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FEEDBACK FOR 40K WORD MEMOIR

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JamesJeanPierre

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Received the manuscript back from the editor for a developmental edit. I took a look at it and fixed it up to the best of my abilities, but would like to get some feedback on the book from someone else. It's a 40k word memoir.

BLURB:

I can’t go to my grave with so much on my chest, but you will find discovering the truth might be more than one can take.

Growing up as a child, James had many friends. He was your average, curious and playful kid, who could make you smile in times of despair. The black sheep of the family, his father saw great things in him, though he was the youngest of three.

But in reality he was far from normal.

Tormented by demons and consumed by his mental illness, holding on to a life because of a promise. His smile buried the key to the rusty red door. The sick child with a bizarre past. The outside world knew nothing of his living nightmares; an abusive household and unstable mind sent him to the world of dreams.

If I can get some feedback on the book that would be great. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE INTERESTED.

BOOK CONTAINS MATURE MATERIAL.

Thank you in advance for your time.
 
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Maryn

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Whoa, there. I understand enthusiasm and wanting to get your own work into the best shape one can, and I get not knowing how this community works when you just arrived, but I urge you to slow down.

I'm sure you're a perfectly nice person and a good writer and all, but I don't know you. A beta read takes many hours at a minimum, more time that many of us are willing to give to someone who's a stranger. Way too many times, people arrive here, get their beta reads, and disappear, never doing any betaing for others or interacting as a part of our writing community.

I urge you to offer your time and skills as a beta reader for others and to critique works at the Share Your Work board of any genre you read, including what you write. People will be far more likely to do you this large favor if they've seen you do large favors for others.

Maryn, hoping you'll stick around and become a part of the community
 

JamesJeanPierre

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Whoa, there. I understand enthusiasm and wanting to get your own work into the best shape one can, and I get not knowing how this community works when you just arrived, but I urge you to slow down.

I'm sure you're a perfectly nice person and a good writer and all, but I don't know you. A beta read takes many hours at a minimum, more time that many of us are willing to give to someone who's a stranger. Way too many times, people arrive here, get their beta reads, and disappear, never doing any betaing for others or interacting as a part of our writing community.

I urge you to offer your time and skills as a beta reader for others and to critique works at the Share Your Work board of any genre you read, including what you write. People will be far more likely to do you this large favor if they've seen you do large favors for others.

Maryn, hoping you'll stick around and become a part of the community
Understood, I been a member for a little while. I just haven't made the time to participate like I should. And I do understand that people are busy also, I appreciate the heads up. I'll try my best to participate more. Thanks again.
 

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Just received the manuscript back from the editor for a developmental edit. I took a look at it and fixed it up to the best of my abilities, but would like to get some feedback on the book from someone else. It's a 40k word memoir about a boy who lets his curiosity take things too far, dark secrets that's finally revealed.

If I can get some feedback on the book before jan 15 before the giveaway that would be great. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE INTERESTED.

BOOK CONTAINS MATURE MATERIAL.

Thank you in advance for your time.

My bold.

If you posted when you had only just received your first round of developmental edits, and are now planning on entering your book into a giveaway on January 15, you're really rushing this.

You need more time to make sure your book is the best it can be.
 

JamesJeanPierre

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Yea, i'm shifting things around. I figure I could look for beta readers while the giveaway is running. I found one person to help me with that so far which is good, but i'm up 18 hours a day working on everything that has to do with the book.

But you are right, I am rushing, but just a tiny bit lol. It's just getting the feedback, but everything else is coming along.

I'm going to edit the post so that way its up to date. Thank you.
 

cornflake

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Yea, i'm shifting things around. I figure I could look for beta readers while the giveaway is running. I found one person to help me with that so far which is good, but i'm up 18 hours a day working on everything that has to do with the book.

But you are right, I am rushing, but just a tiny bit lol. It's just getting the feedback, but everything else is coming along.

I'm going to edit the post so that way its up to date. Thank you.

Wait, you're going to look for beta readers while giving away the book? How would that work?
 

