "I must have romance!" or "no novels featuring kittens this year, please."

Stats!

Age:
1 MG
1 MG or YA
25 YA
1 YA or NA
23 Adult

Genre:
1 Memoir
1 Historical/Women's Fiction
2 Contemporary Romance
1 Thriller
1 Suspense
2 Mystery (one also labeled as romance and dystopia)
7 Contemporary
6 Sci-Fi
3 Sci-Fantasy
27 Fantasy/Paranomal

Extra:
4 labeled in some way as LGBTQIA

Harlequin · May 20, 2017

Space bar issue afflicts me in normal posts as well as pms

DancingMaenid · May 20, 2017

So, I'm trying to make sure that my critiques transfer over well into PM without encountering too many formatting issues or losing formatting. I think the easiest thing for me, from an organizational standpoint, would be to copy-paste the excerpts into a Word document, add my comments/corrections, and then copy-paste into a PM. But I'm concerned about running into issues with that like incorrect fonts or stripped formatting.

What's the best way to do it?

borogove · May 20, 2017

DancingMaenid said:
So, I'm trying to make sure that my critiques transfer over well into PM without encountering too many formatting issues or losing formatting. I think the easiest thing for me, from an organizational standpoint, would be to copy-paste the excerpts into a Word document, add my comments/corrections, and then copy-paste into a PM. But I'm concerned about running into issues with that like incorrect fonts or stripped formatting.

What's the best way to do it?

That's the way I do it, making sure to select Paste and Match Style, and it mostly works. The font and font size translate correctly, but I do find that any added color or strikethroughs don't carry over, so I have to redo those. And whenever I preview the message, an extra line break gets added between paragraphs. But all in all, it's not a lot of work to make those fixes.

Sage · May 20, 2017

To preserve coding between AW and a word processor and back again, I use the codes instead of the actual formatting ( [ b ] [/ b ] for bold, for example). You can still mess up the code (like if you put in spaces around the Bs in the above example), but it's less likely to have a copy-and-paste issue and easier to fix weird things when you can see the code.

This is how I make sure to preserve all your formatting or to change it easily into the same formatting as everyone else's, where needed. It may be a little harder, since you can't reply to the original message in the locked Entry thread, but I still think it's the easiest way to transfer between AW and a word processor.

DancingMaenid · May 20, 2017

Sage said:
To preserve coding between AW and a word processor and back again, I use the codes instead of the actual formatting ( [ b ] [/ b ] for bold, for example). You can still mess up the code (like if you put in spaces around the Bs in the above example), but it's less likely to have a copy-and-paste issue and easier to fix weird things when you can see the code.

Oh, that's a good idea! I've done this a lot with HTML in the past if I was going to be copy-pasting into a blog platform or something, but some reason didn't think to do it with the forum code. I'll do that.

Sage · May 20, 2017

Yep, you can always switch to the code by hitting the A/A button above the reply/post box here on AW. Or switch your settings so it always shows it, which is what I do. If I'm in the normal editor, mine has a problem where the cursor jumps around, so I always do the source code editor

Matt T. · May 20, 2017

Sage said:
To preserve coding between AW and a word processor and back again, I use the codes instead of the actual formatting ( [ b ] [/ b ] for bold, for example). You can still mess up the code (like if you put in spaces around the Bs in the above example), but it's less likely to have a copy-and-paste issue and easier to fix weird things when you can see the code.

I've never thought of that! That'll make things a lot simpler, since I much prefer doing my crits in Word and then pasting them into AW.

Unimportant · May 20, 2017

Sage said:
To preserve coding between AW and a word processor and back again, I use the codes instead of the actual formatting ( [ b ] [/ b ] for bold, for example). You can still mess up the code (like if you put in spaces around the Bs in the above example), but it's less likely to have a copy-and-paste issue and easier to fix weird things when you can see the code.

Yep, that's what I do whenever I'm critting.

Dysnomia · May 20, 2017

Sage said:
I'm sorry I don't know the answer, Dysnomia. Maybe ask in the Tech Help forum. I bet AW Admin has a solution. In the meantime, try clicking the A/A button at the top lefthand corner of the text box and see if there's some sort of code that could be causing it?

