My sequel, The Gaia Project, has gone to beta readers. I've been grumpy all week. My poor hubby. It doesn't help that he is also a beta reader and takes his very life into his own hands when making a comment about the book.
Because I can spit my dummy out to him. I can jump up and down and be all aggressive and defensive. Poor bloke. I would never do that to my other betas. All my fears and worries get locked in a trunk that is thrown to the bottom of the ocean and the key is melted in the fiery pits of Mordor. I accept their thoughts, comments and criticisms gracefully.
It's all part of the process. I am in pieces waiting for the feedback. I don't want to know but I need to know what they think. Does it hang together? What if it doesn't hang together at all? Did they like the story arc? What if they hated the plot? Do they think I should have killed more characters? *spoilers* But seriously - what did you think? No! Don't tell me...
I think having your book beta read is a crucial rite of passage for a writer. Especially if you can convince fellow writers and not just avid readers to critique for you. Because those guys know the pain of writing a novel and then freely giving it to someone else to read. Initially, you're on cloud nine because you actually finished a draft and hey, it might not be the best draft in the world but you finished it. Then you fall into the pits of despair because you can barely string a sentence together and now you've given that tosh to someone else to read! Are you mad!
It's going to be a long month.
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