Editing, Betas & Gamma

Editing: brutal; betas: yes, please

It’s official! I’m seeking beta readers!

But are you really a beta reader at this point in my process? I had alpha readers and betas, then did the developmental editor edit. So, you might actually be a gamma reader, or even a delta reader.

Where Did I Start

I have all my renditions of this story saved in my “archives.”  Except for my first draft, though it might be on a backup drive. The opening has changed three times, well four, but the last one is more of a rewrite of what was there. The previous start points were different locations and different times.

Let me see if I can remember…they started: walking down a street, at a door, in a cab—all in New England. 🙄

The book now starts in California with a chainsaw. It’s a much better starting point. Better character building from the get-go.

Big Changes

I love my developmental editor and not only because she said great things about my world and writing (or at least most of it 🤣). She was able to pinpoint problems and explain why they were problems and give suggestions on ways to fix them.

• One: I didn’t have enough internal narration. Apparently, you all don’t know what’s in my or her head! DOH!

• Two: I cut a major side character and several minor characters. 

• Three: The Steamroller Effect—those changes ended up with me editing even the tiniest bits of words, you know, for cohesion.

Now, what we are all here for today: Be my Beta Reader! 🎉

Urban Fantasy, ~75k words, female protag

Katie, a gardener in California, inherits the family home in a New England seaside town. She hates to travel, but goes due to an odd stipulation in the will. Upon arrival, she discovers she’s also inherited magic, a ghost, and the family responsibility to save the world from an ancient evil.

This image was generated by dream.ai!

I’m using (testing) StoryOrigin for this read. It’s online and allows for inline comments and the usual stuff. But when I read the feedback, I can see everyone’s at once, which I think will make it much easier to manage.

What am I looking for?

Whatever you can give? If you like to read and get judgy about characters and plot. Cool. Do you love finding typos and overused words? Okay. This will be the last reading (🙏). I want to make sure after the big edits, I didn’t mess something up and miss it!

Check it out and ask to beta read here: https://storyoriginapp.com/betacopies/45529088-6e6f-4a13-9ccf-2cc3dd402e28

Questions? Comments? Would you like more on StoryOrgin or editing? Let me know.