(Personally, I suggest always putting together posts in Source Mode, especially if you're posting in SYW or in a contest like this)

The crit puzzle is done in Excel, with all the entrants on one axis and the titles on another axis. I black out your own novel, and then color-coordinate for things you definitely don't want to read (or already have), things you probably don't want to read, things you said you liked, things you said you loved, and, oh, yes, this is an entry you're going to crit. And then I was a wild card, as was the one person who didn't get me genres he liked to read (but I was still nice to him, knowing his taste ) I do the easy ones first--the genres that don't have many readers or don't have many entries--and work my way to fantasy, where I pay more attention to what the entrant wrote and try to guess what they'd like to crit, unless they gave me other clues like, "I must have romance!" or "no novels featuring kittens this year, please."

Ah okay! I think I've had it in Source Mode--it's the one where you get to see [ b ] [/ b ] and stuff right? Just to be sure... It seems to only happen when I'm typing within color brackets. Without the color brackets, it seems fine. Unlike Harlequin though, it hasn't occurred to me outside PMs. Oh well, it's just a minor issue that happens randomly anyway, so it's not too bad!

And that's super interesting how the crit puzzle's done. There are too many good entries to be picky with taste anyway :greenie

I wonder how the stats for crits are coming along? Will you be sharing that with us soon? :Jump:

travelgal · May 21, 2017

Two down, one to go. There are a coupla things I missed colouring when transferring the second crit from Word to AW. Shall I send those bits separately, or what? Formatting is a pain!

Sage · May 21, 2017

So, I was very sleepy by the time I sent out crit assignments. If you happen to notice anything that doesn't look right, like me switching numbers so that you got a number that doesn't exist in the BP (49 to 94 for example) or I tacked on an extra digit (24 to 245 for example) or if the numbers I sent weren't in chronological order (12, 33, 27, for example), give me a little shout to make sure I get you the right entry numbers.

These may or may not be actual examples based on mistakes I caught or didn't catch. :sleepy:

travelgal said:
Two down, one to go. There are a coupla things I missed colouring when transferring the second crit from Word to AW. Shall I send those bits separately, or what? Formatting is a pain!

You can edit your crit and send to me again.

Please preview and look over your crit.

travelgal · May 21, 2017

I did, twice, but the formatting is killing me. :Headbang:

Revised paragraph sent.

Sleep well! The third should be sent Friday or Sat, when I don't have to work.

Sage · May 21, 2017

I promise you that these types of problems are an easy fix in Source Mode. Just hit the [SUP]A[/SUP]/A button. You will be able to see exactly what codes are messing things up so that you can get rid of them and use only the ones you want. You can also highlight the problematic area and click on the button next to it, with the X over the As and that will erase all formatting on that section, and you can start them from scratch. That way there'll be no past formatting messing with the formatting you want to use.

Sage · May 21, 2017

Woo, we've had our first beta request go out to someone who has finished their crits!

DancingMaenid · May 21, 2017

I finished my three assigned critiques today.

Now I need to look through the entries to see what I might want to submit beta offers for. There are so many good entries, so it's a shame I wouldn't have time to offer to read them all. I'm looking forward to doing more critiques, too. I like the 750-word length. It's long enough to get a feel for the story and voice but short enough to be able to do multiple critiques comfortably.

Sage · May 22, 2017

A lot of people sent in all their crits today, and a bunch of beta requests came in. Some of these are matched up, so I'll have fun sending out some requests tonight!

Dysnomia · May 22, 2017

I'm curious, on average, how many requests are each person making? I'm tempted to request one more (or maybe a few more since I haven't gotten round to everything) but I'm not sure if I've the time for it! Also having second thoughts about my requests because while I'm sure I'll enjoy their stories, I'm afraid I won't be super useful to them as a beta...

Sage · May 22, 2017

It all depends on the reader. You don't have to request anything, and some people have more time (or are committing themselves to more time, at least) and can request more.

