Special help - Pre-readers needed!

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Lucifer
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Special help - Pre-readers needed!

Post by Lucifer »

Ok, so, the situation is very simple. I need people who can read a manuscript, provide feedback, and send me that feedback. And also, don't edit the book and publish it as your own, because you know damned well it's not. Obviously that shouldn't be a big deal around here.

In case none of that made sense, or you just want more details, here you go:
  1. I have a "finished" manuscript for a science fiction novel that I have written.
  2. It's "finished" in the sense that *I* can no longer find any problems with it.
  3. I need a new set of eyes looking at it. That's where YOU come in.
  4. I need people to read it, on a one-time basis (not required, mind you!), who will look for:
    1. Bad spelling. Since LibreOffice has a fine spellchecker, you're not looking for misspelled words, you're looking for times I said "their" when I meant "they're" and stupid stuff like that. "Steel" when I meant "steal". Etc.
    2. Plot holes. Find where I dropped the ball on stuff in the plot. When you finish the entire story, any questions you feel were unanswered, ask them.
    3. Clunky sentences/too much narrative/slow narrative. Self-explanatory. This is editing for style.
    4. Bad dialog. Bonus points if you sit a few people down and read through it, but I don't expect that to work. I've read aloud most of the dialog already. But when/if you catch bad dialog, make a note.
    5. Any other mistakes you notice. Even if you're not sure it's a mistake, make a note so I can look into it. I'd rather have people report mistakes that I don't agree with than have mistakes go un-addressed. Remember, I intend to publish this with my name all over it!
  5. I need this done within about three weeks. So there is a deadline. When I said you only have to read it once, well, if you have both the time and the desire to read it more than once in the three weeks, I'd probably like having feedback from a second read, so long as I got the feedback from the first read. Remember, I've read this thing like 10 times, and I'm no longer capable of finding obvious flaws in it.
  6. The tricky bit: I'll send you a PDF. You can make notes in any open format you wish (meaning, if it's supported by an app in Linux, fine). If you live pretty close (USA, same continent, whatever), you could print it/get it printed and write on the pages and ship it back to me. If you're overseas (and I'm particularly interested in English-as-a-second-language folks), then you'll probably need to make an electronic version of your notes. You could simply make a text file noting chapter and page number (you need both, trust me) for any feedback you have to give me.
  7. You MUST offer feedback. If you just want a quick free read through an almost-finished novel, then you should wait until it's published. The whole point is for me to get feedback I will use through an editing cycle (I probably have 2-3 more editing cycles left, of which one involves incorporating feedback from at least one pre-reader).
I'm not promising rewards, but if you want a special thank you, you'll have to give me your real name (at least the name you want to be known as), and I'll give a special thank you at some point to everybody who has done so. It's worth pointing out that this sort of pre-reading is usually anonymous, and that's industry standard, but I'm willing to break the standard. Not promising to, just saying I'm willing to.

So, who wants to help me out here? It's not a paid position (and will never be!). You get to read potentially crap sci-fi, but you might really enjoy it, and you get to be a part of the publishing process.

Respond to this post with your interest level, but you need to give me an email address to receive the PDF. That means a PM.

Also, if you really want to read for me, respond with the PM and the comment here. Be aware that I am filtering based on people I know (I don't have to like you, mind you), but I'm not taking Just Anyone As A Reader. But don't let that discourage you. If you respond here and also with a PM, I will at least engage you in PM. I'm open to people I don't know, otherwise I wouldn't post here (I'd have sent a group PM to all the people I think would be interested). So if you know I don't know you, or think I hate you, but you're interested in doing this little chore, feel free to respond. We can hammer out details.
Last edited by Lucifer on Sun May 29, 2016 10:03 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: List reformatting
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Word
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Re: Special help - Pre-readers needed!

Post by Word »

You can send it to me. I currently don't have a lot of free time, but I can skim over it every now and then and tell you about the stuff I noticed within those 3 weeks. Don't need a reward.
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sinewav
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Re: Special help - Pre-readers needed!

Post by sinewav »

I can do it. Maybe it will inspire me to release the movie treatment I wrote several years ago.
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ConVicT
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Re: Special help - Pre-readers needed!

Post by ConVicT »

Maybe you could give a quick summary/synopsis, like Word did here.
I've never read a book without reading the summary/synopsis. It's good to know if it's something in which I'm even interested.
I would love to poke holes in your story for you. :P
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saragei
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Re: Special help - Pre-readers needed!

Post by saragei »

Sounds good, you really seem to be a multi-talent! I've just finished Stephen Baxter's "Proxima" and another science fiction story would be perfect right now. More in PM.
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nara
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Re: Special help - Pre-readers needed!

Post by nara »

Let us know when it's published! I don't have time to edit it now, but am interested in reading it. Congrats on an almost finished novel.
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Lucifer
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Re: Special help - Pre-readers needed!

Post by Lucifer »

I will, of course, be marketing it here, Nara, don't worry. :)
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Lucifer
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Re: Special help - Pre-readers needed!

Post by Lucifer »

Ok, as of this moment, I have emailed my manuscript to everyone who has asked for it, and most of y'all have posted here. If you received it, great. If not, and I just told you I sent it, check your spam folder, and if it's not there, say something here (or send me a PM). Otherwise, silence means you got it, and in the next 2-3 weeks I'm expecting to get a rap sheet from you, of varying levels of detail, of course. ;)

I appreciate it that people are stepping up and volunteering what they have to offer. The words don't exist in English to properly convey my gratitude. Unfortunately, I only know English, and Python, so here goes:

Code: Select all

import gratitude

HeyYourCool = gratitude.ThankYou()

print HeyYourCool.say_something_real("Thank you!")
ctrl^d
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Lucifer
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Re: Special help - Pre-readers needed!

Post by Lucifer »

Ah, something Word caught: tense problems in the narrative. The narrative is always supposed to be in past tense (with blatant foreshadowing being an exception, but considered bad style), so if you catch me writing in present tense in the narrative, that's exactly the kind of style error you're looking for.

Also, keep an eye out for places I use passive verbs instead of active verbs. You're obviously supposed to use active verbs. :)

In case anybody doesn't know the difference, in the following two sentences, the second uses an active verb.

Cecil was then led into the hooker's room.

Cecil followed the hooker into her room.

You see the difference? Active is both easier to read and more descriptive for the same word count.
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Re: Special help - Pre-readers needed!

Post by Bytes »

Hit me up pl0x XD
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