Forty-Two Beta Readers

Forty-Two beta readers finished reading Forty-Two Places last Friday.

I love this chapter, it makes me want to go there.

And so the next revision begins. I like to start with compiling the AWESOME comments for a few reasons. First, the praise reinforces why I’m doing all this work in the first place. Second, positive comments are less likely to require large amounts of revision work. It makes the editing seem less daunting. Here’s a few of my favorite positive comments so far:

I really like the way you’re interweaving your guide in this initial introductory chapter with that of the writings of DNA. This will offer something for those familiar with DNA’s works, as well as providing a suitable introduction for those unfamiliar with his works.

This has been a huge struggle for me: targeting my audience and just writing for them (us). When non-DNA fans read my chapters, I get a few chuckles, but mostly a lot of blank stares. Many have no idea what’s going on. I’m glad that this reader, at least, thinks I have threaded that needle effectively. (Some fans felt the opposite, BTW, but I’m taking the encouragement first!)

Short, to the point and pertinent. Usually don’t like dedications since they’re self aggrandizing bloviation. Yours is great.

I have to say this made me laugh with delight! I never considered that readers would have strong opinions about dedications, but they sure do. Several of my readers mentioned liking or disliking it.

Dedications and acknowledgments (if the author chooses to include them) are the places an author can offer public gratitude. I always read them. I think they’re sweet.

As a literature major, I know that dedications become a critical aspect of understanding the author if they become a historical person of interest. An example of a historically weighty dedication is the one Jane Austen was invited to make when she dedicated Emma to The Prince Regent. She acquiesced to the “invitation” as there was no alternative, but the story about how it came about lives on to this day as a part of the Austen mystique.

Similarly, Douglas Adams dedicated his books mostly to his family and the collaborators who helped shape Hitchhiker’s. But his Life, The Universe and Everything dedication “For Sally” is acknowledged by his biographers as indicative of the impact of a long, public affair with a married woman. There’s a lot to be read between the lines of dedications. Apparently, even mine.

This chapter is a gem, It want me to go there.

True, several of my readers are not native English speakers. I picked them specifically because I hope that this book will appeal to fans and travelers from all around the world. In fact, many of the non-Americans were helpful in pointing out phrases that confused them or could be construed and mildly offensive in British. This is why beta readers are AMAZING!

You are also brilliant at seeing the body of work as a whole and finding correlations between aspects of it. I’m really impressed by that.

Any fan out there could have written the book I’m writing. It didn’t have to be me, but it IS me. That means this book is going to get a slant of my unique, often bizarre subset of skills. In this case, reading Adams’s work later in life, and all at once within a few years (and then regularly re-reading as an antidote to the real world) means that I do consider everything Douglas wrote as a “collection.”

My book picks that collection apart to find the locations and guide readers to them, but ultimately Forty-Two Places is about engendering appreciation for the author, the works, and the places, within the heart and soul of the fan. Not all fans may be up for this level of devotion. However, those that are, are REALLY going to enjoy this ride.

If you know you’re that fan, please join my mailing list to get notified when the book is available.