tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665052536053897386.post5847089406152632266..comments2023-09-16T15:03:34.579+07:00Comments on Adam Heine: Air Pirates Postmortem: What Could've Been BetterAdam Heinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02225813532455467868noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665052536053897386.post-56948757395568748262010-02-26T04:37:19.318+07:002010-02-26T04:37:19.318+07:00Thanks!Thanks!Myrna Fosterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13534358757278599925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665052536053897386.post-22116306856221902792010-02-25T14:07:26.767+07:002010-02-25T14:07:26.767+07:00I gave them 6 weeks. Of those who got back to me (...I gave them 6 weeks. Of those who got back to me (partial or not), two missed the deadline. One finished on time but took a couple days to write up his critique. The other was about 3 months late, I think.<br /><br />I moved on without the last one and just incorporated his comments after the fact. It worked okay.<br /><br />In the second beta phase, both readers told me when they thought they would be finished, so I didn't give them a deadline. They also both beat their estimates and got back to me in about a month.Adam Heinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02225813532455467868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665052536053897386.post-31320898871827447082010-02-25T13:55:47.134+07:002010-02-25T13:55:47.134+07:00How long did you give them?How long did you give them?Myrna Fosterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13534358757278599925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665052536053897386.post-56483830440615187562010-02-25T09:33:30.654+07:002010-02-25T09:33:30.654+07:00Glad to help, Rhys. One of the things I learned fr...Glad to help, Rhys. One of the things I learned <a href="http://adamheine.blogspot.com/2008/12/travelers-postmortem-what-went-wrong.html" rel="nofollow">from the last postmortem</a> was to give the betas a deadline. I did that this time, with limited success.Adam Heinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02225813532455467868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665052536053897386.post-50142068717868528142010-02-25T09:25:51.706+07:002010-02-25T09:25:51.706+07:00Heh, this post came at an opportune time for me, g...Heh, this post came at an opportune time for me, good to know your betas took ages to get back to you.<br /><br />I'm in my first round of beta for my first novel a noir scifi that has possibly too much action. It's been a month and no-one is more than half way through, some people haven't even started. Seeing I'm not alone has let me remove a large part of the stress the delay has been infesting my brain with.Rhys Milnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08814089565922429179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665052536053897386.post-60641034229594426212010-02-25T08:12:54.435+07:002010-02-25T08:12:54.435+07:00Thanks, guys. Responses for everybody!
Natalie: T...Thanks, guys. Responses for everybody!<br /><br />Natalie: Thanks, I thought you'd like it.<br /><br />Matty: You'd be surprised how much I treat writing as though I was still at SAIC. And here I thought I didn't learn anything at my Office Space job!<br /><br />Bane: That's a really good idea. I'll consider that next time around.<br /><br />Susan: I think you're right on with the paired betas thing. I totally forgot to consider that as a factor.<br /><br />Janine: I've heard of that AutoEditor (or one like it). It looks like a really useful tool (speaking as a programmer, no less).<br /><br />JenE: Thanks! I have lots. I just don't want to scare people away with math ;-)<br /><br />Myrna: It hasn't been published yet. Don't worry. When it is it'll be here and on my sidebar and on my Twitter and pretty much any other place I can think to say it :-)Adam Heinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02225813532455467868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665052536053897386.post-29185841651309728482010-02-25T05:12:08.887+07:002010-02-25T05:12:08.887+07:00I was going to hand my WIP to a couple of betas ne...I was going to hand my WIP to a couple of betas next month, but now I'm thinking I'd better go through another draft. I get caught up in the action and dialogue and forget to describe surroundings too. Thanks for the advice.<br /><br />Congrats on Pawn's Gambit. Has it already been published? I love their artwork.Myrna Fosterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13534358757278599925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665052536053897386.post-15038388512991866702010-02-25T03:48:49.527+07:002010-02-25T03:48:49.527+07:00Awesome post!
I like looking at stats, too. :)Awesome post! <br /><br />I like looking at stats, too. :)Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09742510911858733787noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665052536053897386.post-70969485285104257252010-02-25T02:07:41.240+07:002010-02-25T02:07:41.240+07:00Great post!
I totally agree with making the most ...Great post!<br /><br />I totally agree with making the most of your beta readers by making the manuscript as clean as possible. <br /><br />One tool I use is the AutoCrit Editing Wizard. It really helps me clean out the overused and repeated words, slow pacing, dialogue tags issues, etc, etc.<br /><br />When the manuscript is as clean as I can make it, THEN I'll bring in the humans :-)Janinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00272527704400070501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665052536053897386.post-29393217978178057722010-02-25T01:14:34.570+07:002010-02-25T01:14:34.570+07:00I love your insights about Betas - I've gone t...I love your insights about Betas - I've gone through several rounds and life happens. People can't always fulfill a commitment, even with the best of intentions, and I think many don't realize how much work it is. My best whole novel critiques have come from paired betas (you beta mine, I'll beta yours) because there's a stronger incentive to follow through (on my part too). And having a regular crit group is good for motivation along the way.<br /><br />I recently did a Nano novel, and for the first time realized how drafting (the first draft) could go so much faster than I had done in the past, and that there were some serious merits to that: I was completely immersed in the story, I quickly got words on the page which helped with voice and story, and I pushed through the middle muddles pretty quickly. <br /><br />Downside: I kind of forgot to write the second half of the story, and didn't realize that until a month later. All good, though, because now I'm on the 2nd draft and the story is coming together much better than if I had spent 6-12 months on that first draft.<br /><br />Thanks for sharing. <br />p.s. I love the data.Susan Kaye Quinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07348197999397141067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665052536053897386.post-26488108427450755082010-02-25T00:47:55.508+07:002010-02-25T00:47:55.508+07:00Fascinating rundown. I think your future beta plan...Fascinating rundown. I think your future beta plans is spot on, though I might expand to 3 -- maybe 2 in your comfort zone and 1 on the edge.Joshua McCunehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17367262185912463258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665052536053897386.post-57325888227259979852010-02-25T00:18:08.409+07:002010-02-25T00:18:08.409+07:00Wait, I thought we were going to talk about board ...Wait, I thought we were going to talk about board games?<br /> I think this kind of post-mortem is always a good idea. I need to do this sort of thing at my job. Or more often, I should say.MattyDubhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04202037980573994507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665052536053897386.post-44193060673889846312010-02-24T23:12:35.980+07:002010-02-24T23:12:35.980+07:00Great post! It's really neat to get a look at ...Great post! It's really neat to get a look at your process, and I think you have a great plan for continued improvement.Natalie Whipplehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09978251567306345129noreply@blogger.com