Durant Family Saga
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Trilogy Summary
  • Contact
  • Author Biography
  • Events
  • Copyright

Beta-ReadersĀ 

3/1/2015

0 Comments

 
PictureCover art: Brendan Cox Design Studio
I have my cover art complete. I am thinking about how to market the book when it comes out. My PR person at Highland Words is developing taglines and book blurbs and pitch letters for reviewers. So now what do I do? I wait for my beta-readers to finish reading and try not to bother them about it.

For those that do not know what a beta-reader is I'll give you the wikipedia version: a non-professional reader who critiques your work. I gave them all specific instructions: no need to edit unless you see something glaring, just tell me what parts are too slow and what characters don't work. I have some random people reading it. A few men I know that love the Adirondacks and the history, a woman I met at a conference who shared my love of reading and I tracked down on Linkedin to ask her to read for me; a person that follows me on Facebook although I am not even sure how I know her; a former journalist and his wife who I used to babysit for and I haven't seen since I got married 26 years ago; an architect; and an avid reader of Jane Austen because on of my betas keeps telling me I should be writing like her. (I think Jane Austen is boring).

So far I've received some good feedback. The cover design for example went through a couple of revisions. And I cut 1,000 words from the first few chapters.

My biggest problem is trying not to pester people about it. I read 2-3 books a month. So of course I can't understand how someone I gave the book to over three weeks ago hasn't finished it yet. Or have they and they are afraid ot tell me what they think? Is it that bad?

The other problem I am having is not going back to the book and editing. I keep wanting to read it over again myself and edit even though I promised myself I wouldn't touch it until late March. And god-forbid if I get started on the next book in the trilogy. I can't even think about starting the next until I have this one wrapped up.

So what have I been doing with myself? Well the picture below tells you some of it. I went out for a ski on the lake yesterday with my daughter. And enjoyed the sunshine. But not as much as the two ladies that had set up beach chairs and a cooler of beer and were sunning themselves in 20 degree F.


Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Sheila Myers  Professor at Cayuga Community College in Upstate New York.

    Subscribe to blog

    RSS Feed

    Follow me on Facebook or Twitter!

    Categories

    All
    Adirondacks
    Alvah Dunning
    Anne Thackeray Ritchie
    Arpad Gerster
    Awards
    Camp Kirby
    Coffee
    Collis Huntington
    Divorce
    Dr Thomas Durant
    Editing
    Egypt
    Ella Durant
    England
    Gilborn
    Gilded Age
    Giveaway
    Great Camps
    Green Wood Cemetery
    Hell On Wheels
    Heloise Durant Rose
    Historical Fiction
    Hochschild
    Huntington
    Isle Of Wight
    J.P. Morgan
    Julia Margaret Cameron
    Last Of Mohicans
    Lillian Tiffany
    Marketing
    News
    Ozymandias
    Pine Knot
    Poultney Bigelow
    Research
    Sagamore
    Sarah Bernhardt
    Tea
    Uncas
    Utowana
    Vanderbilt
    Verplanck Colvin
    William West Durant

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.