You guys want some stats, as I keep you all in suspense because I've only sent out one beta request? :wag:

15 entrants have finished their mandatory crits
14 books have received beta requests
15 books have received one or more extra crits

3 entries have all three mandatory crits turned in
9 entries have none of their mandatory crits turned in

sockycat · May 22, 2017

Dysnomia said:
I'm curious, on average, how many requests are each person making? I'm tempted to request one more (or maybe a few more since I haven't gotten round to everything) but I'm not sure if I've the time for it! Also having second thoughts about my requests because while I'm sure I'll enjoy their stories, I'm afraid I won't be super useful to them as a beta...

Unless your only feedback is "your writing is bad and you should feel bad", I don't think there is such thing as a useless beta!

Ex: I recently had a Beta who was basically Leslie Knope. She didn't really point out anything bad, and most of her comments were "I love this! I love that! OMG I'm glad so and so is back, I love her" and "OMG, I didn't see this plot twist coming!" and "I love so and so, I want to marry him"

While I prefer betas who can give me the bad with the good, it was still helpful for to cheerily point out what she liked, because it gave me an idea of what was working. Most of the moments she liked lined up with the moments my other less Leslie Knope-y betas like, and it's super helpful to see how your work reads for people across the board.

Time is understandable, but don't let fearing that you won't have "good" feedback hold you back!

Dysnomia · May 22, 2017

sockycat said:
Unless your only feedback is "your writing is bad and you should feel bad", I don't think there is such thing as a useless beta!

Ex: I recently had a Beta who was basically Leslie Knope. She didn't really point out anything bad, and most of her comments were "I love this! I love that! OMG I'm glad so and so is back, I love her" and "OMG, I didn't see this plot twist coming!" and "I love so and so, I want to marry him"

While I prefer betas who can give me the bad with the good, it was still helpful for to cheerily point out what she liked, because it gave me an idea of what was working. Most of the moments she liked lined up with the moments my other less Leslie Knope-y betas like, and it's super helpful to see how your work reads for people across the board.

Time is understandable, but don't let fearing that you won't have "good" feedback hold you back!

I wish I could be that kind of beta though! In the sense that my thoughts tend to line up with what the majority will like/dislike so the author has a clearer idea of what to do with what I say? Or knows I'm usually on point? But based on my experience in SYW... It seems like I'm always that outlying one... So, whelpz. I don't know if that's helpful or will just give the author more headache/waste their time

And yay for stats! Finally!

Sage · May 22, 2017

Check out what the entries you're interested in say they want from a beta. Can you give it to them?

Some betas give general overall notes. Some are more into in-doc notes to show their reactions. Others do line-by-line because they (uh, we?) just can't help it. Do what works best for you.

Putputt · May 22, 2017

sockycat said:
Ex: I recently had a Beta who was basically Leslie Knope. She didn't really point out anything bad, and most of her comments were "I love this! I love that! OMG I'm glad so and so is back, I love her" and "OMG, I didn't see this plot twist coming!" and "I love so and so, I want to marry him"

Argh, so often I find myself being this beta. I CAN'T HELP ITTTTT IF THE BOOKS PEOPLE WRITE ARE AMAZING. T_T

travelgal · May 23, 2017

I'm the opposite; I tend to be harsh. I hope I weren't too harsh!

Sage · May 23, 2017

I'm very matter-of-fact and wordy when I beta, and I don't gush. So a compliment from me is a real compliment, not an attempt to soften the blow (when I receive crits, I am very suspicious of "compliment sandwiches"), but for the most part, I point out any problem I see, and then I explain so that the author can see where I'm coming from and make an educated decision about whether to accept the crit or not. I do worry that this is overwhelming for people, but I have several authors who seem to like me as a beta or critter, so I must not be too mean :Shrug:

Beta Project 2017

Supreme Guessinator

Eat books, not brains!

New kid...seven years ago!

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New kid...seven years ago!

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No COVID yet. Still masking.

Drowning in the depthless sea

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New kid...seven years ago!

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Drowning in the depthless sea

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Drowning in the depthless sea

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permanently suctioned to Buz's leg

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