Old Hack

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Yea, i'm shifting things around. I figure I could look for beta readers while the giveaway is running. I found one person to help me with that so far which is good, but i'm up 18 hours a day working on everything that has to do with the book.

But you are right, I am rushing, but just a tiny bit lol. It's just getting the feedback, but everything else is coming along.

I'm going to edit the post so that way its up to date. Thank you.

What are you hoping to achieve with your giveaway? And where are you advertising it?

If you run a giveaway to readers before you've even had the book looked at by several good beta-readers the people who win the giveaway are going to get a substandard book. They'll remember that if they ever see another of your books; and they'll tell people that your book wasn't good.

This is not a good plan.
 

JamesJeanPierre

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:) I know it sounds bad, but it's not. Like I said, the book has been professionally edited, so I don't plan on putting out something crappy. I have looked over it and i'm still looking over it again with a few friends. I have estimated things to give me enough time if it backfires to have enough money saved to get a professional to give me a critique. I know it's risky, but I have to trust in myself and what i'm doing. - So far it's neutral, but I don't stay up most of the day doing nothing. I have it on my website and on facebook, but it starts on the 15 of january.
 

Cathy C

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:Huh: I'm confused. You say you had it professionally edited but are saving up money to pay for a critique? Why would you pay for both an edit and a critique and still want betas? If you hired a professional editor and paid the standard fee, a critique and betas is going backwards.
 

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I hope you're not offering to pay for reviews: paid-for reviews are unethical, and mostly ineffective too. You're not likely to get an honest review if you pay for it; and the reviewers who people listen to, and whose words will directly affect your sales, require a good few months' lead-time to get their reviews out.
 

JamesJeanPierre

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Let me start over lol. I'm not paying for reviews, I wouldn't do that. The book isn't published yet, the release date is march 4.

I had a developmental edit done, but would like to find some betas to get some feedback, if I end up not finding any betas, I'm saving for a critique or a simple proof read. sorry, i'm terrible at explaining the simple things lol. Hope that makes sense.
 

Cathy C

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Okay, I think what's happening here is that you're not familiar with the terminology that the rest of us are using. So:

Developmental edit = Edititorial process which discusses the bones of the story. It deals with characterization, flow, plot holes, order of the story, subplots, etc. Also called a line edit, style edit, substantive edit, or first pass edit and is done as a letter with suggestions of large things, with specific things done in the form of a line-by-line (such as, "Page 87, Line 14, you call this character Bob, where he's been Robert until now.") and sometimes comments in track changes on the manuscript. The price is normally two cents to five cents per word.

Copyedit = Editorial process that deals with the mechanics of the wording. Grammar, composition, punctuation, spelling, word choice and consistency are dealt with in this edit. Also called a "second-pass" edit. I think this might be what you're referring to as a "critique." It's not. The price is normally one cent to two and a half cents per word.

Critique = Sort of a developmental edit, but usually done by a beta, another author or a lay person. It's an opinion in the form of an email or letter with suggestions of what a person sees, usually of a portion of the book. I've done critiques of partials or fulls, but in no way is a critique either a style/developmental edit or a copyedit. There isn't always a per cent cost for this, but it is something that can be purchased at auctions or other findraisers or from editors for a fixed price not related to length.

Proofread = Reading of a typeset book, to check for typos, misplaced punctuation, missing words and such that sometimes only appear when the margins narrow and other formatting changes alter the appearance of the manuscript, and redlines are removed from the manuscript. Often called "galley proof", "third-pass" or "final pass" review. Proofreading isn't an edit unless something is noticed that was accidentally edited out and needs to be corrected. Price is usually a half cent to one and a half cent per word.

Beta = A read by a reader, sometimes a fan of a series, or sometimes just a friend or willing person. It usually is just "I like this/didn't like this" or "This part didn't make sense to me." It's not collaborative and doesn't purport to help explain what might be wrong, if something is. There's no fee for this unless you agree beforehand.

Review = post publication read to give a "like/dislike" opinion to buying readers with a description, sometimes in-depth. There can be fees for this but it's not the preferred method to get reviews.

