Hello. I'll try to keep this brief. I've been writing all my life on and off, but I've never really presented my work to anyone outside a very small circle. I wrote a 70,000 word novel, but only my brother and a friend have read it. The same goes for many other short stories, some up to 45 pages long. The trouble with writing, even though it was my first and my most practiced hobby, I've never gotten proper critique. I'm just not sure how to ask people to read my long form writing or how to even go about presenting it. Do you use pastebin? Upload it somewhere secure? Attach it as a PDF/DOC on these forums? How might one entice another to read something multiple pages long, some in the hundreds of pages?
For a book or other longer work that has chapters, you could ask people to read/critique one chapter at a time (this is what I do). As for long stories, you could ask friends/family to read it and share their thoughts on it. Maybe send it to them via e-mail or some other form so they can read it on their own time. You can also post shorter stories* on the workshop once you become a "member", and once you become an "active member" you can post on the collaboration forum. *Technically, there is no limit on length, but your going to have trouble getting people to critique a story that's over 2,000-3,000 words long. Unfortunately, that is not aloud on here. All works must be in the actual post, no external links.
Hey, welcome. If you want someone to read your full novel and give you critique, usually what you want is a beta. You find someone interested in your manuscript. Often, this person is another writer who also wants their manuscript critiqued. Usually you send the first chapter or so first. You email it to them. They email you theirs (if you’re swapping). If they like it, you send them the rest. They give you critique. That’s how I was taught, at least. Different people do it different ways. That’s usually the most direct route. There’s other ways... like joining a real life critique group, or asking for help from friends and family members... but don’t post your whole manuscript online. Publishers won’t publish something if it’s available for free online, and once something is posted on the internet it can often be difficult to take down.
Thanks for the responses, 8Bit Bob and CoyoteKing, very insightful. I'll make sure to post one of my shorter works when I become a member. Is there a specific forum/place of congregation for beta readers in particular? I'd vaguely heard of the term before, but haven't really put thought into where I might find such a person. Someone told me that uploading an audiobook excerpt on platforms such as Youtube is a good way to get people's attention. Is that a good idea?
I've never heard of that before. I guess you could try it. If you want a beta-- There's a collaboration subforum here where people sometimes look for betas. I don't normally recommend AbsoluteWrite, but I will for this. AW itself has its pros and cons... but it's larger, and their beta section is a lot more active. This is their beta section. There are people offering; there are people looking. I would recommend reading through the rule posts and other stickied threads before joining AW. AW has some drawbacks, though. The best way to find a beta is also the most difficult and time-consuming. Participate in different writing forums, post your writing, critique others, chat, be friendly, get to know other writers. You'll find people you like, respect, and want to help. And hopefully, people will find the same in you. Good luck!
I see others have covered how to find beta readers. As for how to present it, I always ask for an MS Word doc, because I use the track changes and comments feature. I've noticed a lot of authors using Google docs lately, which theoretically has the same features, but I've found it really buggy. I once critiqued an entire document only for my comments to disappear, which isn't supposed to be possible. When somebody offers to beta for me, I ask them what format they want the manuscript in. I think I've always ended up sending it as a Word doc.
What an EXCELLENT post, @Carly Berg ! You've covered just about all beta issues I know of. I was thinking yes, yes, yes all the way through reading this post. The only thing I would add is that after you (the generic writer) get a beta critique, don't expect the same person to re-read your entire work and approve your changes later on. (If they offer, that's fair enough, but if they don't ...don't ask. Just move on.) Of course it's okay to ask them for feedback on a couple of sentences or paragraphs that you've changed, but don't expect them to re-read the entire story. What you really need is another beta with fresh eyes. If this new beta doesn't flag up any of the same problems you corrected before, then you'll be pretty sure you've nailed those issues. A repeat beta will still remember the previous issues, and won't see the corrections the same way.
Brilliant and very in-depth help, everyone. I certainly don't regret signing up here; this reminds me of my old days on Mythic Scribes and other forums, just better! I haven't been on forums for quite a while as Reddit seems to have taken over for discussions. Colour me impressed.
