Honestly, I'm feeling a little demoralized by lack of requests myself.
I was thinking about this, too, offering to read a few chapters-ish.
I was thinking about this, too, offering to read a few chapters-ish.
Beta Project 2019 (update in post #70)
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Thanks for the info, Netz. I did my assigned crits in the first few days so it's all extra ones at this stage.
That's good to know, Bing. There's one in particular that I think I might have the skills to critique, but I really feel like I need to read a bit more to know for sure.
That's good to know, Bing. There's one in particular that I think I might have the skills to critique, but I really feel like I need to read a bit more to know for sure.
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I get it, but I was more feeling that way before I saw just how many people are active in this thread and then mentioned they can't request either. The entrants are the most common requesters, and we are all so busy... so it's not you/your entry.
Other years, there have been tons of requests. This isn't that year.
People can also offer for swaps as well as partials!
But requests are happening, and them being fewer in number just draws a sharper line between what's interesting and what isn't. The same kind of thing that's going to happen while querying.
It's probably just as well that I confront this now, though, so I can try to figure out how to fix it.
It's probably just as well that I confront this now, though, so I can try to figure out how to fix it.
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Honestly it kinda feels like life's been in the way for a lot of us for a while. Most of the regular AW events this year have seen lower numbers of participants. I think as a whole, we may be in a lull. But people have time after the main event ends to request when they're available and it seems like people are slowly starting to add in requests with the caveat that it may take some time. There will likely be movement and requests to come, they're just very slow because we're all very tired. XD
Surprisingly, I'm not. Partially bc even though I am participating and looked forward to seeing the BP open this year, I'm not in a position to offer to beta anytime in the next month or so, so I haven't sent requests. This way no guilt.
My entry is also not a popular genre on AW, so I'm not shocked.
People offer/don't offer to beta for many reasons. Yes, sometimes it might have to do with the quality or enticement of those first few pages, but often not.
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That's one way to look at it, but I don't think that's a blanket truth. When I made my requests, I did not request what I found most interesting. There were great entries that I critted that I had very little to say other than (pretty much) "this is great".
It'd be selfish for me to request to beta something just because I think it'd be a fun read. The writer is asking for someone to help make a story better, and if I can't do that for whatever reason (the reason for the last three who didn't make the cut I mentioned in a post above) I won't request. Sometimes, that means a story is too good for me to offer on, or needs help I can't give it.
Good feedback is good feedback, so none of us will know why we have no requests until we see the crits.
I don't think that's a necessary assumption. It could just be that there are people who would beta your work or are intrigued by it, but don't have the time, have other commitments, or don't think they'd make good beta readers for your WiP.
There's no sign-up list for this event, but there is also the Sequel Solstice event going on right now too, so some folks might have that on their plate too. And while this doesn't have a deadline for beta requests, the Sequel Solstice does have a deadline for stories.
For what it's worth, I made my beta offer decisions on a genre basis. There weren't a lot of entries in my genre, and I decided that this year I want to stick to just that genre. My choices had nothing to do with how good/interesting I thought the other entries were.
I think it's helpful to remember that this isn't querying. An agent is going to request because they think it sounds good. A beta reader can have a whole host of reasons for the requests they make.
I think it's helpful to remember that this isn't querying. An agent is going to request because they think it sounds good. A beta reader can have a whole host of reasons for the requests they make.
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I seem to have the opposite problem to a lot of you - I've got time to beta read now (procrastinating on working on my WIP? Who me?! 
), so I've made a few offers on ones that are ready right now. There's one that I'd earmarked as a potential (Entry #9, in case that person needs a confidence boost ), but it's not yet finished and I don't know what my capacity will be like later.
), so I've made a few offers on ones that are ready right now. There's one that I'd earmarked as a potential (Entry #9, in case that person needs a confidence boost ), but it's not yet finished and I don't know what my capacity will be like later.