All changes except copyedits are left to the author to fix or decide how to fix. Copyedits are still up to the author as far as word choice, but a copy editor will actually touch the text and edit on the page. The others do not, paid or not (or shouldn't if they are a professional editor).

Does that help?

Based on this, what have you already had done and what are you looking to have done?
 
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Marian Perera

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Let me start over lol. I'm not paying for reviews, I wouldn't do that. The book isn't published yet, the release date is march 4.

I had a developmental edit done, but would like to find some betas to get some feedback, if I end up not finding any betas, I'm saving for a critique or a simple proof read. sorry, i'm terrible at explaining the simple things lol. Hope that makes sense.

I guess I'm confused because I got the impression you're doing a giveaway of this book.

A giveaway of a book that hasn't been published and which you feel you still need feedback/a proofread on.

I don't understand why you're doing this. I plan to do giveaways with my books when they're released, but the purpose of that will be to draw attention to them, and ideally a few of the people who don't win the giveaway might be interested enough to buy the book. But if your book isn't published and may need further editing... there's something I'm not getting here.
 

JamesJeanPierre

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It helps. Ok, I had a developmental edit done on the book. I looked over the book when I got it back and got a second opinion from a friend. Since I don't have the money for a proofread, I am looking for a beta reader so I can get their opinion. What I really need is a beta reader to get another pair of eyes, mainly for the first few chapters.

Marian Perera

I am running a giveaway, the book is not published. Honestly, to explain it wouldn't make sense.

But isn't it better to run a giveaway before the book is released, when it's edited and formatted. Reviews you ask for at least 3 months ahead to give the reviewer time and the giveaway you do a month before the book is released, so you can get word of mouth and that also can add to the reviews.

See, I just need an opinion on a few chapters. The book is good to go, but I was told by the editor some of the book lacks emotion. She's probably right because I have problems with that in life which doesn't allow me to get into my feelings, such as sympathy, sadness etc. Its hard for me to feel these things at this point in my life. It's not that I can't or choose not to, it's because in the past I let myself fall to a place thats made me a bit bipolar and heartless/empty. So to be able to put my feelings in certain places in the book makes it difficult, Not impossible, but really difficult. This would be one of those things someone would have to feel to understand, because when it's explained it sounds like something else; especially when i'm not that good at explaining things LOL.
 

Marian Perera

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I am running a giveaway, the book is not published. Honestly, to explain it wouldn't make sense.

But isn't it better to run a giveaway before the book is released, when it's edited and formatted. Reviews you ask for at least 3 months ahead to give the reviewer time and the giveaway you do a month before the book is released, so you can get word of mouth and that also can add to the reviews.

I've never done a giveaway before a book is released, because I'd like it if people thought, "hey, this book sounds interesting. Buy!"

Rather than, "hey, this book sounds interesting. Oh, have to wait for a month. All right, I'll find something else to read that's available now."

Let us know how your strategy goes in terms of reviews or sales.
 

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It helps. Ok, I had a developmental edit done on the book. I looked over the book when I got it back

Hang on. Did your editor make changes to your book for you? Because a good editor shouldn't do that. A good editor should point out problems and potential problems in a book, and where appropriate suggest ways in which you could address those problems; but it should be up to you to decide what to do about those problems, and to make any and all changes required. If all you did was look the book over when you got it back, I wonder if your editor has actually rewritten the book for you. Which wouldn't be good at all.

and got a second opinion from a friend. Since I don't have the money for a proofread, I am looking for a beta reader so I can get their opinion. What I really need is a beta reader to get another pair of eyes, mainly for the first few chapters.

Are the first few chapters more problematical than the rest?

A few beta readers might well help, but you won't get as good a job done with beta readers as you'd get with a good copy editor. Still, many self publishers make this same choice, and do ok; and it's your book, so it really is up to you how you proceed.

I am running a giveaway, the book is not published. Honestly, to explain it wouldn't make sense.

