Tag Archives: Beta Reader

Not Alone in the Realm

April 3, 2023 By in Realm, Writing Advice, Writing Toolbox Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Writing often seems like a lonely endeavor. I’ve spent a lot of time tapping away at the laptop or scribbling in a notebook. I’ve stared out the window visualizing a scene, softly speaking it aloud to hear how it sounds. I’ve walked the valley of burnout and scaled the mountain of inspiration. The writing comes fast and furiously, or the writing doesn’t come at all.

I presented myself faithfully to my writing (almost every day) even as I wanted to join friends and family in other activities. I declined invitations and didn’t issue any of my own.

I’ve been in the house alone (except for five demanding cats), but if anyone was present, I politely requested quiet, which meant I was alone in my thoughts and in the world I was creating.

As I reflect, though, I have come to realize that I was never alone at all.

There was much about writing/the writing process with which I struggled. I’m not going to detail everything here because it’s deeply personal, but the short version is that I turned everything about writing over to God. I made it my goal that all my writing and my talents would glorify God, and when I did, that’s when I understood that all the guidance I’d been praying for had occurred as I’d hoped, just not in the ways I expected. I wasn’t alone.

Then, a savvy friend, who pointed out that better critiques could be given if the beta reader was familiar with the entire work, committed to being part of my project. We traded novels from beginning to end, and what we came away with was better writing. I was not alone.

Factor in four additional beta readers, all reading the entire manuscript and all providing a different perspective. What each found polished Realm even more. Again, not alone.

Then there was my editor, whose enthusiasm for my project and sharp eye for detail, put the final polish on my novel. We met several times, e-mailed, and texted throughout the process. Amazing critiques and suggestions were offered and applied, we worked through some points to clarify what I wanted to say, and I even got to keep some things I liked without changing them. A working relationship was born, but the friendship that came from it trumped everything. Still, not alone.

Writers’ groups, friends, family, and the occasional stranger all offered encouragement and advice in person and on social media. Slowly but surely, the perceived vacuum of the writing life transformed into a community of support. And this support only intensified once Realm was published. Absolutely not alone.

And then there was everyone at BookBaby from the publishing specialist to the design team to the support staff who walked this first-time author through the process and calmed all her worries, concerns, and not a few fears. So totally not alone.

I mention all of this because if you’re considering taking the first step toward writing, please know that writing is hard. The writing life is full of highs and lows, but one thing it never need be is lonely. If you’re doing it right, you’ll be surrounded by people even when it’s just you tapping away at the laptop or scribbling in a notebook.

Beta Reading in the Realm

March 20, 2023 By in Realm, Writing Advice, Writing Toolbox Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Hello, Realmers! Today at Realm Central we’re going to discuss one of the most important steps toward the production of my novel, Realm. Beta reading.

A couple years ago, a friend and I shared the opinion that writing group critiques would be more beneficial if the person critiquing had knowledge of the storyline from start to finish. That sounded like a tall order, especially if the work in progress (hereafter WIP) was a novel, but the idea made sense.

Many times, we had experienced the request for/suggestion of more backstory, dialog, character development, and character arcs from someone in the writing group. These were all valid requests and suggestions, but they were made based on the assumption that none of this existed within the story.

Please don’t hear me say that critiques supplied in writing groups are of no value. That is not the case at all. However, when a writer’s only option is to present 1500 words to one chapter (a generous quantity of writing) because of time constraints, many of the critiques supplied and questions asked could have been satisfied if the reviewer only remembered that he/she was being shown a mere sliver of the WIP and that many of his/her questions were probably already addressed.

Another issue contributing to this dilemma was the fact that the reviewer probably didn’t see the initial pages of the WIP, or he/she would have had foundational knowledge prior to critiquing. Also, when you consider the inconsistency with which members attend a writing group and that they often have no control over which WIPs they’ll review, well, you see how ineffective this process can be.

I’ve witnessed too many writers waste his/her allotted review time explaining all this away. There is, however, a major benefit to attending writing groups, and I’d like to point that out now. Make—great—connections.

If you’re going to succeed as a writer, you need people you can lean on during the entire process, and some of the most important ones will be your beta readers. Beta readers may start as your friends, but eventually, they’re going to need to be more. You need to find people who can be objective and strong, people you can trust and with whom you’ve established a solid relationship. Equally important is the fact that you must be this type of beta reader in return.

May I suggest that you make a connection and enter an agreement with one person who will become your primary beta reader. For me, this is the person mentioned at the beginning of the post. We made the commitment to read each other’s work from beginning to end thus eliminating many of the usual requests and suggestions.

The perspective we brought to each other’s WIP was enhanced by the fact that we read and wrote in different genres with different expectations for both as well as by life experiences in general. This immediately drove our critiques to the heart of our respective WIPs, eliminating all the writing small talk and allowing us to focus on any major concerns that needed to be addressed.

