Guest Blogger - Beta Reading - Lucia Brucoli

 

 

The Beta Reading Process

Up until the beta reading stage, all writing is private. And, after the heartache and exhaustion of drafting and revising, we’d like nothing more than to be finally published. But none of the steps in either traditional or self publishing can be done yet: we must first go through the beta reading process.

After a while of re-reading your book, you know the story so well that you can no longer look at it objectively. A beta reader is someone you ask to read your book to give feedback from a potential reader’s perspective. They offer a fresh point of view, and give you a rough idea of whether or not your book is even ready to be published. Additionally, sharing ideas with them will build meaningful relationships, and so you’ll have additional support, maybe so much that they might become part of your launch team. But even before all this, stories need quantitative and qualitative feedback, and beta readers can give both. This stage cannot be skipped.

My novel was a YA science fiction dystopian novel set in a futuristic England. So, right from the get-go I knew I needed certain perspectives: people who live/d in England; physics and chemistry experts to double-check technology; SFF readers; and teenagers. I also wanted to ask people who had supported me during the whole process, including teachers and relatives, to read, so I added them in my list of betas as well. Without knowing it I had just chosen a wide range of people, and based on their later feedback I pinpointed my target readers.

But before sending the email to ask if they could be my beta readers, I had to be clear on how it was going to work, so to both be sure they gave me the feedback on what I wanted them to, and to respect their time. Something I did was deciding to send them everything during summer vacation since most of them were teachers and students who had a few months of break. Then came the decision on what medium to use: I settled on surveymonkey, where I could send our questionnaires that I would link to at the end of each chapter.

I began making identical surveys for each chapter, all cluttered with questions. However, it’s better to keep them short and focus questions on potential negatives: readers aren’t here to compliment you. My questions at the end of each chapter were:

• Was there anything confusing? If so, what?

• Was there anything boring? If so, what?

• Was there anything else you disliked?

In addition to these, every five chapters I asked if they were invested in the story so far. On the end-of-book questionnaire, I went a bit more in-depth:

• What do you think of the title? Do you have any other suggestions?

• What did you think of the characters?

• What did you think of the plot? Is there anything you still don’t understand?

• On a scale from one to five, how would you rate this manuscript?

• Any additional feedback?

When I sent out the emails, I made it a point to specify to keep an eye out for characters and plot.

Once I sent out the emails, most people I asked agreed to read. And so, came the gruelling process of sending out my manuscript, leaving it with them for two months, and then receiving feedback.

The first big mistake I made was I didn’t suggest the survey to everyone. I was hesitant to be assertive in how I wanted feedback, and so I told them they could respond on surveymonkey, write directly on the word documents, or message me privately. Though I had good intentions with this, the result wasn’t so great. As well as the obvious multi-platform disorganization, some people even responded on two or more platforms, confounding results as it seemed there was more unity in feedback than what actually was. Many people also gave their feedback in late, which contributed to the general chaos that was trying to understand the feedback. I greatly recommend anyone in this stage to only have one place for the feedback, and to enforce a specific deadline. It’s good to be flexible and understanding, but so is not having additional stress that could’ve been prevented.

Now, a bit of tough love: nobody will care about your book as much as you do, so you have to grow some thick skin and accept that there will be criticism. People are usually reading because they care about you, not necessarily your story. This was proven for me when out of the people who agreed to read, I only received responses from half of them. But that was enough.

Responses ranged from people who asked insightful and provocative questions about my plot, to one person only saying “this is boring”. But everything helps, and even though it was frustrating to go through vague responses, I tried to remember that people who were beta reading for me were doing a huge favor. It took a bit, but I finally ‘gave up’ and made it a point to be more flexible with time and being okay if things didn’t always go along my schedule. However, there were good reasons: I had to change the entire science section of the book to be based off physics instead of chemistry; plot holes surfaced; there were some character traits I cleared up. And none of it would’ve been possible without these dedicated people. I owe them everything.

All this was an arduous process, and it made me realize just how bad I am in receiving criticism: I still am. But, after a lot of research and a conversation with my mom, I like to think I improved. I’ll more fully describe how to deal with criticism in another article, so make sure to check our my website, www.luciabrucoli.com, if you’re interested in that! In a nutshell, my main issues were taking everything too personally, and letting my pride get in way. I dealt with the former by recognizing that when people criticized the story, they weren’t criticizing me as a person. Of course I am fully responsible for everything I say in the story, but we are still separate entities. This helped resolving the latter, when I realized that it wasn’t a competition, and people wouldn’t think less of me if I corrected my mistakes.

No matter which process you use, always remember that you will make mistakes: it’s a natural part of writing and life, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Just remember that after the heartache and all the hours of work you put in, it’ll be worth it because you’re doing what you love.

