I just made another pass through LEGACY and cleaned up all the little nits my betas picked. Again, this feels like such a fun part of the process. It allows me to collaborate with the people who enjoy these stories so that they’re even smoother and cleaner for the rest of you.
I have one reader that I’m dying to interview, much as I just did for Mike Tabor. This gentleman has a freaky intellect. A few weeks ago, I got an email from him with the subject line: “161 errors in the Wool series.”
Naturally, I was intrigued. I went through the enclosed document, scanned my manuscript, and realized how much better the work was going to be thanks to this reader’s input. I thanked him profusely and asked if he wanted an early crack at part 6 of this series.
He said that would be fine. I felt like a security analyst handing over some piece of code to a hacker. A week later, it came back completely disassembled. This time, I had 182 errors in a document one third the length.
I wish I could share this email with the world. It is freakin’ HILARIOUS. Like, laugh-out-loud funny. There’s no chance that anyone will derive as much enjoyment from my book as I enjoyed from this reader’s corrections of said book. My wife can tell you; she was sitting beside me and cracking up as I read his comments.
What really meant a lot, however, was the body of email that accompanied the attachment. This is a reader who enjoyed the Wool series but would give it a solid 4 stars out of 5. Entertaining, but not all that and a bag of chips. LEGACY, he says, made him a believer. After questioning whether the Silo Series deserves its gushing praise, he then began to gush. And call himself out on it.
This is just one of my awesome betas. I have had incredible feedback from several, and it is all encouraging. Thanks go to my wife, sister, and mother, who all insist on early reads. And also to Bob, Jill, Starr, and everyone that I’m leaving out. The story is better because of each of you.
Wow. The counter up there says six days. That makes me unbelievably nervous. But it means I have time for another pass or two…
14 replies to “My Awesome Betas!”