Hi everyone, Posted here a while ago about beta readers. This has been my experience so far and to be honest this most recent one has messed up my plans a bit. First one- More than one alpha reader, really. A close friend who doesn’t read much. He said he liked it but didn’t give much comment other than that. Then it took me about a year to rewrite it 3 more times. Second Reddit Beta Reader. Incredible experience. He mentioned a few things that needed a little clarification. In short, he really liked the book and gave examples of everything he liked. This made me feel very hopeful that there is some potential here. Third- Girl from Fivver. Good experience too, although he found the main character’s language offensive. While I intentionally wrote the main character as a bit of an idiot, I don’t want him to be immediately looked down upon, so I changed a few things to make it less abrasive. He said that he initially had reservations about the character, but gradually discovered that he was more reasonable as the story unfolded. Also, he loved the ending. I could tell it was genuine too, as she was so stunned and excited when she discussed it afterward. So, I changed some of the minor things and removed some offensive lines. I then sent it to another beta reader hoping it just needed a bit of polishing before sending it to an agent. This was also from Fiverr. And she practically hated him. He did not like the writing style, as it parallels the mind of the schizophrenic protagonist. Switch between your thoughts, past experiences, and the current time, which is intentional. I italicize his thoughts and his conversations between dates. I put a page break between the current time and each flashback, as well as the transition between characters. The rest of the story, told by the narrator, has a traditional format. To be honest, I went through it for a confusing format and I find it very easy to follow. Also, the previous two readers found the format to be fine and one even mentioned that she really liked the style as it made the slower sections read much faster. I feel like it also breaks the monotony of “and then this happened”, “and then that”, “and then everyone lived happily ever after.” writing style that so many books have. Regardless, this beta reader didn’t like it. There was a flashback describing the death of a dog. I don’t feel like it’s that graphic, but she suggested that I delete the scene as it might upset readers. It’s a sad scene, to be sure, but it’s meant to invoke emotions. You would have to be a fucking psycho not to feel any of that scene. It also serves to show that the main character has a sense of compassion, as he is relatively invisible until then. For me and the other beta readers who liked that scene, it serves a purpose. But she didn’t feel it was necessary. I do not know. I was a bit surprised. He didn’t like the main character from the start, although I admit it, that’s intentional. However, I think I will have to redial it a bit. I don’t find it that offensive, but the women I read the beta to really don’t like the opening scene, and I can understand why. I’ve thought of a different direction that I can go that still makes me understand and I’ll be changing that scene for sure. I want the character to be a bit sarcastic. However, I don’t want them to look down on it. His advice here was good and I completely agree with him. Almost all the scenes that were included for symbolic purposes, he rejected as unimportant. Dreams that were highly relevant to the conclusion were included. He said that most were unnecessary and he did not understand why they were included. I can understand that I missed a few of these, or that I collected most of the tracks and didn’t see the whole picture, but I don’t think I’ve captured a single one, actually. This basically left me wondering how close he would read it, or if he treated it like a super fast payday and really had no desire to read the book for what it is. He really didn’t like the ending because … I’m not entirely sure why. It’s an amazing ending and I’m sure it’s one of the best book endings I’ve ever read. I don’t feel like this is me either biased. This has also been the feedback from previous readers. She admitted it wasn’t what she predicted, but said she also said she didn’t get the point of it ending that way. I have a full list of reasons why it should end the way you do, and I think each of them is very valid. She proposed a happier ending. This is where I realized that she doesn’t really understand the deeper meanings and concepts in this book. I’m not sure if he just missed a few things, or if he really didn’t mean to read it close enough to pick up on all the clues, symbolism, irony, etc., but his suggestion blew me away. She disagreed with the fact that the main character doesn’t follow a traditional character arc. It does not go from being imperfect, to being self-aware, to fixed. It is everywhere. In a way, he’s a great guy. In others, he is an idiot. He is on the verge of schizophrenia. He has trouble with his temper and very little self-control. It is a loose canon. A walking contradiction. But, underneath all of that, there are quite a few examples of him as a sensitive and compassionate individual. It transforms, but it is not a uniform transformation. It does not start badly and ends well. It starts with failures and ends with failures, but not in the same way that it started. He basically suggested that I rewrite all of this. Based on your feedback, you want it to have a happier ending and to show a sense of positive resolve within the main character. I don’t see the point in writing a book that ends in the same way that almost all other books end. So to sum it up, I was feeling pretty good about the potential of my book, but now I’m starting to wonder. This ruins my plans, for sure. I was planning to tweak a few things and then send it to the agents, but now I think I’ll send it to another beta reader. Also, I have to admit it. His feedback felt like a kick in the balls. I usually have pretty thick skin, but this really makes me wonder.
