Lin’s Comments (group member since May 06, 2013)

Lin’s comments from the Beta Reader Group group.

I'm an editor and proofreader by trade, also offering formatting for print and ebook.
I have extensive experience in providing written reports for writers - I'm reluctant to call it beta reading, as it's more like a development read, with comments throughout your manuscript plus a separate written report.
I can carry out a full copy edit, ensuring your manuscript is consistent and makes sense, or a proofread to catch the last few typos, grammar or punctuation errors, and check layout.
Please see my website www.coinlea.co.uk for full details.
I look forward to helping you make your novel the best it can be!

If you're charging for beta reads, please make sure you're in a position to fulfil your obligation. If you're paying for beta reads, please be careful when making arrangements.
Are you using an established beta reader? Do they have a proven track record? Are they set up as a business? How much do they know about the feedback process? Are they expecting you to pay money well ahead of receiving the work?
There are always risks involved when engaging someone to do work for you. But there are ways to minimise that risk. Do you have any other way of contacting the person? Have you agreed a timescale? Can you agree half before the report and half on receipt, for example?
Beta reading is a service that has traditionally been offered for free, but with so many people seeking a reliable reader, there is a growing tendency to charge for the service. Paying someone for feedback gives a little more certainty that you'll receive a report, especially if you agree to pay on receipt (which is how I always do my reads).
But beta reading is time-consuming, especially when a project needs a lot of feedback, and so the reader is likely to be doing it as a hobby or sideline rather than main business.
And please, don't ask for a beta reader (especially not one you've agreed to pay for) unless you're prepared to accept feedback! You're welcome to disagree privately with their comments, but at the very least pay them for the service received and thank them for their time and effort.

Please bear in mind that if you comment on a post, your name and the new date will appear. This could make it appear as though you have POSTED more recently than you actually have.

With this in mind, I recommend that you post a NEW POST every month, rather than BUMPING an existing post. This also ensures all information is up to date and easy to access. Getting others to bump your post is also questionable behaviour - it's always nice to get clients to give you public praise, but as we have no way of verifying that praise, it's open to misuse.

When considering frequency of posts, I look at the date of post, so if you posted on the 20th January, and again on 15th February, that is within a month and will be looked at closely. 20th January and then 20th February and you're okay.

If I notice you posting more frequently than the month in the rules, I will warn you and quite possibly remove the new post. If I find I'm warning you again, then both posts could well be removed without further notice.

I have to admit that that's rather harsh! I don't have time to police a forum like this and check up on every single post, looking back to previous dates. I ask that people respect the rules, and I would remind of the rules where someone posts within less than a month, and remove if necessary. I consider a calendar month for ease of reference, so I would not consider March 8th-April 8th as too much - especially since March has 31 days!

If someone has been warned, I would then not hesitate to remove future posts that also break the rules.

The idea of allowing people to advertise is to be fair to all. Anyone who breaks the rules is making life more difficult for others, and risks us withdrawing adverts for paid services altogether.

Very little these days. Technically, an alpha reader is working at a very raw stage. The manuscript might not even be a complete draft. An alpha reader usually has writing or editing experience, and will help you shape your story. An alpha read can be very raw and hard to get through.

A beta reader will read at a much later stage, theoretically when you've done all you can. A beta reader used to be a test reader on a finished article, but these days it's more like the final stage before a paid editor gets involved. A beta reader is a reader, and will read and give feedback on the finished story from a reader's perspective, in contrast to the alpha reader who's giving feedback from a writer's or editor's perspective. For a beta read, the manuscript should be as polished as you can make it, and should be fairly straightforward from the reader's perspective.

In my experience, many that have been sent to me for beta reads turn out to need alpha read instead, which is why I first started charging, and at the moment have stopped offering full beta reads unless I'm already confident in the writer's abilities, as it was taking up far too much of my time even to justify the small charge.

A critique partner is someone who offers an alpha read service to you in exchange for you doing the same with them. Works well as long as you're both compatible. Beware of getting someone who will swallow up all the feedback you give them, and then give you very little in return, or someone who has set ideas on how something should be written, and will impose their writing style or structure on your work.

In the same way, a beta reader should not be proofreading, editing or rewording. They should only be giving feedback on what works and what doesn't work.

The alpha line is a little shakier, but again beware of those seeking to reshape your work into what they would write. This is why editing is such a specialised service - the job of editing someone else's work into something better, without changing the writer's voice, is something that you don't pick up overnight or just because you reckon you edited your own work so should be able to do it for others and charge for it.

Hi, Ge, and welcome to the board. Please remember that we ask that service providers post here no more than once a month to promote their service. That also includes bumping their own post to make it rise. I see the original post (Feb 27) followed by boosts on March 2, 3 and 5. Any further bumps within a month, or any extra posts about the same service with the same timeframe, will be removed.

We ask everyone to abide by these rules so that the board remains a useful place for all, and not just for a few who post all the time.

