[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Steven Lake

Okay, you'll have to forgive me if either I or someone else has already asked this question, but I can't seem to find anything on this topic. Anyhow, what I'm looking for is to know what the general policy is on asking for feedback readers around here. What I mean by a "feedback" reader is just someone who looks over the story flow, finds plot holes, incomplete info, etc. IE, stuff readers would typically gripe about.

As Cins mentioned, you're talking about Beta readers. Those don't fall out of the sky, like manna from heaven. They're cultivated, by you. You have to go out, find them, feed them (with story), keep them entertained, etc. This typically takes quite a while to develop. I know authors with 5, 6 top-selling genre fiction books and they have fewer beta readers than they have books--in other words, they have 2, maybe 3-4 beta readers.

Bear in mind that Beta readers are doing you a huge favor. A lot of authors forget this; they think that they're "giving" the Beta reader something, a free story or somesuch. Really, it's the beta that is doing the giving, because to be a good beta reader means a big investment of time and effort. After all, they don't just read the book. They read it and then typically write up a report that sets out everything that they liked, didn't, what chapters sagged, yadda.

The things I typically see feedback readers doing is not the same things that editors would do. They go after the meat and potatoes stuff usually like spelling and grammar. Feedback readers go after what the end user will typically focus on, like "what was your favorite character?" or "what did you like/hate about the book?" and so on. Kind of a "what worked and what didn't" kinda read through from which they provide feedback on the story so you can fix those problems before the book goes to the editor.

If your book is finished, you can pay to put it on Net Galley. You'll get beta readers there, but mostly, they give you rankings, and reviews--not reports.

So I'm not thinking free editor services here. More of a you get to read my book for free and I get your feedback in return.

Hmmmm. See above.

That kinda thing. You could call it a swap if you wanted. Anyhow, I don't know if that'd fall under the whole idea of "promotion" or would it just be one writer helping another.

That's something else altogether. That's a critique group. Typically, betas are not members of your critique group, and vice-versa. In this day and age, a lot of would-be authors skip writing and critique groups. That's unfortunate, because it's invaluable feedback. It's not, however, the same type of fannish feedback that you get from the usual betas.

Anyhow, just trying to figure this out. Right now I ask people on Facebook for help in this area. But with that place basically going to the dogs (and cats, squirrels, bunnies, random liberals, etc), I'm not seeing a future for that kinda thing there. Hence why I wanted to see what the policy here was on doing that kinda thing.

You can start at Critters.org. They run a longtime critique group. If you are writing genre fiction, it's a good place to start. They originally started out with SciFi, but they've branched out. You submit your work in accordance with their guidelines, and you get critiqued.

You should look around for a writer's group that would suit you. A lot of people think that it should be supportive, nurturing, and all that--but writing is a blood sport. There are some moderated forums, that are more that way than the usual (like the Writer's Bootcamp forums, run by Holly Lisle), but most critique groups are, well, critiques. Not lovefests.

Good luck.

Hitch