First off, what is beta reading? Not everybody thinks of this service the same way. For me, beta reading means outlining my impression of a story in a 3-4 page report. Characters (development and arcs), pacing, and the “big picture” are usually my three areas of focus. Sometimes called a “reader’s report” or “manuscript review,”…
Category: Craft
Writing a Query Letter
Writing my first query letter has been transformative. I have lived the life of a phoenix. Taken my beak to shell. Swelled with the glory of flight. Burned into ashes. And then, in a chorus of mystical chemistry, I remade myself. Eh, in short, it was really effin’ hard. Here’s my personal path from zero…
How Do You Finish a Story?
How do you know a story is done? Or if not a “story,” a piece of writing—your flash fiction, your novella, your book. How do you know when it’s a ready, submission-worthy, finished piece? Reading the classics in high school, and even in college, I had this underlying assumption that every poem, every novel, was…