Pre-publication

Hi!

How many people read your stories prior to publication?

Do you wish you had more people offering input, or are you happy with that number?

Thanks!

Bebop3 said:

Hi!

How many people read your stories prior to publication?

Do you wish you had more people offering input, or are you happy with that number?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Until recently, only me.

I now have two very good beta readers who I trust to say, no, that's not working (but it's entirely up to me what I do with that advice). They also do a last catch for edits I've missed, but that's not why they're there - it's up to me to get my best copy (they're not my editors).

They only see completed stories or chapters though. I hardly ever share work in progress, so in terms of tangible input to a story, I don't ask for it and don't get it.

They're fellow writers, so I'm getting 'writerly' advice - all reader feedback is after the story goes live (or from comments from previous chapters or stories).

One and that's fine with me. I don't work by committee.

I do an amount of reading/editing for others but when it comes to my own stories it is just myself. I let the words flow, capturing content but not worrying too much about the specifics of continuity. Then I'll read a couple of times to catch edits and ensure the story flows. There are always a few that I miss and maybe an editor could make things perfect but at the end of the day I am writing for fun so I'm not so worried.

Can I ask a question back? How much of a difference do you think is gained by having one or more editors perusing your stories. Is perfection a pre-requisite?

CiaoSteve said:

Can I ask a question back? How much of a difference do you think is gained by having one or more editors perusing your stories. Is perfection a pre-requisite?

Click to expand...

I have absolutely no idea how much of a difference is made by having multiple people take a look. I hope to have my first story finished and posted soon. I may be able to offer a better answer after I've gone through the process a few times. I do know that I was lucky enough to get back some varied and great suggestions from numerous people.

Perfection isn't a prerequisite, but I don't see why I wouldn't want to make the story as strong as it can be. I don't mind waiting. It won't bother me to not have it posted a week from now as opposed to today, so why not take the opportunity to get some feedback? I also have absolutely no vanity involved, so I'm happy to take constructive criticism and make suggested changes that seem reasonable.