My Book's Beta: Deb Read

Deb Read writes in the very interesting niche of Christian Conspiracy Thrillers -- which I hadn't heard of, but which sounds really interesting! Rather than sum up her bio for you I'll just let her explain in her own words.

You can find Deb online at her website and her blog, as well as Facebook and Twitter (@Ergo_supero).

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences with us, Deb!

Preface: Tell us a little about you and your book.

Let me start with my genre, which might give you some insight into who I am. I write Christian conspiracy thrillers with sci-fi elements. I tend to be analytical in how I approach life, and I'm not afraid to question what others consider truth. My view is the truth can always stand up to scrutiny, and my characters challenge the reality they're presented with by those in authority who expect them to accept it without question. My books are Christian in the sense that my characters have that faith and they live it out in every aspect of their lives--which just happens to include battling an elite group intent on taking over the world. Although I've written them with the Christian (CBA) market in mind, I've tried very hard to keep them from coming off preachy. I want readers to see the characters as everyday people with the same flaws and challenges the reader might have.

My book, The Family Secret, is the first in a five-book series called The Truthification Chronicles. Each of the books takes a page from current world events and political situations, as a covert elite group progressively ushers in a one world government. The Family Secret is the first step toward their goal when this group orchestrates a church preschool mass shooting involving the main character's daughter.

And now, our interview questions...

1. How do you decide when a book is ready for people to read?

I write in layers, so the short answer is, it's ready for people to read when I finish all the layers. I view writing a thriller like constructing a complex puzzle. At first I work with the big picture item, the main storyline, and then I go back and add in secondary stories that will weave in with the main one. Just as I have layers to my story, there are also layers to when I allow people to read it. I have a local writers group who reads individual scenes that are still rough, and they give me input for that primary storyline. However, as in the puzzle illustration, they may or may not see how each scene fits into the overall picture at that point because they aren't seeing all the layers yet.

Until now, I've waited until I had all layers in place before I enlisted people to read it through, but with the flexibility of BetaBooks, that may change. I can see advantages to bringing beta readers in earlier in the process.

2. Who are your early readers and how did you find them?

My early readers consist of two groups. I found my first readers within my sphere of friends. They'd heard me speak about the book and wanted to read it. The second group is a beta swap I'm involved in with three other writers. Outside of BetaBooks, I'm involved in two large critique groups that focus on the details of each chapter.

3. What is it you look for in early reader feedback, and have you ever been surprised or learned something new about your book from you early readers?

It's always interesting to hear how well (or how poorly) I've translated the movie in my mind into words for others to read. What might be clear for me when I write it might be quite confusing to a reader. I appreciate feedback that indicates to me if they understood what I was trying to convey. With thrillers, it's important to give clues to what the characters will face, but if I give away too much, it takes away from the impact of the story. When beta readers give me their reactions (good and bad) to the action and characters as they unfold, it helps me see how I can make the story have a better impact on the readers and give them the experience they look for in a thriller. If they tell me a scene was flat, I can work with it to increase the tension so the readers will keep turning pages.

Have I learned new things from beta readers? Tons. I had one scene where my main character "sauntered" to his bedroom to change his clothes. Several beta readers flagged the word "sauntered"and indicated they thought it was the wrong word for the situation. I was quite puzzled at first, but then I learned from my beta readers that this word now has sexual overtones that it never used to have. Obviously, since I write for the CBA, it was definitely an inappropriate word for my story.

4. As an author what do you value most about both your early readers and their input?

I value their perspective. When I'm writing my first draft of any scene, it's like there's a movie playing in my mind of what needs to happen to the characters. As I write it, that movie in my mind can sometimes fill in gaps that I don't see. Beta readers help me to see how other readers will view my "movie."

I like to consider myself a logical person, and I want my characters to have logical behavior patterns (at least, logical according to who they are). It's been great to have beta readers who let me know when a character does something that doesn't fit the person I've created or when a plot device doesn't make sense. (If the building is completely dark inside with no windows and no light, the characters simply can't use night vision goggles because they require at least some light to function. What a great catch from a beta reader!)

5. Is there anything you wish your early readers would do better, or skills you have had to instill in them over time?

Each one brings something different to the read. The non-writer readers compare my story to what they have read in published books over the years. The writers look at technical details a non-writer reader might miss. I've appreciate those who have tried to understand what my goal for a scene/chapter is, even if I didn't achieve that. It's hard to say what I'd do to make them better beta readers. Probably my only wish would be for them to be profuse with their feedback, no matter if it's good or bad. If something doesn't work, I want to know so I can fix it. If it does work, that's nice to know too so I can keep that skill in my repertoire. The only feedback that's not helpful is none. I'd rather have too much and sift through it to find what's most helpful than to receive too little. I can always discount something if it doesn't fit my vision for the manuscript, but if I haven't thought of it and the reader doesn't tell me their idea, I can't come up with it on my own. I'd rather they toss everything they think of out there and let me sift through it. Too much is always better than not enough.

6. Do you get critiques or feedback other ways, for instance from a writers group as you are writing? If so do you think there is a difference between that process and what a better reader does?

Yes, I have two large critique groups I'm part of and also a local writers group. For my type of novel, I think there's a definite difference between the feedback I get from them and the feedback from betas. The critique groups are focused on technique and structure, how I put the writing together, but a beta reader lets me know if I gave them the experience they wanted. In other words, the beta reader tells me if there is a problem and the critique groups help me find out how to fix it. They're both vital parts of the process, though.

7. What is the most frustrating thing about the beta reading process for you?

The most frustrating things about a beta reading process in general is trying to find people who want to do it. It's a time commitment and people are very busy. They want to help, but if they're your friend, they also worry about hurting your feelings if they don't like the book (although, if the writer is part of a critique group, that's never something for a beta to worry about...we have to have thick skins to be critiqued by other writers).

It's also frustrating when you have friends who volunteer to help you by reading it, and then they don't follow through. But, again, life is busy, and other priorities can sometimes push beta reading aside.

Bonus Question: You've used BetaBooks, if you care to mention, how has it helped your process? Was there anything you especially appreciated or found useful about it?

I haven't used it much yet, but I really like the design of it. The feedback area makes it easy for me to connect with my beta readers and to ask them questions about their comments. It's also very nice that it works via a browser to anyone with an internet connection can access it. The invite feature is quite handy for adding new beta readers to a novel.

Probably the most time-consuming part was uploading my novel. Mine tend to run 120K and I have lots of short scenes, so it took some significant time to cut and paste (and then I had to add in breaks between the paragraphs...I had lots of paragraphs...lol). I've noticed as I've been uploading my second novel that it is going a lot faster because many chapters are one long scene. So, not a biggie.

A beta reading match service would be nice so people could find others who would swap with them (although, that leads to the beta readers becoming almost exclusively writers, and I like having non-writer readers do some of it).

Quick note from Andrew and Paul: That's great feedback! We've got some stuff in the works for bulk-importing manuscripts, and are thinking a lot about how we could support beta swapping at some point as well. Thanks so much for the suggestions, we really appreciate it!