Quite a variety in early entries. And for the first time, there are more adult entries than any other age group...at least for now *eyes Netz's incoming entry*
Beta Project, the 2018 edition
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I'm a little bummed. I just finished a book and I'd love to submit it for this... but I'm also going on a trip from the 24th through to June 6th, to the other side of the world back in Asia, so circadian rhythms will be massively disrupted, in addition to just doing a lot of stuff everyday. I don't think I'd be able to squeeze in the time to do critiques for others during that window.
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Just your friendly reminder that one week is over and there's one week to go in the submission period.
We're at 15 entries right now.
There are as many YA entries as adult entries now.
We're at 15 entries right now.
There are as many YA entries as adult entries now.
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I feel as though this should be a maths question on an exam paper. 'If YA is equal to A, then how many MGs has Sage received?'
I feel as though this should be a maths question on an exam paper. 'If YA is equal to A, then how many MGs has Sage received?'
And what answer did you get? *gets ready with red grading pen*
Not as much variety in genre in this year's batch, at least so far. Only 4 genres out of my 8 broad genre categories. Each genre entered has at least 2 entries, and no single genre has more than half. Fantasy has the most.
*waits for Netz's exam to be turned in*
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Um, I'm going to guess - I mean, calculate - 3.
*Waits for the red pen to descend and correct my answer*
*Waits for the red pen to descend and correct my answer*
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fergusj
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Please enter! It is scary, but most of writing is. This is my third year participating and I find it very rewarding! And, if nothing else, it's as anonymous as you want it to be.
Julie
I have to finish up editing this draft so I can restart on the portion I'll be submitting to this!
Hey, Sarah, I totally get being nervous about it. I feel like if you want to get crits or betas for your novel eventually, the BP is a low stress way to introduce yourself to being critted. But if you don't feel ready yet, I'll do another Beta Project next year. But here's why I think it's a little easier to do the BP:
- This is like mini-Share-Your-Work. You're guaranteed 3 crits, which can range from detailed to general. Even with a few more crits, it's still less overwhelming than SYW. And it's only on 750 words.
- Everything's anonymous. Your name will not be attached to your entry, unless you want it to be after everything's posted. The crits are also anonymous, so it's easier to feel a sense of detachment from them or just blame me since I'll be the one posting them If you decide you're not ready for beta readers after I give you the names of anyone requesting, you never have to contact them, and they'll never know.
- The only mandatory thing the entrants have to do, other than sending me a complete entry, is crit 3 sets of 750 (or fewer) words. Critting others can really help you learn. You'll be pleasantly surprised how easily you see what sticks out to you as good or bad and how easily you can share that...but also how it will help you realize what works or doesn't work in your own writing.
- Writing a hook is great practice for when you have to figure out how to write a query. Although it doesn't have the same word count allowed, learning to write more tightly can only help. People also might give you feedback on the pitch, which is totally stress-free at this point because, hey, you were only writing it for the contest, but it will help you see when you get to the query what worked here.
- You have lots of freedom to explain what you're looking for from this contest. If you want people to be gentle, just ask. If you want someone to focus on the big-picture or something specific, just ask.
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Hey, Sarah, I totally get being nervous about it. I feel like if you want to get crits or betas for your novel eventually, the BP is a low stress way to introduce yourself to being critted. But if you don't feel ready yet, I'll do another Beta Project next year. But here's why I think it's a little easier to do the BP:
- This is like mini-Share-Your-Work. You're guaranteed 3 crits, which can range from detailed to general. Even with a few more crits, it's still less overwhelming than SYW. And it's only on 750 words.
- Everything's anonymous. Your name will not be attached to your entry, unless you want it to be after everything's posted. The crits are also anonymous, so it's easier to feel a sense of detachment from them or just blame me since I'll be the one posting them
- The only mandatory thing the entrants have to do, other than sending me a complete entry, is crit 3 sets of 750 (or fewer) words. Critting others can really help you learn. You'll be pleasantly surprised how easily you see what sticks out to you as good or bad and how easily you can share that...but also how it will help you realize what works or doesn't work in your own writing.