Side Note: Remember that trading whole manuscripts for beta reading requires both partners to have similar availability; to agree upon how long you’ll take to read and critique; to decide when, where, and how often you’ll meet; and to decide what type of critique is expected.

Then I sent Realm thought a round of secondary beta readers. I started with my non-reading reader, who prefers non-fiction when he does read. I knew that if I could snag and hold his attention, I had written something worthwhile. Because he read for different reasons, his unique perspective caught many details that were crucial to producing a great novel.

Next was a couple I knew would view Realm through a unique perception based on their own pursuits, and that was exactly what I needed. They recognized the overarching themes within Realm, proof that my storyline was intact, as well as found the small mistakes that required fixing.

Lastly, and this is where some people may disagree with me, I let my mother read Realm. Yes, Mom loves everything I write . . . until she doesn’t, and then she’s brutally honest. I can’t say how allowing your family members to read your WIP will go, but I know that if my mother doesn’t like it, understand it, or agree with what I’ve written, she’ll make me hash it out with her until I convince her the writing needs to be present and help her understand why. We don’t always part in agreement, but my editing is better because of the interaction.

This was my process for taking Realm from the roughest of rough drafts to a manuscript with which I was comfortable handing off to my editor. I sincerely hope these same people, especially my primary beta reader, will be available for my next novel. I also hope I’ll make many more connections for any future WIPs because the ultimate goal isn’t only to have my manuscripts edited. It’s to make lasting relationships.

Update from Realm Central

March 6, 2023 By in Realm Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

UPDATE: This post will probably read as “after the fact.” However, I still want to share my production process with you as promised. It’s a nice behind-the-scenes look at independent publishing.

Hello, Realmers! Here at Realm Central, quite a bit has been going on. Where do I begin?

How about the two days I spent poring over the eBook version of Realm to make sure everything looked perfect? My eyes went a little buggy even though I increased the size of the page on my laptop. Everything looked great, so I approved the proof and submitted my approval.

Next, it was time to move on to the hardcover version of Realm. That was scary and exciting all at once. Several calls between myself and BookBaby were required because the technical side of a couple uploads were, admittedly, beyond my knowledge and understanding. Linda Hawley, Publishing Specialist at BookBaby, was amazing and patient as she took my calls, responded promptly to my voicemails, walked me through a couple steps, and even did an important portion of what needed to be accomplished on her end while I held the line.

I am excited to report that the dust jacket for the hardcover version of Realm is in the works. Also, I viewed and approved the interior of the hardcover book and the non-dust jacketed book itself. Everything is beautiful and seeing all the work that I put into it along with my beta readers and my editor, well, it’s just so thrilling!

What else? A trip to Cleveland and Youngstown with the husband-and-wife photography team of Heath and Michelle Smith proved to be great fun and quite interesting. By the time this post is published, you’ll have already seen the Realm trailer titled Realm Walk with Me. If not, please enjoy watching it as soon as you finish reading.

When I told Michelle and Heath what I wanted to capture for the trailer, they knew exactly where to shoot to create the devasted conditions of Earth in the year 3039, when Realm takes place. I must say, the locations were incredibly cool and a little sketchy all at once.

Another quick trip to an abandoned manufacturing business just south of Canton was required for additional footage, but it was worth the drive for the shots achieved. And then it was an all-day session of editing. As tiring as it was, we learned some valuable lessons and had great laughs throughout the process.

I think that’s everything for now. Stay tuned as I keep you informed on the progress of my soon-to-be-released novel, Realm.

Step Into the Realm

January 5, 2023 By in Realm, Writing Advice, Writing Toolbox Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , 5 Comments

Have you ever longed for a dream project to become a reality all the while living in a state that hovers somewhere between excitement and fear? If so, then you’re probably an artist. And if you’re an artist, then you know that talking about what you’re going to do is where creativity goes to die and fear to thrive.

For writers, we often talk about all the great stories we’re going to write. Many of us even have a notebook devoted to story ideas where we jot them down so we can pretend to stay focused on our WIP. Then one day, when the guilt gets to be too much, we make the commitment to not just set aside time for writing but actually write.

We attend writers’ groups, join online writing communities, and scour the Internet for writing advice all in the hopes of producing a piece of writing worthy of publication. There are good days and bad days, and then one day, it all pays off.

Stepping out in faith has been a large part of my writing process, and I’d say finding an excellent beta reader was where it started. I have been blessed to have a beta reader who catches my mistakes, asks the right questions to keep my plot on course, and challenges me to see things from a different perspective. He also provides amazing feedback and encouragement.

