You have finished your manuscript. Now what?
The most difficult stage in writing a new book for me is when I’ve finished writing the story, and then send off my first complete draft to my fantastic little group of beta readers, and wait anxiously for their reactions.
No matter what I think, it’s only when totally independent eyes read the story for the first time that I’ll know if what I’ve written is either good, bad or a load of old rubbish. It’s easy as a writer to fall in love with what you write, but that counts for nothing in the end. It’s what readers think about it that matters.
Of course, there will be more work editing and proofreading after my beta readers have finished, but at this stage, all I want to know is if the story really works and if there are any gaping plot holes that I may have overlooked. So I’ll sit back and wait a few weeks for their ‘pass or fail’ report cards, but in the meantime, it’s the stage in the process for me to forget all about my new book for a while and relax, after living with it 24/7 for so long now.
Even if electronic publishing has made publishing a simple matter of a few clicks, the process of writing a book and making sure it’s something worth reading takes just as much time as it always has.
So it’s relax time. Before the next stage of the hard work begins.
Oh, and what’s the new book about? Without giving anything away, there are some frequent mentions of Greek mythology, a passing study of internal human anatomy and an island, as well as some really nasty baddies to spice up proceedings along the way.
Sounds interesting, doesn’t it? We’ll see in a few weeks if it makes it past my beta readers and then onto stage two of publishing a new book.
Touche, or should that be snap? LOL :)
Great that you’ve finished you latest book, Derek. I always struggle with the issue of beta readers. I always wonder how unbiased they can be if they are my friends. I think the only true way I could get completely unbiased results would be if the book is presented anonymously to readers who have no idea who wrote it. Even the most objective beta reader is going to be biased in favor of the author if they know him/her and like him/her. One the other hand it is very difficult to find qualified beta readers anonymously. So I wrestle with this conundrum.
I’m very fortunate Rick. My little group of beta readers are very frank in their opinions, so are not shy in telling me when I don’t measure up!!