Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Critique partner or Beta reader?

by Maria Geraci

I will never forget the first critique I received as a writer. And I use the term writer loosely, because honestly, that first manuscript was pretty awful. But like thousands of people before me I "woke" up one day and decided to write a book. Knowing almost nothing about how to write a novel, I powered up the family computer and began hitting the keys. Six months later, I had a manuscript. Or rather, I had a first draft. A really dirty, rough draft that I loved almost as much as I loved my 3 children. Every word of that novel was born from my blood sweat and tears. Naturally, everyone else was going to love it too.

Okay, stop laughing.

Soon after I finished that manuscript I joined Romance Writers of America and was lucky enough to get into a fabulous online critique group. Our little group was composed of unpublished writers like myself, with big New York dreams and lots of enthusiasm. I put up the first chapter of my novel and waited while my new online pals were wowed by my brilliance. They were wowed, all right. Mostly by the number of exclamation points I could use in one page. I think I downed an entire bottle of wine while listening to Nora Jones that night. How could I have been so delusional? How can I not have known how much I sucked?

I was probably a little hard on myself, but the truth was, they were right. Not that I sucked. But my writing needed a lot of improvement. So I listened to my crit group (most of them, anyway) and began the long hard process of learning how to write. Which, in case you haven't figured it out by now, means writing and writing and writing. And reading. And learning. And rewriting. It's endless. And it gets harder with every book.

Fast forward a few years.

Eventually, I landed an agent and a book deal and I gained the ultimate crit partner. An Editor. My crit partners (by that time they had dwindled down to 2 really fab fellow authors) were as busy as I was and they had editors too. I still loved getting feedback from them but I had an editor to please and a much better sense of what did and didn't work for me.

I've been writing for over ten years now and I have 1 crit partner (another fellow author) and several beta readers. I love the brainstorming and the professional camaraderie between my crit partner and I. I think she's pretty fabulous and well, I'm pretty sure she thinks the same about me ;) but I have to admit I do love those beta readers. I've seen different definitions for beta readers, but mine are simply friends (who I trust to tell me mainly the truth) who enjoy reading the kinds of stories I write. I can depend on them to tell me whether a story is working, whether or not they like a character and their overall opinion on the book. In other words, they read my manuscript like a future potential reader as opposed to my crit partner who reads it like a potential editor or copy editor. Both crit partner and beta reader are essential to helping me produce the kind of work I want to get out there.

What about you? Beta reader? Crit partner? Both? or Lone wolf?



13 comments:

  1. I have a small group of beta readers who prefer old-school paper copies of a manuscript. I give them binders and red pens and let them have fun. I meet with them after to listen to their comments. Brutal honesty yet civility. These meetings point me in the right direction for edits. After a trusted final reader has his say, the ms goes to my agent. Who is the absolute BEST editor ever. She doesn't let me get away with so much as an errant comma. (Although we are having a "discussion" about using the Oxford comma or not.)

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    1. Betsy, my beta readers also prefer paper. I try to make it as easy for them since they're doing me a huge favor. As for that Oxford comma, I am a comma mess. Thank God for copy editors!

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  2. Maria, I haven't had much of a system as yet and the one I'm trying is -- well, it is trying. But I loved your comment about how each book gets harder. Why is that?

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    1. I think it's because expectations rise with each book we write. At least, I think that's it for me :) We need to do coffee soon!

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  3. Great post, Maria. And, Ack!, Sheila stole my comment. I am sitting here with revisions on my latest manuscript and popped over to GBC out of frustration. I was literally thinking, "Why does it seem like this keeps getting harder!' I think part of the answer is I know more than I did ten years ago. Don't they say something about ignorance being bliss?

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    1. I agree, Laura. Ignorance is definitely bliss! Ooh, can't wait to see what you're working on next!

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  4. I agree that most of this never gets easier. :-) I don't have any trouble finding fellow writers to critique my ms, but I would love to try out some beta readers. I have no idea how to find ones that would be the most helpful. Any thoughts? Don't want to just advertise on Twitter or CraigsList -- LOL

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    1. My beta readers are local friends who have expressed a big interest in my books. I think it's important that your readers genuinely love your voice and the genre you write in and are people who will buy your books. In other words, your target audience. Of course, it's important to emphasize that you aren't looking for a "oh that's great!" end comment. I stress that I am looking for an honest opinion so that I can improve the story. I usually get really terrific insights from them. As for advertising for beta readers on Craigslist and Twitter, oh, Wendy, that's almost a story in itself!

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  5. I have a writing group I workshop some things with. Some things I'll reach out to specific people because I think they're the right eyes for a particular aspect of a book. And some things go straight to the publishing editor without a single other set of eyeballs in between. I think part of growing as a writer is not just learning to write better but also growing your own editorial ear and instincts so you know exactly what kind of help you need to get your book where you want it to be.

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    1. Exactly, Lauren! Even though each book gets harder, I also get a little wiser ;)

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  6. Loved reading this. So fun to see how everyone else handles this task!

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  7. Thank you for your post! It was very helpful. I am an aspiring writer between teaching and mommying. You have brought light to what I'm missing: a crit partner and beta readers. I have a feeling this first novel will not be as well received as I imagine, but man, having someone to tell me so would be great! lol Thank you again for sharing and happy writing!

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