Every month - yes. But you've got a post 12th Feb and then 1st March. Best to keep it down to a calendar month at least apart :)

Please don't bump your own post more than once a month, or alternatively, post a new message once a month. It's unfair on the many others on this board if one or two break the rules and constantly push their posts to the top of the list.

Hi John, you can edit your own comment, but I can't - I can only remove it completely :)
As to undue repetition - just put it down to repeating for emphasis!
And I'd be delighted to work with your manuscript.

I'm an experienced proofreader and typesetter offering to provide your precious manuscript with its final polish.

I've worked on a wide variety of manuscripts, from maths puzzle books or academic writing to novels and children's books, and will work with you on the layout of your book, helping you to choose fonts, set headers, and create front and end matter for your print book, or alternatively provide an ebook that's been checked on multiple devices and is ready to upload.

I will then give it that final proofreading, looking for those pesky errors and any layout issues, so that the finished article looks good.

If you find formatting fiddly, or get frustrated arguing with the computer, then let me take the strain, and free up your time to get that next novel written.

www.coinlea.co.uk - find some sample layouts at http://wp.me/P3qQ9j-8x

Folks, this folder is here as a service to you. Please do not abuse it.

People are asked to post advertising their services no more than once a month. This includes posts from different people promoting the same business. It includes special offers (which should go in a different folder anyway).

Posts which break these simple rules will be removed.

Anyone choosing to pay an editor needs to be aware of what the job involves, the recommended rates, and the benefits.

Sadly, sometimes those offering cheap services do more harm than good. And sometimes those offering top-rate services still might not know what they're doing. Even if an editor is good, they are not necessarily the right fit for an author. And the author needs to know enough about their craft to judge whether an editor is good for them or not.

At the end of the day, you're asking someone to put a lot of hard work and knowledge into improving your work. Calculate a decent hourly rate, and compare that to what you're expecting to pay. How much time are you expecting them to spend on the work? Is that a rate they can afford to maintain, or will they struggle to survive?

Suggesting that "most people are not willing to pay this sort of money" is ignoring the fact that many do; otherwise the service would not exist.

Anyone who gets a book traditionally published will have a lot of money spent on it by the publishers, who will be investing in editing, formatting, proofreading and cover design, as well as marketing etc. Releasing a book without ensuring it has been through this sort of service means it will be at a disadvantage.

Constantly forcing prices or expectations of charges down means the work will be done by those who are unwilling or unable to do a thorough job, and they will rush it through just so they can get enough work done to pay their bills.

My tip: just don't base it on a real place and then twist the facts. I've just read a book that was supposedly set in my home town, yet there was fact after fact that showed the author didn't know the place, or was twisting facts to suit her (from minor details: walking through a dimly lit ticket office at the railway station at midnight - actually they lock the office around 6, and everyone has to go out the side gate; to major details: there's no big hospital with emergency facilities here, only a small cottage hospital that deals mainly with elderly patients; geographical details were dodgy too, with cliffs and rocks that moved, building sandcastles on a shingle beach...).
So if you're going to use a real, named town that people would recognise, just make it accurate!

Hiya

I'm a UK-based editor/proofreader/beta reader. My website (including testimonials) is at www.coinlea.co.uk and I'd be happy to discuss services with you.

Julie I think it's already there! It was crossposted.

Please can we be very wary of people offering to "proofread and edit" on a free board. Either they're going to be asking for a fee or they're not a professional editor/proofreader, and therefore the author should be very careful that they can actually carry out the job to a professional standard.
This is a beta reading group, primarily. Beta reading is picking up errors in plot, continuity and pace, not editing and proofreading.

Just to update on this: I still have around 3 files that I must get done and out, and I'll try to catch up on those over the next week.

After that, I must give priority to stuff that pays the bills, but if you're able to follow the instructions given above for asking for a free read and you mention goodreads and this offer, AND if I've got time to do it, then you might be lucky. I'm sorry I can't be more helpful than that, but I've really enjoyed the experience of reading a wide variety of openings.

Maho, what you are asking is far beyond the scope of a beta reader, and sounds like it should be done by a professional.

I suggest that you post in the Services wanted board, and consider what your budget is. What you're asking is essentially for someone to correct your translation. And 300k words is very, very long, even for fantasy. You would be better seeking the assistance of a developmental editor.

And Go - please note that we ask that you do NOT offer paid services in answer to a request for free services.

I'm now offering a new service - the first 10k words of your novel assessed, with a full report. I also offer editing, proofreading and formatting services.
I will read most things, including non-fiction, but NOT erotica. I specialise in fantasy, women's lit and non-fiction projects.
My website is www.coinlea.co.uk, and there's also a blog on there with lots of useful advice for writers.

A professional editor would not bail on you. This is the problem with using those who promise "A cheap, affordable edit". Some are setting out and genuinely offering services cheap in return for testimonials. Far more are either skimping on the editing provided or finding themselves in way over their heads and unable to deliver. Consider these "novel edit for $200". How much time are they intending to spend on your novel? How long should it actually take?
As to beta readers, yes they can be a mixed bunch. This is why many people are starting to use paid beta services.