- Writing a hook is great practice for when you have to figure out how to write a query. Although it doesn't have the same word count allowed, learning to write more tightly can only help. People also might give you feedback on the pitch, which is totally stress-free at this point because, hey, you were only writing it for the contest, but it will help you see when you get to the query what worked here.
- You have lots of freedom to explain what you're looking for from this contest. If you want people to be gentle, just ask. If you want someone to focus on the big-picture or something specific, just ask.
Thank you. I know you put a lot of work into this and can see you've tried to make it as gentle as posisble for those involved. It's not the getting critiqued that scares me, I've had some really brutally helpful crits this year and they sting but I can cope. It's the matchmaking bit. I feel like I'll be a wallflower, everyone going for sexier, more beautifully written pieces than mine while I twiddle with my hem in the corner.
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Just as well there's no money riding on this, lol.
So, how many entries are you up to now?
I seem to recall swooning over something you wrote a few months ago.
I have the same jitters. I'm certain I suck. (And everyone knows it and is politely avoiding me.
)
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Just a reminder that since the deadline is 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, this is the last weekend day before that deadline. For those of us that need a whole weekend day to write a 150-word hook (or, yanno, several of them to decide between possible hooks, if you're indecisive like me).
Guys, I wanna say kudos because, so far, not a single person has gone over 750 words in their excerpt. This has never happened before!
Guys, I wanna say kudos because, so far, not a single person has gone over 750 words in their excerpt. This has never happened before!
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I seem to recall swooning over something you wrote a few months ago.
I have the same jitters. I'm certain I suck. (And everyone knows it and is politely avoiding me.
Oh man, that's unbearably lovely of you to say because I know the horrible truth. It's largely the same as yours! ^^^ Let's jitter together.
Just saw this. You’ve got a cool story to share! You should definitely join the beta project
And several more days to come up with the first three sentences... let alone 750 words!
And another day to cobble together some sort of description about what you need from a beta. I get it 
Some stats before I go back to work tomorrow.
50% of the current entries are Adult! YA almost always dominates this contest, so that's fun and different.
40% are in the fantasy umbrella
35% are in the sci-fi umbrella
15% are in the contemporary/literary umbrella
10% are in the mystery umbrella
That's all the genres, folks! I have 8 categories, and we've only used 4 so far this year.
This means that if you have a SFF novel, come join! You're in good company. Lots of good critters to match your novel up with.
If you don't have a SFF novel, come join! You're really going to stand out to readers who aren't looking for speculative fiction. Also, encourage others who write what you do to join, so that you're more likely to get critters who write your own genre or to get to crit genres you read.
And if you really really really don't want to crit the first 3 pages of sci-fi and/or fantasy novels, please make sure you put that in your "genres I want to read" section. I'll try to make sure that you get genres you like or at least don't hate, as much as possible.
50% of the current entries are Adult! YA almost always dominates this contest, so that's fun and different.
40% are in the fantasy umbrella
35% are in the sci-fi umbrella
15% are in the contemporary/literary umbrella
10% are in the mystery umbrella
That's all the genres, folks! I have 8 categories, and we've only used 4 so far this year.
This means that if you have a SFF novel, come join! You're in good company. Lots of good critters to match your novel up with.
If you don't have a SFF novel, come join! You're really going to stand out to readers who aren't looking for speculative fiction. Also, encourage others who write what you do to join, so that you're more likely to get critters who write your own genre or to get to crit genres you read.
And if you really really really don't want to crit the first 3 pages of sci-fi and/or fantasy novels, please make sure you put that in your "genres I want to read" section. I'll try to make sure that you get genres you like or at least don't hate, as much as possible.
I'm really nervous. I'm going to go back to my draft and try to edit it again-- even though it's on the fourth time, before submitting it.
If I still don't like it, I'll do better next time.
If I still don't like it, I'll do better next time.