Hi everyone, Posted here a while ago about beta readers. This has been my experience so far and to be honest this most recent one has messed up my plans a bit. First one- More than one alpha reader, really. A close friend who doesn’t read much. He said he liked it but didn’t give much comment other than that. Then it took me about a year to rewrite it 3 more times. Second Reddit Beta Reader. Incredible experience. He mentioned a few things that needed a little clarification. In short, he really liked the book and gave examples of everything he liked. This made me feel very hopeful that there is some potential here. Third- Girl from Fivver. Good experience too, although he found the main character’s language offensive. While I intentionally wrote the main character as a bit of an idiot, I don’t want him to be immediately looked down upon, so I changed a few things to make it less abrasive. He said that he initially had reservations about the character, but gradually discovered that he was more reasonable as the story unfolded. Also, he loved the ending. I could tell it was genuine too, as she was so stunned and excited when she discussed it afterward. So, I changed some of the minor things and removed some offensive lines. I then sent it to another beta reader hoping it just needed a bit of polishing before sending it to an agent. This was also from Fiverr. And she practically hated him. He did not like the writing style, as it parallels the mind of the schizophrenic protagonist. Switch between your thoughts, past experiences, and the current time, which is intentional. I italicize his thoughts and his conversations between dates. I put a page break between the current time and each flashback, as well as the transition between characters. The rest of the story, told by the narrator, has a traditional format. To be honest, I went through it for a confusing format and I find it very easy to follow. Also, the previous two readers found the format to be fine and one even mentioned that she really liked the style as it made the slower sections read much faster. I feel like it also breaks the monotony of “and then this happened”, “and then that”, “and then everyone lived happily ever after.” writing style that so many books have. Regardless, this beta reader didn’t like it. There was a flashback describing the death of a dog. I don’t feel like it’s that graphic, but she suggested that I delete the scene as it might upset readers. It’s a sad scene, to be sure, but it’s meant to invoke emotions. You would have to be a fucking psycho not to feel any of that scene. It also serves to show that the main character has a sense of compassion, as he is relatively invisible until then. For me and the other beta readers who liked that scene, it serves a purpose. But she didn’t feel it was necessary. I do not know. I was a bit surprised. He didn’t like the main character from the start, although I admit it, that’s intentional. However, I think I will have to redial it a bit. I don’t find it that offensive, but the women I read the beta to really don’t like the opening scene, and I can understand why. I’ve thought of a different direction that I can go that still makes me understand and I’ll be changing that scene for sure. I want the character to be a bit sarcastic. However, I don’t want them to look down on it. His advice here was good and I completely agree with him. Almost all the scenes that were included for symbolic purposes, he rejected as unimportant. Dreams that were highly relevant to the conclusion were included. He said that most were unnecessary and he did not understand why they were included. I can understand that I missed a few of these, or that I collected most of the tracks and didn’t see the whole picture, but I don’t think I’ve captured a single one, actually. This basically left me wondering how close he would read it, or if he treated it like a super fast payday and really had no desire to read the book for what it is. He really didn’t like the ending because … I’m not entirely sure why. It’s an amazing ending and I’m sure it’s one of the best book endings I’ve ever read. I don’t feel like this is me either biased. This has also been the feedback from previous readers. She admitted it wasn’t what she predicted, but said she also said she didn’t get the point of it ending that way. I have a full list of reasons why it should end the way you do, and I think each of them is very valid. She proposed a happier ending. This is where I realized that she doesn’t really understand the deeper meanings and concepts in this book. I’m not sure if he just missed a few things, or if he really didn’t mean to read it close enough to pick up on all the clues, symbolism, irony, etc., but his suggestion blew me away. She disagreed with the fact that the main character doesn’t follow a traditional character arc. It does not go from being imperfect, to being self-aware, to fixed. It is everywhere. In a way, he’s a great guy. In others, he is an idiot. He is on the verge of schizophrenia. He has trouble with his temper and very little self-control. It is a loose canon. A walking contradiction. But, underneath all of that, there are quite a few examples of him as a sensitive and compassionate individual. It transforms, but it is not a uniform transformation. It does not start badly and ends well. It starts with failures and ends with failures, but not in the same way that it started. He basically suggested that I rewrite all of this. Based on your feedback, you want it to have a happier ending and to show a sense of positive resolve within the main character. I don’t see the point in writing a book that ends in the same way that almost all other books end. So to sum it up, I was feeling pretty good about the potential of my book, but now I’m starting to wonder. This ruins my plans, for sure. I was planning to tweak a few things and then send it to the agents, but now I think I’ll send it to another beta reader. Also, I have to admit it. His feedback felt like a kick in the balls. I usually have pretty thick skin, but this really makes me wonder.
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