What to do when Beta reading something great?

Discussion in 'Revision and Editing' started by Gareth MH, Sep 14, 2016.

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  1. Gareth MH

    Gareth MH Member

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    Yeah, I'm realising that I've somehow fallen into a situation that people find grotesque.
     
  2. Gareth MH

    Gareth MH Member

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    How about you not make assumptions about how much experience I do or do not have...
     
  3. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    My assumption is based on the evidence you show here ... i'm not looking for a pissing contest, but if you are a massively experienced beta, a) why are you asking a writing forum for advice on whether positive crit is acceptable, and b) why do you seem to be making rookie mistakes like getting wound up about how perfect the beginning is before reading the middle.
     
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  4. KaTrian

    KaTrian A foolish little beast. Contributor

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    Grotesque? More like familiar. I've also read amazing manuscripts and I have struggled with my analysis and feedback. Yet, there have always been small things that I notice; wooden dialogue, repetition, pacing issues... Give it one more read, make notes while reading, and present them to the author? Or let the ms sit for a week or so and then get back to it, give it a fresh look.
     
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  5. Gareth MH

    Gareth MH Member

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    If you're not looking for a pissing contest then why does it totally seem like you're looking for a pissing contest? I posted this thread rather casually while taking a break between chapters. Stupid me thought that people might be helpful and/or supportive and given me some answers like, its cool if its positive or I'm sure there's something you could find.
     
  6. KaTrian

    KaTrian A foolish little beast. Contributor

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    :chill:

    Tra-la-la, mods are watching this thread, let's keep things civil. :whistle:
     
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  7. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    Yes boss, sorry

    Shouldn't post until ive had my morning coffee after being up til 4am :)
     
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  8. VynniL

    VynniL Contributor Contributor

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    Disagree. I think you and the OP have some silly keeping a score sheet on critiques.

    I would hope any author just wants HONEST feedback. There's no lose/lose when honesty and clarity in feedback are on offer to the best of the beta's reader ability.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 15, 2016
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  9. Tenderiser

    Tenderiser Not a man or BayView

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    What on earth are you talking about?
     
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  10. VynniL

    VynniL Contributor Contributor

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    Read, wasn't that complicated. There's no lose lose. There's no keeping score about only good versus find something bad because you need to earn your keep in a critique. It's just providing honest and concise feedback. I found your post flakey, as I found the poster determined to find fault to justify payment flakey. It seems to be encouraging an unhealthy mindset. Authors may have expectation, but that's just too bad. A critique honestly given to the best of someone's ability is all that should matter.
     
  11. Tenderiser

    Tenderiser Not a man or BayView

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    Are you always so rude?
     
  12. VynniL

    VynniL Contributor Contributor

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    Today, yes. I thought you could read, so I got annoyed I had to explain.
     
  13. Tenderiser

    Tenderiser Not a man or BayView

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    Wow.
     
  14. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    And breathe...

    I broadly agree with @LinnyV 's points with regard to the OP (but not to @Tenderiser) - one of the things that commonly goes wrong with crit is the belief by reviewers that they have to find something wrong to justify their review... thus they blow teeny things out of proportion and wind up not helping the writer , instead of having the confidence to say specifically what is great about what they are reading

    of course another thing that commonly goes wrong is writers who don't know what to expect from a beta and get arsey if they arent given points to change (vis the writing by comitee thing we've seenon other threads). - or equally writers who think they have a unique talent and only want smoke blown up their arse about how great their work is

    Coming back to the OPs original question , the obvious solution is to contact the writer concerned and say " Your first chapter is really tight, and i'm not finding much to change- what do you want to get out of this critique ? "
     
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  15. VynniL

    VynniL Contributor Contributor

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    @Tenderiser Wow?

    I shouldn't laugh... I better go find another thread to play in.
     
  16. KaTrian

    KaTrian A foolish little beast. Contributor

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    If this is how you play, then don't.

    Thread closed for the time being.

    [​IMG]
     
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