Want to be a better Beta Reader?

Critique Partner: a fellow writer who you exchange chapters, manuscripts, partials with for feedback.

Beta Reader: a reader who gives feedback to an author on their work in progress.

Definitions for these two roles vary, but at their heart they provide feedback to the writer. Editing help for free, it hardly gets any better! But not all advice is useful, so how do you become a better beta reader or CP?

Read

Yes, I seem to keep saying that, but it applies in so many areas. The more you read the better you’ll become, even subconsciously, at recognizing issues with plot, characters, pacing, you name it! So keep reading! 

Beyond that fun assignment, there are a number of things you can consciously do to become a better beta/CP. 

First, and I’ll argue the most important: make sure you read the genre they are writing in and vice versa. You may have well meaning writing friends, but if they only read say, historicals, they may not be the best fit for your fantasy. 

Second: determine what kind of feedback the writer is looking for. If someone wants commentary throughout of what works and what doesn’t, but you read it through and offer your impression at the end, they won’t be happy. Is it a line edit? Would correcting typos help or get in the way of unraveling the plot hole? So many questions that need answering!

Third: be specific when pointing out problems. Telling someone the story just didn’t hook you isn’t nearly as helpful as hearing their character’s personality changes after the third chapter without any reason why. Or if a scene isn’t necessary, help point out why it drags or lacks connection to the goals/plot. 

Fourth: let the author tell their story. It’s a fine line to help improve a story and attempting to make it sound like your voice. You’re offering suggestions, but in the end it’s their opinion that matters.

And here’s a fifth that’s more than a cherry on top: remember to point out what works. Even writers who want feedback and are expecting their work to be torn apart need to hear some positives sprinkled in here and there. There are always good parts to be found, make sure you point some out!

Ms. Socially Awkward's Tips for Social Media

Ms. Socially Awkward's Tips for Engaging on Social Media

1. Use your indoor voice. Ms. Socially Awkward assumes you were not reared in a barn, but if you were, welcome to the Socially Awkward club, my dear. No yelling on social media. No cursing unless it is for specific, and preferably, fucking humorous effect.
2. Opinions are like assholes. We all have them. Be very, very careful about which one you're exposing. To whit, Ms. Socially Awkward cannot help noticing that occasional bruhahas mar the fabric of social media, usually in the form of some accusation or another. Never in the limited time Ms. Socially Awkward has spectated such events has all of the information, much less *accurate* information emerged with the first several (thousand) tweets or posts. There are benefits to doubts about what one speaks into a vast, public echo chamber.
3. Your grandmother was quite correct. You do catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, though why you want to catch flies at all is -- well -- it is quite frankly none of Ms. Socially Awkward's business, I'm sure. Was there a point here? Ah. Yes. Spread the honey of kindness liberally. You still have the vinegar of blocking someone held in reserve should it be necessary.
4. Take frequent breaks. We are soft and squishy creatures, fragile and prone to breakage, some of us more so than others. If you begin to think of social media as a friend, you're breaking. It is a tool that allows you to connect to friends and possibly to readers. Social media cannot change the weather. It cannot undo disaster. It can, however, allow friends and family to notify one another of their statuses during crises and for that it is to be commended and valued.
5. Remember the golden rule of social media - it is for enjoying your fellow human beings. And maybe a few animal videos here and there. Enter into it in that spirit and pace yourself well. Do this and perhaps you'll find enjoyment.

What to Do When They Aren't Lining Up for You

Most authors share the fear of setting up signings or readings and having no one show up. Common fear. Common occurrence. So many signings where I stood there with my books while endless lines of excited readers queued up - for someone else. Lots of someone elses. How do you make it bearable?

You engage as much as humanly possible (without getting creepy.) My suggestions, which I do use and which have yet to result in a restraining order, are these:

1. Goodies - stock an endless pile of individually wrapped candies prominently on your signing table. Be assertive and friendly. Wave anyone and everyone over with "Please help yourself to the goodies! They cannot go home with me!" People will dart in, grab a candy and most of 'em will dart back out like you mean to carve them up for supper. BUT a few will take one of your cards/bookmarks/promo thingie as they do. Fewer still, will actually ask what you write and pick up your book to read the back cover. This is doubly effective if someone else's signing line snakes past your table. Those folks in line are BORED.

2. Talk to the people wandering by, not to the authors next to you. Focus out. Into the aisles. Not to yell 'come look at my stuff!' You're goal is to ask these people who they're here to see. What do they like to read. Who are they buying. That sort of thing. Chances are really good they don't read what you write, but let's say I hook someone with a 'what do you read' question and the answer is 'historical'. I immediately ask if they've read authors x, y, or z - especially if those authors are at the signing and I can direct said readers straight to them. Naturally, my preference is to send readers to authors I know and/or read, too. Thing is if I manage to turn someone on to a new-to-them author, they usually take note of what I do and say 'oh hey, my boyfriends' cousin thrice removed reads SFR!' There goes another one of my promo bits.

