Sometime last month I sent a preliminary draft of KMDC to a writer friend who has literally witnessed this project from the very beginning. And about a week ago I sent off the beta draft of KMDC to a few trusted ladies up in Boston. My parents currently have copies loaded on their kindles, and, to complete my Arsenal of Critique, I’ve enlisted another novelist in a trade of manuscripts. (the lovely J.M. Johnson, who you should follow on Twitter. Also, check our her blog).
So this is Beta Reading, huh?
It’s thrilling! My writer friend (of the first sentence of this post) got back to me recently after finishing the last page. We had a long, involved discussion about some of the finer nuances of the book that I desperately wanted a reader to notice. And he had noticed all of them. By the end of it I am fairly certain I was glowing (or at the very least, sparkling with zeal). Of course this same friend has also endured discussion after discussion about this book, mostly spewed from me rhetorically while we sit in a coffee shop, but so what? Feedback is feedback. This person in particular is immensely talented and has got one of the sharpest minds I know, and it was beyond affirming to hear my thoughts put into their own words.
While my betas are reading, I’m actually reading the same copy on my own kindle. It was important that I do my own read-through using something that won’t let me revise, because I am nearly compulsive in my instinct to redo things that I do not like. It’s also super painful, because SO much of the first third of this book needs to be tightened up. The descriptions are out of control. I like them, but they are too plentiful, and they’re also oddly placed. It’s too much and it breaks apart action. It’s also a bit insulting, as if I didn’t trust that the reader could retain details of a setting that were explained two pages ago.
My biggest hope is that my betas pick up on these bits of insult and let me know where they felt patronized. I’m also hoping that, through this sort of analysis, I’m able to cut out a chunk of the novel in description alone. A count of 130k words is overwhelming to most agents, probably, so if I can get somewhere in the 110k range I’ll be pleased.
It’s not likely. But my betas give me hope!
And now it’s time to go dig into J.M.’s book! I honestly cannot wait!