Tuesday 1 January 2013

BETA: Slow but steady



As I mentioned in my last post, some of my close friends are BETA reading my book.
I was worried about it because only my mum and editor had read it. I felt my friends would judge it harsher. One reason is because I told them not to be nice and to tell me the truth.

In the end I received some amazing feedback. My younger sisters boyfriend told me he had put down a different book he was reading because he couldn’t wait to finish mine. To me that is probably one of the biggest complements I could receive as a writer. It came as a surprise because I didn’t know he was reading the book in the first place. I have to say I would have been quite annoyed at my sister for giving it to him if it weren't for that. I forgive her though, because she is my sister. 

In the end I’m happy that I had the opportunity to get some more feedback before I publish.

In my previous post I talked about sending my book to agents for queries. I sent it to about ten agents, but none were really interested. I figured as much. Agents get so much material and they have to say no to the majority. That’s the reality of publishing. I know that so I didn’t expect anything, and in the end I think I’m happy. Now I know that I will self publish and I won’t have to think about the ‘what if’ question. Getting rejected sucks majorly, but I think I queried in the right head space. It didn’t hurt as much as I expected because I know of many great authors who had been rejected multiple times before landing a deal or taking the self publishing route.

In the end it all boils down to what I want to do with my material. I could continue to try for a deal, but deep down I know that's not what I really want. All I really want is to share my book with people. If publishers won’t do it I’ll do it myself. I don’t care if only a handful of people read it I will be content knowing that I could share it with whoever comes across it.

I can't tell you how close I am everyone! The Keepers is coming in January 2013. I'll certainly be posting about it when it does!


2 comments:

  1. Good luck, J.L.! I'm a writer myself (like you, without a publisher) who often worries about getting it out there. I'm glad you decided it was more important for you to share your book with people than to have an official publisher accept it. I can't wait to read it!

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  2. Thanks Alex!

    I know your struggles so hang in there. Thanks! It’s coming out soon. I just have to sort through all of the technical difficulties self publishing creates.

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