Join Joey here on the blog on Fridays for interviews, reviews and guest bloggers. If you'd be interested in doing any of those, you can contact Joey here.

Guest Blog: What Indie Authors Should Know About Book Design - Desiree Villena

What Indie Authors Need to Know About Book Design

As an indie author, you’ll know you’re not just a writer. You’ve got to handle all sides of designing, producing, and marketing your book yourself — which is why you need to understand the basics of exterior and interior book design.

In an ideal world, readers wouldn’t care about what’s on the cover of your book, or how your text is formatted; they’d concentrate exclusively on the prose. But book appearance does matter because it can act as a magnet for new readers. That’s not to say that a beautiful book without substance would succeed on the basis of appearance alone. Still, if you’ve written a great book and paid little attention to the design, you may be doing yourself a disservice.

As manager of your own author brand, there are two sides to book design you need to be aware of. We’ll start with the first thing readers will see: your book cover design.

Book Cover Design

Your cover is super important! It doesn’t just make your book aesthetically pleasing — it contains a lot of implicit but crucial information about what kind of story a reader can expect.

Ideally, you want your cover to clearly communicate your genre. This can be done through typography (like a serif/sans serif font or hand-drawn lettering by a professional), the cover art itself, and the “copy” on the cover — in other words, the promotional blurbs.

To test the effectiveness of your cover, you can show it to acquaintances who don’t know what the book is about and ask them to take an honest guess about the genre and story. They don’t have to pick up on every single detail. But if you’ve written a romance novel and they think it’s a crime thriller, you’ll know you need to make some serious cover adjustments.

The best place to start brainstorming about cover design is, of course, the Internet. Look up authors writing in your genre and take some notes about the appearance of their covers — you’re trying to appeal to the same audience, so you can take inspiration from how another professional has attracted readers. Depending on whether you’re planning to sell print copies of your book or ebooks only, you’ll also need to look into the different dimensions demanded by your chosen format.

No matter which decisions you make, remember to aim for a balance between a sparse and a hectically busy cover. Not every bit of blank space has to be filled. Similarly, unless you’re going for a purposefully minimalist look, your cover should include something beyond the title and your name.

I know, design concerns are a lot to take in. If you can afford to, the best thing you can do is consult or hire a professional designer, who will ensure that your book looks professional enough to compete with well-established authors. (They’ll also take charge of various important practical matters, e.g. the cover’s file format and resolution, as well as color requirements for printing).

Finally, remember that the exterior of your book isn’t just the front cover: you’ll have to factor in the spine and back of the book as well. The back cover is an excellent place to curate reviews along with a quick synopsis. This shouldn’t give too much away, and its tone should reflect that of your story. You’re a writer, so use your craft to make this copy pitch-perfect!

Interior Design

Of course, it’s not all about the cover. Book design, when done well, should maintain a consistent level of professionalism on both the outside and the inside of your book.

Make sure nothing distracts your reader from the words on the page. Unlike on the cover, the focus with your interior designer falls on the text itself. You don’t want your audience to be squinting at a loopy Monotype Corsiva font, or wondering why there’s so much empty space between words.

To achieve that, you’ll want a clean font and a professional-level typesetting software (something better than Microsoft Word) to ensure that your font, spacing, margins and pagination are all flawlessly in place. A professional typesetter can also help with this, but for most authors, research and a solid piece of DIY software will suffice — and if you only have the budget for a pro cover designer or a pro interior designer, you should choose the former.

There’s nothing more satisfying than holding a flawlessly designed book and knowing that your hard work paid off. Now that you understand book design a little better, your project will open up to so many new possibilities! Assuming you’re finished editing the prose, your next focus in the process of publishing your book should be marketing it to the best of your abilities. Do that, and you’ll be on your way to becoming a successful author in no time!

Join Joey here on the blog on Fridays for interviews, reviews and guest bloggers. If you'd be interested in doing any of those, you can contact Joey here.

Guest Blog - Joy Jones - 5 Practical Tips For Writers

"Planning to write is not writing.  Outlining... researching, talking to people about what you're doing, none of that is writing.  Writing is writing.”            -E. L. Doctorow                                            

Everybody says they want to write a book. Great idea, but it needs to be supported with some solid practices. Here are some that have proven their worth in my own work.

