{"id":1756,"date":"2016-02-19T11:37:37","date_gmt":"2016-02-19T10:37:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.actnocturnal.com\/?p=1756"},"modified":"2022-02-12T21:08:21","modified_gmt":"2022-02-12T20:08:21","slug":"beta-citaoci","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.anagord.com\/en\/beta-citaoci\/","title":{"rendered":"Realizing The Preciousness Of Your Manuscript With Beta Readers"},"content":{"rendered":"

(or who are beta readers and critique partners and how to get them talkin’)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

One of the challenges of content quality today is product digitalization. You take a photo, add a filter or two and all of a sudden you’re a Helmut frickin’ Newton.\u00a0Drone camera shoots a movie scene that is later put in a slow motion and you get The Matrix. Or you just enter a reality show and become a new Marlon Brando<\/a>. It all looks so, so fabulous. It’s similar when it comes to writing texts. People that type on the computer often think their text is perfect. Letters are all the same and it’s all even on a shiny paper (and you typed with your own hands). But although it may seem nice on the screen, it doesn’t mean it’s actually any good. <\/p>\n

In the last century, it was much easier to spot a\u00a0mistake because\u00a0written or machine typed text didn’t look so neat and it required to be altered aesthetically. And if you write something, it is really, really important that after writing – your read your\u00a0text again. Then leave it for couple of hours (or better days) and re-read it again. Don’t let yourself be fooled by the illusion of perfection. And practice your writing<\/a>. Because only after a couple of reading and rewriting, congratulations – you will have your first draft. And at times when it seems that speed is the most important thing, this can be a huge challenge. But if you want quality, then usually all you need is – time. Therefore, take your time. Don’t compromise quality for speed. Don’t be hasty and read what you wrote<\/strong>. Writing a quality text, book or script requires patience. And comfortable chair.<\/p>\n

So if you have written a book (or scenario) and you want to have a better text quality, wait before you publish<\/a>. You are not even close to the end. Because now your work needs – beta readers.<\/p>\n

Beta readers<\/strong>\u00a0are people who read your text\/book\/script before it is released to the public (or before you take it to a professional editor). Beta readers evaluate your work, judging solely on their subjective impression. After reading your book, they give you feedback and say what they think about characters, is there something that annoys or confuses them, whether your book is boring etc. Beta readers are really just plain readers<\/strong> who aren’t telling you what to correct\u00a0but to give you their opinion on the read material<\/strong>. Thus, you practically ask unknown people to criticize you and look for mistakes in your work.<\/p>\n

But, but, but… Yes. I understand. Why on earth would anyone want to have (those hideous) beta readers?!<\/p>\n

First of all, given that a\u00a0work of a (creative) writer is pretty lonely<\/del>\u00a0isolated and you look at things strictly from your own perspective, you cannot see many things. Beta readers easily point out facts that you just didn’t pay attention to.<\/p>\n

If you are not interested in other people’s perspective (because you are the smartest person on this planet), beta readers can also give you their impression of the text. And no, beta readers are not here to wildly praise your writing talent. What they are doing is actually called constructive criticism<\/strong>. And that will help your text to become perfect before it is presented to the world.<\/p>\n

\"beta<\/a><\/p>\n

Of course, it’s never easy to hear constructive criticism. Or any other kind of criticism. Writing is often an intimate experience and that’s why it can be really difficult for writers and people who create to talk about their work. While writing,\u00a0we get emotionally attached to the text and we can lose confidence if someone says that something is not good in our work. But if you really want to know more about your book, bite the bullet and allow people to read it. When someone finds an\u00a0(obvious) mistake that you didn’t notice because you were too subjective, it will be productive to get criticism immediately – that is, before\u00a0it’s published (i.e. being embarrassed on time).<\/p>\n

Besides\u00a0beta readers, there are also group of people called\u00a0critique partners<\/strong>. Critique partners are writers<\/strong> with whom you can exchange your book to get a bit more professional insight<\/strong> into your text. As your work is read by buddies who write themselves, in addition to their opinion on the text, they can also provide insights that beta readers just don’t recognise (e.g. they can further assess grammar, spelling, intonation, tense, point of view, way of\u00a0storytelling etc.). Critique partners are also valuable because they simply better understand the process of writing and can give you more ideas on how to improve your text.<\/p>\n

If future big writers wonder why (when there are\u00a0critique partners) are mere mortals asked for an opinion, the answer is simple. Because it is these mortals that will read (and buy!) your book.<\/p>\n

Where and how to find beta readers?<\/h4>\n