3. Stand up. No looming. No towering. You're standing up, at your ease, talking to the readers who stop, if not at your table, at the table next to you, complimenting the jacket, the bag, the whoa where did you find those shoes - whatever it is. The point is to be interested and involved and to look like you're having fun even if you're dying a tiny bit inside because no one is buying your books. Or asking you to sign anything.

4. Take the pressure off. A book signing needn't be about selling books - make it about being accessible. Make it about  getting out of your imaginary worlds for two hours or so and looking at the rest of humanity with a compassionate eye. You can retreat to your ivory tower after. And will likely need to - but for the duration of the signing, you are engaged in character study. Not in a sales pitch.

Signings and readings are lovely stuff, but for me to survive them without wanting to drown myself in my tea, it has to be about doing something for readers - not for me. If I make these events about me, then it's about how many widgets sold. Ego gets tangled up with that. Self-valuation becomes contingent on how many books went out the door - and you know - there are just going to be days when no one is in a buying mood. We've all been there, eating 10 for a buck ramen until the next payday. So the final point is:

5. Make it fun. If that means a costume, go for it. Silly hats? Beautiful. Only you know what will make a signing/reading fun for you. Just don't get arrested.

PS: If you're interested in exploring a ton of SFR for FREE check out PORTALS - a collection of first chapters from an array of authors. All different styles and levels of heat. The first volume is available now. More on the way. Brought to you by the SFRBrigade.


PSt

When You're Reading to an Empty Room

Welcome!

Today's photo does double-work. This is the first post to the NEW and rebranded blog, formerly the Word Whores and now the SFF Seven!

For those who don't know, "SFF" stands for Science Fiction & Fantasy - a good umbrella term for this group.

As I write this post, it looks a little empty around here. That's what happens when you move out all the silk reclining chaises and red velvet curtains. The new furniture is on order. At least we kept the wet bar from the old Bordello.

Some things never change.

This week's topic is Tips for Book Signings and Readings. I immediately thought of my friend, Bishop O'Connell, who snapped the photo above at his first big con reading.

Bishop (yes, that's really his given name - good thing he didn't go into the clergy, huh?) is a fellow member of SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, motto: yes, we know there should be another "F"). He writes super cool fairy tale retellings and the first of his American Faerie Tale series came out in late 2014. He's still getting accustomed to being an author at cons and so forth. So when he attended a con and had his first "50 minutes with..." session, he came to the SFWA chat room to ask for advice.

This is something that SFF conventions do pretty typically, so far as I can tell. If you're willing to read, they set you up with an hour time slot (minus a ten-minute passing period), so all of your fans can hang with you exclusively. This is great if you actually HAVE fans. Who are also at the con. And who aren't going to "50 minutes with George R.R. Martin" instead.

The first time I got this on MY con schedule - and yes, opposite George - I freaked, too. I totally got where Bishop was coming from. Some of his major questions:

1) How do I fill the time?

There were four or five of us hanging in the chat room at the time, so he got varying answers. That's one of the great things about SFWA - you get people at all stages of their careers weighing in. At any rate, I suggested chatting with the audience first, finding out if they're mostly readers or aspiring writers and tailoring from there. An audience of mostly aspiring writers will always want to hear the "how I got published" story - and it's really helpful for them to hear, as every writer takes a different path. If the audience is mostly readers, they want to hear about the books. If you strike gold, they've already read some and will have questions. I like to do a blend of talking about my process, the books, answering questions and only read for ~20 minutes.

2) What to read and for how long?

I like to keep the reading part short, as I mentioned above. Some authors sit there and read for 50 minutes solid and I've seen rapt audiences for that. I find it dull myself, but that could be me. I suggested picking a scene that can be read in its entirety at that length, and that's either funny or action-packed. If I have established fans there, I ask them to pick the scene and it's interesting how often they agree on the choice. Then I'll use that scene for readings from that book in the future.

3) What if nobody shows up?

This is the eternal question. And, when I saw Bishop tweet the photo above, I winced for him. It's really hard when no one shows up. The only consolation is that IT'S HAPPENED TO EVERY ONE OF US. Quite a few fellow authors saw Bishop's tweet and chimed in with empathy of been there, done that, burned the t-shirt. If you can, you seed the room with plants - promise to buy your friends drinks if they'll come. Food can work to lure in the hungry con-goer.

In the end though, sometimes you're talking to an empty room. And that's okay, too. It means nothing, except that you'll have a great photo to share when you're Guest of Honor at a con someday. Maybe you'll walk across the hall to the newbie author slotted against you, show them the pic, and say hi.

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