• Make a habit of writing. Keep a journal. Always have a project in progress. If you can't write a lot, then write a little. Early in my writing career, I felt that I had to set aside big blocks of time to do my work. That’s good if you can manage that, but I can seldom manage to do that. So, I write when I can. Over time, the words, the phrases, the pages add up. Eventually, you have a completed work.
• What are you scared to talk about? That may be the very thing that you need to write about. Good writing tips into the issues that are deep and meaningful. Working through what your place in the world is and what your personal issues are often resonants with others.
• Join a writer's group. Being around others who are writing encourages you to keep going. I know I would not have finished my novel if I had not been in a writing group. Knowing that I have to produce a chapter at the next meeting spurs me to get that chapter written. Especially since I have to read and critique the work of everyone else in the group. No way am I going to read your work and miss out on having my work read and reviewed, too!
• Read. Read books within the genre you wish to publish.  Read books on the writing life.  Read just for the sheer pleasure of it.  Some of my favorites:

◦ If You Want to Write, by Brenda Ueland

◦ Walking on Alligators, by Susan Shaugnessy

◦ Writing Down the Bones, by Natalie Goldberg

Stein on Writing by Sol Stein

• Understand the market. Write about the things that capture your interest and stir your passion but be sure to ask the hard question - "Who will pay money to read this?" - in order to identify a market for your work. Some writing is just for you. Some writing is for the public. Once, a friend who likes writing poetry asked me where could he get a collection of poems published. “Where do you buy poetry?” I asked him. The answer was, he didn’t buy poetry. He wrote poems but never read the poetry of others. His words - as is much poetry - were mostly for his own soul. There’s not a large market for poems. So, if he wants to get published, he needs to study the market to see what people really want and actually buy. You need to do the same thing.

• Don't be envious.  Sometimes there’s a bit of professional jealousy among writers when someone is successful. I’m guilty of feeling, “Why him, and not me?” Use that energy to prod yourself forward. Tell yourself “If she can do it, so can I.” There's enough for everybody. Your progress won't be diminished by someone else's success.

• And finally, pay attention to that still, small voice.  That's the best guide for figuring out what the next step is.

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Joy Jones is a trainer, performance poet, playwright and author of several books including Private Lessons: A Book of Meditations for Teachers; and Tambourine Moon, Her latest book is Fearless Public Speaking. If you like observing the creative process in progress, check out interviews with artists of every variety on her Instagram feed on Fridays at #joyjones1433.

You can follow Joy on Instagram and Twitter.

Join Joey here on the blog on Fridays for interviews, reviews and guest bloggers. If you'd be interested in doing any of those, you can contact Joey here

Guest Blog - Sandra Robinson

Recently I paid a visit to Claire House on the Wirral.

Claire House Children’s Hospice helps seriously and terminally ill children live life to the full by creating wonderful experiences and bringing back a sense of normality to family life.


This is done by providing specialist nursing care and emotional support they help families smile again when life couldn’t get any tougher.


This is their very welcoming entrance to the hospice.

Claire House has a team of trained professionals who are as passionate about what they do as they are talented at doing it. Their staff includes nurses, physiotherapists, play specialists, counsellors and they also have four dedicated doctors who visit the hospice.

Creating magical memories

But Claire House is about far more than just care. It is a place for children to relax and enjoy themselves, whatever their age. They can have fun in the multi-sensory room, art room, hydrotherapy pool and jacuzzi. There is a separate wing complete with bar, sound system and Xbox for teenagers and young adults.

Whilst their children are having fun, mums and dads get the chance to enjoy some much-needed time off together or the opportunity to spend time with their other children.

Care when and where you need it

Not all families want to come to the hospice, so their team goes out to visit them in their homes and they put on regular trips for brothers and sisters to ensure they don’t miss out on having fun.


Claire House is also there for parents during the toughest of times. Whether they are spent at home or in the hospice, they ensure a child’s final days are memorable and special. They don’t just help with the practical issues of registering a child’s death and arranging their funeral – they provide dedicated round-the-clock support and specialist counselling.


As one family put it: “The best thing about Claire House is knowing that they are always there. From the minute you meet them for as long as you need them.”


Now I have had quite a bit of experience with children's hospices as before I became an author and an event organiser I worked as a children's nurse and Health Visitor. The children that I cared for often visited the local hospice and were always very excited to do so. They would proudly tell me they were off to the hospice for the weekend and that they would be having fun. This generally could include getting their hair done, nails painted and listening to music with their peers.

This is because they enjoyed their visits there. A hospice is for life and for living. making every moment count and making memories. Memories for parents, grandparents, siblings and friends.


The care that children and families receive via either the outreach services or services at the various sites is second to none.

Let me tell you a little more

I spent an entire day visiting the Wirral and was impressed by all that I saw. Everyone wore great big smiley faces. From the staff and families to the children that I met. To be a health professional in these circumstance requires a certain kind of person. The very best kind of person.

When Claire House Children's Hospice opened in December 1998, they were only looking after ten families. Now they support over four hundred! Yet, from research, they are aware, that for every child they reach in their catchment area there is one they do not. Therefore they need help, and funding is the way for us to help them reach more

The history of Claire House

When Claire House Children's Hospice opened in December 1998, as I already said, they were only looking after ten families. Now they support over four hundred!