To be blunt, I don't think running a giveaway with a book which hasn't been appropriately edited, and which you know has mistakes, makes good sense.

But isn't it better to run a giveaway before the book is released, when it's edited and formatted. Reviews you ask for at least 3 months ahead to give the reviewer time and the giveaway you do a month before the book is released, so you can get word of mouth and that also can add to the reviews.

So you're doing this to try to get reviews? Just as trade publishers send ARCs to reviewers? I am beginning to understand, I think.

If you send out an unedited book then you have to make clear that it is likely to be changed prior to publication--in other words, that it's an ARC, not a final copy.

Running a giveaway is more usually done with finished copies, closer to publication. You want a lot of your potential readers to hear about your book through the giveaway, see a few (glowing, we hope) reviews for it, and then decide they're going to put their money down and just buy it already. If you run this giveaway too soon before publication they'll have forgotten about it by the time it hits the shelves.

See, I just need an opinion on a few chapters. The book is good to go, but I was told by the editor some of the book lacks emotion. She's probably right because I have problems with that in life which doesn't allow me to get into my feelings, such as sympathy, sadness etc. Its hard for me to feel these things at this point in my life. It's not that I can't or choose not to, it's because in the past I let myself fall to a place thats made me a bit bipolar and heartless/empty. So to be able to put my feelings in certain places in the book makes it difficult, Not impossible, but really difficult. This would be one of those things someone would have to feel to understand, because when it's explained it sounds like something else; especially when i'm not that good at explaining things LOL.

So you don't need a proof reader at all at this stage; you do want beta readers. Because you're worried that your book has problems which will stop your readers engaging with it.

This is something you need to fix BEFORE you run any giveaways, BEFORE you try to get reviews, BEFORE you attempt to promote it at all. In fact, it's something you need to fix before you commit yourself to any sort of publishing schedule. Seriously. It has the potential to be a huge problem for your book, and you need to make sure you've got to grips with it before you take your book any closer to publication, or you'll be shooting yourself in the foot.
 

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I'll read the first few chapters for you. I'll PM you my email.
 

JamesJeanPierre

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My apologies for taking so long to respond, been bouncing around on two projects.
I haven't taken the time to learn how to quote multiply replies, so I apologize about that also.

"Marian Perera"
You do have a point. That's how things were suppose to play out. I planned it 6 months ahead, but as life goes, things changed. So I did what any author would do when things happen, I shifted things to run as smooth as possible. I pushed the release day back once, I didn't want to do that again, especially when i've given myself so much time, but i'll let you know how it goes.

"Old Hack"

QUOTE:
Hang on. Did your editor make changes to your book for you? Because a good editor shouldn't do that. A good editor should point out problems and potential problems in a book, and where appropriate suggest ways in which you could address those problems; but it should be up to you to decide what to do about those problems, and to make any and all changes required. If all you did was look the book over when you got it back, I wonder if your editor has actually rewritten the book for you. Which wouldn't be good at all.

Lol, no, Though I still have a lot to learn. At first i thought that's what she was suppose to do and I look at it afterwards, but thats not what happened. It took me two weeks, so when I say "look over it," I don't mean just look over it.

For the first few chapters, I had to dig deep in my memory to relive things that I tried to forget. I can't connect with certain things in the book and even in life, because of the way I am now. So it lacks a bit of emotion, because it's so far back and I go blank emotionally when I have to write certain things.

Though I am a bit behind on a few things, I think they're minor.
My bookmarks has many folders with a long lists of months of research of reviewers, giveaway host, author interviewers, and many other things needed. Because plans shifted I know things won't go out with a bang, but I think i'll do fine. I feel the book is ready, but i am the author, so I wanted to reassure myself on certain parts of the book.

It's a bit too late, Lol. The months moved on me quick and because life hit, i'm running behind. The release date is march 4. Two months from then, i'll let ya'll know how it went.

I did have a list of forums, but I cancelled that out, because I didn't want to spam people. I'm happy I came back to this one, because ya'll been really helpful. I really appreciate it - THANK YOU.
 
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