Then there’s my editor, who is a Godsend. When I was feeling my most resistant to completing my own dream, she entered the picture as an answer to prayer. Her expertise and energy never cease to amaze me. Combined with my beta reader, I have two people in my corner who often believe in me more than I believe in myself.

My blessings don’t end there. My husband has been through every high and every low of the writing process with me. I know I sometimes take him for granted, but as soon as I remember, I express my gratitude. He’s so compassionate and forgiving that occasionally I agree with my mother: I don’t deserve him.

My son lies on the other end of the spectrum from my husband, but that’s not a bad thing. Sometimes, his tougher approach riled me up, but it made me strive to be a better writer and prove to the little upstart that I could finish. Besides, what kind of parental example would I be setting if I didn’t complete what I started, which is the whole point of this post.

It is my very great pleasure to announce that my novel, Realm, is officially in production.

Thank you, dear followers, for taking this journey with me. Stay tuned for all the exciting updates.

~HL Gibson

How I Cheated at NaNoWriMo and Won

November 8, 2016 By in Writing Advice, Writing Toolbox Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 4 Comments

how-i-cheated-at-nanowrimoA couple years ago, my friend and fellow writer, S of JSMawdsley, talked me into trying NaNoWriMo. She mentioned it at the writer’s group she facilitates at the library where we worked. At the time, I was mainly a short story writer and dabbled in the occasional picture book. As luck would have it, I had an idea for a novel in mind, and NaNoWriMo seemed like the perfect way to get it out of my head and on my laptop.

Being new to the world of NaNoWriMo, I didn’t prepare at all. I just started writing on November first and quit on November thirtieth. I had 50,000 words, which satisfied the requirements of NaNoWriMo, but I didn’t have a complete novel. What I did have was a lot of work ahead of me and the conviction that maybe I really hadn’t won.

At this point, S would probably have told me I needed to outline my novel, but the first thing I discovered from writing such a lengthy piece is that I’m a pantser. I plot a little when approaching my writing, but I love to explore the rabbit trails because that is where I discover my best writing. My opinion on pantsing can be read here: Are You A Pantser?

So, did I win NaNoWriMo or did I cheat? I started at about the last one-third of the novel because I had the most information for writing that portion. In short, I learned the valuable lesson of researching before you write especially if it’s for a contest such as NaNoWriMo. You don’t want the added stress of trying to conduct research while keeping up a word goal.

I pressed on throughout the year editing what I had written and creating the rest of the novel as I wanted it to be. I researched more thoroughly and ended up chucking quite a bit of what I wrote for NaNoWriMo. Again, part of that was my fault, but I also wondered if one 50,000-word novel every year is what I wanted. Is that what the creators of NaNoWriMo want?

I suspect and sincerely hope the purpose of NaNoWriMo is to keep people writing because that’s what I did. Before I knew it, November had rolled around again, and with it NaNoWriMo. I wasn’t finished with my first novel, so why on earth would I abandon it for the added pressure of creating a new novel. Admittedly, I had no new ideas at the time, and I didn’t want the burden of coming up with one. Also, there was no time to research even the slim ideas that passed through my head.

Instead, I cheated, and I cheated grandly! I signed up for NaNoWriMo, and without a single ounce of shame, I re-entered my novel, The Secrets of Dr. John Welles. Dr. Welles’s story was almost complete, but I needed a little motivation to finish the missing chapters and tie it all together. NaNoWriMo provided this inspiration by keeping me on track with a daily word goal, but it also became a beneficial editing tool. If I edited my daily word goal, I counted it along with any new writing.

What I achieved wasn’t another half-baked novel, but rather a well-written, well-edited novel with which I was extremely pleased. A titch more editing after the fact, and Dr. Welles was ready for the hands of beta readers.

I took a couple years off from NaNoWriMo, but the point of the contest was always close to my heart. I knew I couldn’t devote time to a new novel and make The Secrets of Dr. John Welles all I wanted it to be.   Then there is the fact that when story inspiration comes to me, I have to begin which sometimes means starting before NaNoWriMo starts. Yes, there is Camp NaNo, but my heart belongs to the original taking place in November.

When NaNoWriMo rolled around this year, I was already a little over halfway through my current novel. During the month of October, I had to set my writing aside to prepare for my son’s Eagle Scout Court of Honor. When I was ready to restart, good ole NaNoWriMo once again came to the rescue as a means up jumpstarting my writing. Although I didn’t sign up with the official website, I created a spreadsheet to track and tally my daily writing goal. I’m using it to finish the current novel, for which I am prepared research wise, as well as for any writing I do that can be published including my blog posts.

Yes, that’s cheating because it’s not a single new novel of at least 50,000 words. But again, I have to believe the heart and soul purpose of NaNoWriMo is to keep writers writing. That is what I am doing.

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