Had there been another entry in my genre that would have been an instant request for me, it makes total sense that they are going to be the person you are most likely to be able to help. As it stands, I'm all alone, so I had a stoic lack of expectation from the day the entries went live
I'll definitely be offering, I just need to wade through them all again first.
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For anyone that doesn't get a beta request--there's a good chance I'll be open to a 20K word swap. But some people probably find my style of feedback off-putting, so I'm also not bothered if no one bites on that either.
If I was forced to pick one entry to beta, it would be one that needed some kind of work that i could help with, not one that was ready to query. And that said, the 750 word critique, for a measurable fraction of the entries, had the sorts of errors that will riddle the whole piece--ineffective description for reasons x, y, z; stilted dialog, or other. Hopefully a lot of us get a consensus on the critiques that improves the whole of our work.
So, I think it's all good. At some point I'll want a pair of eyes on the whole of my entry, but not a big deal how that comes to pass (I won't be querying this one anyway.)
If I was forced to pick one entry to beta, it would be one that needed some kind of work that i could help with, not one that was ready to query. And that said, the 750 word critique, for a measurable fraction of the entries, had the sorts of errors that will riddle the whole piece--ineffective description for reasons x, y, z; stilted dialog, or other. Hopefully a lot of us get a consensus on the critiques that improves the whole of our work.
So, I think it's all good. At some point I'll want a pair of eyes on the whole of my entry, but not a big deal how that comes to pass (I won't be querying this one anyway.)
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I'm just the opposite. I like fun reads. I don't think it's selfish at all. You're still doing someone a favor.
I have five more entries to crit before EOD tomorrow. Of the thirty I've critiqued so far, maybe half a dozen were in the 'doesn't need a lot of help' category. They might be query-ready, but they could still use feedback.
The betas I'm currently looking at all have cool and unique premises, and a story that gets started right away. The writing may not always be perfect, but I can still enjoy the story and characters.
Quite a few entries had writing that was excellent and even clever, but the first 750 words just didn't grab me. Great writing but no conflict, tension, action, or the promise of any. A couple had all of that going for them and more, so it can be done.
I'm worried about offering to beta - my CP says she's going to have something ready around the start of August, I've got two projects I'm writing to be done by the start of August, and then there's personal stuffs. I think I'm going to dive in and offer anyways but be up front about all the issues of my life.
Hey, guys, just updating you on the speed of things right now. I had no idea the past two weeks were going to get so busy at work. I am totally sitting on beta requests that have been made, because some are connected to crits & will be delivered after they’re up, & because I’ve been focusing on getting the crits saved for the reveal on Friday. (Which may not be as midnight-ish as it’s been in the past). Don’t despair if you don’t have requests yet. A) most requests have come in the past couple days. B) I’m sitting on those. C) I’ve seen several crits that have been, “I love this excerpt, but it’s not my genre, so I won’t be a helpful beta,” which has been my feeling on some entries too, which means it’s not necessarily a problem with your piece if you don’t get betas. D) if it *is* the entry that’s causing the problem, you’ll have plenty of crits to help with that.
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Yeah, I can see that. I think it's totally a case of all of us having different goals when offering to beta, and yardsticks used to gauge them.
Sage, I cannot imagine how full your plate is right now! Take the time you need (and be sure to eat and sleep while you're at it!)
Sage. Sleep now. You can sort this out later. We can just be impatient, OK?
Sam, it's not fake! I just took a nap and it was—it was magical! I never knew such a thing existed! Trouble is now I want another nap.
Sam, it's not fake! I just took a nap and it was—it was magical! I never knew such a thing existed! Trouble is now I want another nap.
Ditto. Sage, you are a goddess, clearly, but even a goddess needs to sleep once every hundred years or so.
Okay, now i get to sleep. Had to do chorus rehearsal first (yes, this soon after a weekend retreat)
Thank you for all the behind the scenes work you're doing
I'm really excited to see the crits.
Does that mean every entry has at least seven critiques now, and maybe soon every entry will have eight?