[Gudy]

Originally Posted by toddos

I just finished a book (to remain nameless, but it's not Cormac McCarthy who's allowed to write like an infant because he's earned it) where every single instance of a "X have" contraction that should've been "X've" was written as "X of". "Would of", "could of", "I'd of" (which should've been "I'd have"), etc.

Jacqueline Carey - Santa Olivia.
No, I have no compunction about shaming those that need shaming. I generally like her books (apart from the Sundering titles, which I just couldn't get into). I even liked Santa Olivia a great deal, but the whole "w/c/should of" issue was enough to make me think long and hard about whether or not I wanted to a) finish the book and b) buy the sequel.

And no, while the narrator definitely had a tangible personality, it was not a first person narrator. There were also no other indicators (at least that I noticed) that would have made the decision to use those grammatically wrong constructions in any way defensible.

Originally Posted by Hitch

BTW: the "beta reader" idea--I have authors that would kill for reliable beta readers. Beta readers are, Keryl, one of those generally-accepted, vaguely conceptualized ideas of "things that exist" that, quite bluntly, don't. Sure, if you're Dan Brown or Laurell K. Hamilton or one of those people with troos, it's easy to find beta readers; but for the average mid-lister (and that's who makes up the vast majority of publishing, folks), it's nearly impossible. Again, that's like the infamous pretty teenage girl who will come over and exercise and take care of your horse just for the love of it--they don't exist, either. And, btw: most of the beta readers are fine for plotline development, but they're not proofers. Not the same thing at all.

Funny, so you're telling me I don't exist? I am, along with half a dozen people, a beta reader for a probably less-than-midlist, self-published author (who also happens to have an account here). And yes, we do both plot and proof reading at different stages of the process. Combined with the gratifyingly excellent command of the English language which said author brings to the table, I think the result is, if not perfect then at least hugely better than most self-published authors and in fact easily competitive with what I've seen from big name publishers over the last couple of years.

As for what it takes to get those fabled betas, I can only tell you what it looks from my end. But the key seems to be to cultivate your fans. Interact with them, get them emotionally involved, get to know them so you have some hope of finding ones who can actually help you in the process instead of simply being a gushing fan girl/boy. I realize that not every author can do this, either because they don't have fans or because they don't know how to cultivate them as a community, but my gut feeling is that the Dan Browns and Laurell K. Hamiltons of the world with their readership in the tens of millions or more may very well have a harder time of it than mid-list authors with a smaller following.