Autobiography in the works...needing help

Liam Hope

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I have exhausted myself in editing and re-editing my book on my own. I have not yet saved up enough for a professional editor. I am currently looking for places to post my rough draft and receive feedback, editorial feedback if possible. I'm not sure where to go or look though.
 

Siri Kirpal

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Sat Nam! (Literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

Since you've already got more than 50 posts, you can go into the Memoir section of Share Your Work--password is vista--and post a short section (no more than 2000 words) there. That area is for critiques. If you get a critique that feels right to you, PM the person and ask if he/she would like to beta read for you. A beta reader is a non-family member who reads for free, typically you respond by reading for them if asked.

There is also an area where you can post a thread requesting a beta reader; it's in the same section that's got the Bewares and Story Research.

Hope that helps.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal
 

AnnaPappenheim

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A bunch of (hopefully helpful) links

I have exhausted myself in editing and re-editing my book on my own. I have not yet saved up enough for a professional editor. I am currently looking for places to post my rough draft and receive feedback, editorial feedback if possible. I'm not sure where to go or look though.

I just read a How To book on self-publishing called APE (Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur), and they recommend Crowdspring: http://www.crowdspring.com

But this may be limited to art (cover art, web design, and logos). I'm not entirely sure.

I think maybe Crowdsource does editing in a similar concept as Crowdspring, but I could be wrong. I came across this website a little while ago and saved it to look into more at a later date. I believe you pay a fee.
http://www.crowdsource.com

You could also check with local colleges. The writing department. You could put up a flyer in the department (or on their website, if they have one for jobs) and ask for students to edit your book. You'd have to pay something though.

One thing I've read over and over again is to not skimp on editing-- that if you only spend money on one or two areas, have it be editing and cover design. Advice like, "Do not ask your friend who is a high school english teacher, do not ask a magazine editor to function as a book editor," and so on.

That being said, I too am mostly doing my own editing.

If you don't have a copy of Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, get it now. You can buy it used on Amazon for under $3.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/020530902X/?tag=absowrit-20

Might also want to pick up a copy of The Chicago Manual of Style:http://www.amazon.com/dp/0226104206/?tag=absowrit-20
It goes for as low as $30 used.

It does also have a quick facts sheet for a few dollars: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1423218604/?tag=absowrit-20


Some additional sites to check out (I hadn't remembered these when I mentioned the above sites, but these could actually be your best bet!):

Review Fuse: http://www.reviewfuse.com "Writing Group for Honest, Quality Feedback"

Writer's Cafe: http://www.writerscafe.org "The Online Writing Community"

Wettpad: https://www.wattpad.com

Figment: http://figment.com "Where writers write, meet, create, share, and connect"

Critique Circle: http://www.critiquecircle.com "Online Writing Workshop"


Good luck to you! I'd be interested to know how it goes, whichever path you take :)
 

Old Hack

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You could also check with local colleges. The writing department. You could put up a flyer in the department (or on their website, if they have one for jobs) and ask for students to edit your book. You'd have to pay something though.

One thing I've read over and over again is to not skimp on editing-- that if you only spend money on one or two areas, have it be editing and cover design. Advice like, "Do not ask your friend who is a high school english teacher, do not ask a magazine editor to function as a book editor," and so on.

Please don't rely on undergraduates to edit your book. No matter how talented they are, they are unlikely to understand what editing means, and they are unlikely to have the expertise to do it well even if they do know all that it involves.

That being said, I too am mostly doing my own editing.

You're doing your own revising. Editors edit, writers revise.

Pedantic? Moi? You bet.

If you don't have a copy of Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, get it now. You can buy it used on Amazon for under $3.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/020530902X/?tag=absowrit-20

Might also want to pick up a copy of The Chicago Manual of Style:http://www.amazon.com/dp/0226104206/?tag=absowrit-20
It goes for as low as $30 used.

Strunk and White was written to help students write and revise their papers. It has its uses outside academia: but it's not particularly well-suited to fiction; and both Strunk and White and the CMoS are really just elaborate style guides. They might help you with copyediting (although they're so complex they might not; and for them to help you you'd need to know what you don't know, which is a whole other issue) but they won't help you with proper editing, which requires both a deeper and a broader view.

Years ago I edited UK/US coeditions and had to refer to CMoS throughout. It was very detailed and useful when we were thrashing out how to use ellipses or dashes, or working out the best protocol for citations; but it was no help at all in deciding when a subject should be explained in more depth, or when an aspect of the book should be examined in from a different viewpoint, for example. Most readers will spot the problems CMoS can't help you with, but won't notice most of the things you refer to CMoS for; so is it worth using?

Some additional sites to check out (I hadn't remembered these when I mentioned the above sites, but these could actually be your best bet!):

Review Fuse: http://www.reviewfuse.com "Writing Group for Honest, Quality Feedback"

Writer's Cafe: http://www.writerscafe.org "The Online Writing Community"

Wettpad: https://www.wattpad.com

Figment: http://figment.com "Where writers write, meet, create, share, and connect"

Critique Circle: http://www.critiquecircle.com "Online Writing Workshop"


Good luck to you! I'd be interested to know how it goes, whichever path you take :)

AbsoluteWrite has its own critique rooms; don't forget.