Working with Beta Readers

Looking for inspiration on finding and working with beta readers? Here, read this! https://www.thebookdesigner.com/2014/03/5-things-you-should-know-about-working-with-beta-readers, By Corina Koch MacLeod and Carla Douglas; March 19, 2014 

Find and Work with Beta Readers

Great advice on finding and working with beta readers here: https://janefriedman.com/find-beta-readers; January 18, 2016 by Kristen Kieffer. 

Is My Novel Offensive? by Katy Waldman

From: http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2017/02/how_sensitivity_readers_from_minority_groups_are_changing_the_book_publishing.html How “sensitivity readers” are changing the publishing ecosystem—and raising new questions about what makes a great book. When Becky Albertalli published her first young adult novel, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, with the HarperCollins imprint Balzer and Bray in 2015, she never expected it to be controversial. She’d worked for years as a clinical psychologist specializing in gender nonconforming children and LGBTQ teens and adults.* Yet her book—about a closeted gay… Read More

The Nazi-Holocaust Survivor Romance Novel You Weren’t Waiting For, By Katherine Locke

From: http://forward.com/sisterhood/318755/nazi-romance August 7, 2015 A few weeks ago in New York City, Romance Writers of America held their annual conference. The agenda included the RITA awards, the equivalent of the Oscars of the romance writing world, and one of those nominees, for “Best Inspirational Romance” and “Best First Novel,” was a book called “For Such a Time” by Kate Breslin. “For Such a Time” is a retelling of the biblical book of… Read More

How to Critique

From: PNWA The purpose of a critique is to assist the author in gaining new insight into their own work as early as possible in the writing process. Rules For When You Give A Critique  ALWAYS start with a positive, no matter how simple.  If you say something negative, the author may not hear the critique that follows ALWAYS use the first person, the ‘eye’ (‘I’).  For example, compare these two comments.  “I… Read More