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Sep. 10th, 2006 09:59 pmMy Winchester-map-novel-written-at-Varuna has reached a new stage, despite the fact that I spent most of today in bed wondering what on earth I did to earn such aches and pains. (addendum: the aches and pains weren't novel related. Just to be clear.)
For the first time with a novel, I have braved beta readers. I find I have to announce it even though you all know perfectly well that all but one of them volunteered through this blog. The other one was a complete stranger solicited through my mother, because I wanted to test Peter Bishop's idea that this novel might be a bit more popular in style than my other writing and might (perhaps) have more market value. Oddly, the Medieval side has attracted more "I like this" than the chat show notion, but both seem to work so I'm not complaining.
I have good beta readers, too. Thoughtful and intelligent and nigh-on perfect. Except that the three sets of comments I have back don't overlap except in their like of my book. Each of them has different likes and entirely different ideas on what I need to do to improve my novel. And I *do* need to improve it. Sending a first draft to a publisher is such a stupid thing to do.
Well, the first thing I will do is re-read and reduce the number of typos. I haven't been able to type accurately since I managed to attract a bad dose of RSI and so I am always haunted by idiotic errors that look avoidable but - in fact - aren't. Correctable rather than avoidable. When editors get a manuscript of mine as a submission they don't know just how many times I've been through to reduce the number of errors my loss of fine motor skills create.
Maybe while I do this the magic concept that links three *very* different readers' reports together will infiltrate my brain and I can do a proper edit. It's exciting though, that three entirely different individuals like what they read for entirely different reasons. I am bouncing up and down as much as my fluishness permits.
I need a new title for the novel. "Worlds touch" is just so ... wrong. It's technically accurate, but it doesn't communicate spitting kittens and flooding crypts.
For the first time with a novel, I have braved beta readers. I find I have to announce it even though you all know perfectly well that all but one of them volunteered through this blog. The other one was a complete stranger solicited through my mother, because I wanted to test Peter Bishop's idea that this novel might be a bit more popular in style than my other writing and might (perhaps) have more market value. Oddly, the Medieval side has attracted more "I like this" than the chat show notion, but both seem to work so I'm not complaining.
I have good beta readers, too. Thoughtful and intelligent and nigh-on perfect. Except that the three sets of comments I have back don't overlap except in their like of my book. Each of them has different likes and entirely different ideas on what I need to do to improve my novel. And I *do* need to improve it. Sending a first draft to a publisher is such a stupid thing to do.
Well, the first thing I will do is re-read and reduce the number of typos. I haven't been able to type accurately since I managed to attract a bad dose of RSI and so I am always haunted by idiotic errors that look avoidable but - in fact - aren't. Correctable rather than avoidable. When editors get a manuscript of mine as a submission they don't know just how many times I've been through to reduce the number of errors my loss of fine motor skills create.
Maybe while I do this the magic concept that links three *very* different readers' reports together will infiltrate my brain and I can do a proper edit. It's exciting though, that three entirely different individuals like what they read for entirely different reasons. I am bouncing up and down as much as my fluishness permits.
I need a new title for the novel. "Worlds touch" is just so ... wrong. It's technically accurate, but it doesn't communicate spitting kittens and flooding crypts.