On the Subject of Beta-reading

Today I have some pictures of Sanctuary of Sameiro, situated on the southeastern hills that overlook the city. This is how it looks from the balcony in my mother’s condo:

 

In chapter two of The Secret Life of Daydreams, there’s a scene that takes place there. I don’t want to give too much away, but it’s a cute scene between Josh and Sofia. 😉 My beta-readers know which one I mean.

These pictures were taken at a different time of day than the one in the story. What can I say- Sofia is a lucky girl in the company she keeps.

This is the view from the bottom of the staircase:

And then I turned around to take a picture of the view over the city:

If I were less lazy, I would have climbed up those stairs to get a broader view, but I had my ride waiting for me (true story).

Here’s a link to Wikipedia with a few more pictures and info on Sameiro: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sameiro_Sanctuary

 

And on the subject of beta-reading, I have a few words today. According to Wikipedia, a beta-reader is “a person who reads a written work, generally fiction, with what has been described as a critical eye, with the aim of improving grammar, spelling, characterization, and general style of a story prior to its release to the general public.”

I first beta-read last summer for an LDS author and her second book which will be out soon. Reading for pleasure and beta-reading are not the same thing, even  though they’re not mutually exclusive. I usually like to do a fast read first, to get a feel for the story and the writing style, and then read it again more deeply, to try and be useful to the author.  When I started writing, I knew I would need a few beta-readers.  Like I mentioned last time, I had plans to publish independently and I knew I couldn’t even think about doing that without the opinion of trusted readers and friends. Besides, just because I liked my story and loved my characters, didn’t mean they’d be appealing to others.

Fortunately, in the months between starting my novel and finishing the first draft, I made new friendships with other authors online and in writing groups. We traded beta-reading and editing services, talked about our books, and otherwise encouraged each other. I also have friends who are avid readers and know a lot about romance novels. So far, I’ve had ten beta-readers who have lent their invaluable time and talent in helping me make my manuscript better. I’ve lost count of how many edits/revisions I’ve done, but each one has brought me to a better version than before.

And why are beta-readers so important? Whether an author chooses to publish independently or traditionally, the job of the beta-reader is to provide that very much needed feedback on the overall story and plot, on the realism of the characters, and on the basic mechanics of writing. My eyes are desensitized to all the mistakes I’ve written, on account of all the time I’ve spent on it. I can’t even imagine sending it to an editor/publisher, or publishing it on Amazon, without the help of my beta-readers. Unfortunately, I see too many indie published books which clearly didn’t have the benefit of beta-reading before they were put on sale.

Another great thing about beta-reading is that I get to discover a great book before everybody else. 😉

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