Beta Readers!

Phew! I survived the Beta Reader process! I have come through the process feeling rather chuffed about my novel. There is still a lot to work on. For example, before the Beta read, my novel was 58,000 words. Now it is 47,000 so it clearly did need work. There is still probably more scenes that could be snipped with conversations added elsewhere.

[Just this second thought of how I could an entire scene and replace it with a sentence! Now it's 46k.]

The feedback I had from the Beta readers has been great. My dad, my first ever beta reader, says this draft is better than all the others he's read. Yay! Another beta reader said that she loved the book and that she hoped it would be available to the wider public. Yay! One beta reader said that she couldn't connect emotionally with the characters so I have had to look into that as it was also feedback from a rejection I'd recieved.

Moving forward, what I need to do now is act on the amazing advice I've been given and make this novel the great novel it has the potential to be.

"I was genuinely sad when I finished the book. So many great things in this book."

I may need to put the positive feedback up on my wall because I have that crippling self-doubt all writers have when I think my novel is just ok. I've got to let this feedback buoy me up a bit and not sit back on my laurels or dwell in my self-doubt.

Since having beta feedback, I have been working hard. I will soon begin the process of querying, which means more people will be reading my manuscript. I hope they enjoy it, even if they don't choose to represent me.

It's Finished!

I almost can't believe it's finished! I've worked on this novel for so long now,

through the doubts and the rewrites, the character changes and the editing. It's all led to this point: the novel is completed.

Well, I say completed. I've given it to people to read and get feedback. I've already had some feed back that my descriptions are too detailed and don't leave enough to the imagination, which is brilliant as that gives me a focus should I go through it and edit it again.

I was worried that my dialogue was a bit, the same. The characters tend to have my voice and all sound the same. Two of my characters have distinctly different voices, but the rest? I wasn't sure.

Beta Readers

It's always scary giving your work to someone to read. I've given people snippets, but really, I'm the only person who has lived in this story. I've had a few people volunteer to read my novel. I'm so grateful that there are so many kind people willing to give up their valuable time to help me with my book. I aim to pay it forward.

The beta readers have the novel at the moment and I will be making changes depending on the feedback I get from them. I'm excited and nervous at the same time, wondering what they're going to say.

Part of me wants to have negative feedback so that I can act on it and improve my writing accordingly, but on the other hand, I want the readers to enjoy the story, find it page-turner-y and to connect with my characters. I want them to find the story immersive, entertaining and care about what's going to happen. But, that's only if my writing is good enough.

What's Next?

I'm going to spend a little time catching up on writing I've not been able to do because of this novel. I'm going to take a break from the novel for a week or so. It'll help me come back to it with fresh eyes after the beta readers have given me their feedback.

After that, I'm going to be researching agents to query. Once I have the feedback from the beta readers, I'll make changes accordingly and start querying.

Wish me luck?