As the team has grown, they have increased their fundraising activities so that they can look after more children and they now have twenty-five shops throughout Wirral, Merseyside, North Wales and Chester.

Claire's Story

The story of Claire House Children’s Hospice is the story of one special little girl named Claire.


Claire Louise Cain was five years old when she moved with mum Christine, dad Bobby and big sister Tracey from Liverpool to the Wirral in 1985. Life was normal; Claire and Tracey, seven, both settled into their new schools and enjoyed going to Brownies together and in October there was another addition to the family when Jennifer was born.


Two years later, with Christine expecting the Cains’ fourth child, Claire suddenly became seriously ill and was diagnosed as having a malignant tumour behind her nose and eye.


The family’s routine now included regular hospital visits, with Claire refusing to complain despite undergoing months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment.

A very brave girl

Even when she lost the sight in one eye, her hair and most of her teeth, Claire kept on smiling and laughing and was happy and positive throughout. When Kevin was born in February 1988 Claire was a very proud big sister, enjoying pushing him in his pram and taking her new baby brother to the hospital to show him off to her friends.


Two months later, at Easter, scans showed that Claire’s tumour had grown and despite undergoing a new type of chemotherapy, Claire died in hospital in July 1989, just a couple of weeks before her 10th birthday, with her mum and dad at her side.


Claire’s final hours led directly to the hospice we know today. With Claire in hospital, the whole family could not be together, as they would have wished; taking Claire home would have meant sacrificing the support they received at the hospital.

The start of a big idea

The determination of the Cain’s, and other local families such as Ann and Stephen Robarts and Olwen and Ron Jones, that families of children with serious or terminal illnesses would not face the same impossible decisions led them to set up the first Claire House committee. Their aim was to raise funds to build a much-needed children’s hospice for the Wirral.


Bobby and Tracey started the fundraising with a car boot sale which raised £96, the family topping it up to £100 and opening the first Claire House bank account.

In the years that followed, Claire’s family and friends organised and took part in fundraising events and dealt with many individuals and groups in the local community from the Brownies to large businesses.


The family’s house was filled with merchandise, raffle prizes and anything else that could be used to raise money, and the fundraising team grew to include one paid fundraiser and a clerical worker, who was supported by an expanding team of volunteers inspired by Claire’s story.

A lasting legacy

Ten years after Claire’s diagnosis, and after many years of planning, committee meetings, fundraising events and location hunting, Claire House opened its doors in December 1998, complete with a bronze plaque designed by Tracey, Jennifer and Kevin.


It is a combination of some of the things that made Claire happy and played a part in her life; music, funny hats, the Mersey Ferry (the last record she bought was Ferry Cross the Mersey), a bucket and spade, Mickey Mouse and much more.


A lasting reminder of Claire, it takes pride of place in the entrance at Claire House and reads “made with love for our sister Claire by Tracey, Jennifer and Kevin”.


The last word, though, must go to Christine and Bobby. They say: “This special place gives families a choice, the choice that we never had when our daughter was ill.


“Claire would be very proud to know that her name and her family have spearheaded the campaign that raised the funds to build the first children’s hospice in our area. She was an inspiration to all of us who had the honour of knowing her.”

Back to happenings for Claire House today

After touring the original hospice on the Wirral I travelled across to the newest addition close to Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool with one of the fundraising team, Cora. 


The location the newest acquisition for the charity is brilliant as it is only a ten-minute walk from Alder Hey itself. An ideal location. It is also a very beautiful old building set in amazing grounds. 

The setting is a former monastery in Liverpool as you can see from the above video and the photos it will prove to be a great asset. See more video footage from the Liverpool Echo here.

Claire House signed an exclusivity agreement with the
Carmelite Order of Nuns – a silent order – who wanted to leave their monastery
to a good cause.

Tucked away
down a side road that actually runs underneath part of the nearby Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School. It opened in 1905 and
was at one time home to up to 100 nuns. The final six nuns moved out four years
ago. It is still full of fascinating artefacts from its long and secret
history, including many religious signs and an ancient printing press which the
nuns used to print their hymn sheets.

As Claire House fundraiser Dan Halliday said: “Liverpool is like nowhere else because its people take ownership of things – and this place will belong to them. We want Liverpool people and Liverpool businesses to be a part of what we are doing here now and where we are heading.”

Also hard at work at the new site is Bruce Dodd, head of estates and facilities.


From the majestic rooms and the fabulous artwork, there is no doubt in my mind about the need to support this amazing charity.


We are hoping to have some representatives of the charity with us at our Liverpool signing with merchandise for everyone to buy, in order to further support them.

Join the Facebook group to learn more or show your support by buying tickets for the event on the link on this blog. 

To learn more about Claire house this is their website

Join Joey here on the blog on Fridays for interviews, reviews and guest bloggers. If you'd be interested in doing any of those, you can contact Joey here