Lou Paduano | Urban Fantasy Novels | Sci-Fi Crime Series

Writing Update – March 16, 2017

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I’m buried under a foot of snow, I’m fighting a week long head cold, and the kids turned four and two last week. But enough about me, bring on the writing update!

Writing Update

The Medusa Coin IS DONE! I worked my proverbial tuchas off trying to button this bad boy up over the last four weeks. This one almost broke me, and probably led to the week long head cold. This is the first full-length novel I’ve put together since bringing the site live back in August. The first one I’ve written since the initial draft of Signs of Portents back in 2013.

I was worried to say the least.

After many revisions and quite a few late nights rejiggering different elements into place, I think I’m at a place to let this one go for a bit. I’ve sent it to my favorite first readers for their thoughts, hoping they will remember my fragile ego and go easy on me.

I’ve also opened up the opportunity for more beta readers on this one. If you are interested in reading a raw draft of The Medusa Coin, follow the link to learn more about what I’m looking for. My deadline is April 20th to have the draft read and notes sent back. I know it’s tight and hope to give more time for the next installment.

Speaking of which:

Pathways in the Dark

Book Four in the series is progressing. This one is another short story collection, taking place in the aftermath of The Medusa Coin. I finished the script level drafts of the six tales last month but it felt like something was missing.

There was and it came to me in the form of a little epilogue currently titled, The Gathering. What I loved most about Tales from Portents was the fact that when you finished The Consultant you knew where Soriya was headed and what followed with Signs of Portents. I wanted that feeling. That cliff jumping moment where the reader made it to the end of Pathways and screamed that they needed book five in their hands NOW.

The Gathering accomplishes this and I am so happy it came together. Time to sit down and start drafting the remaining five stories. (After the NyQuil wears off…)

Lots of promo stuff coming up for Signs and Tales starting April 1st so be on the lookout for some great opportunities to snag a copy on the cheap. I’ll be talking about them at length during the next update.

Thanks for reading.

Beta Readers Needed for The Medusa Coin

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Calling all beta readers! Calling all beta readers! The Medusa Coin is DONE.

beta readersQuite possibly the most difficult couple of months since launching the series but completely worth the time and aggravation. When I sat down with my initial outline everything appeared to be very straightforward with a clear path from beginning to end.

WRONG.

Quite a few additions and deletions have been made to this manuscript over the last two and a half months. At one point I thought the whole draft would need rewriting – not my best day. I’m glad to be out the other side of this one and happy to share it with a few select readers willing to offer their thoughts on the draft.

The importance of beta readers.

I’ve spoken to this before and I stand by my earlier statements on the subject. Beta readers are a crucial part of the editing process. Much as I love keeping all the secrets and holding back the surprises of a new novel until launch day, it doesn’t quite work if the final product doesn’t live up to the hype.

Suffice it say, I’d love to hear your thoughts on The Medusa Coin. This story has been with me for a LONG time and I have definitely felt the weight of my own expectations bearing down on me. I want this book to be top notch and you can help.

How to become a beta reader?

E-mail me at lou@loupaduano.com or through the oft-mentioned contact page. Or message me directly on social media. Let me know the best way to send you the file for your review.

What am I looking for exactly?

There are a number of areas actually but all feedback is welcome. Some specific areas of interest are:

  1. Pace – Does each chapter go at a good clip? Do you feel like you’re wading through a swamp or rushing through the rapids?
  2. Dialogue – Too much? Too little? Do you ever lose track of who is speaking?
  3. Story Logic – THE BIG ONE. Does the book make sense? Do connections come out of left field or is there enough information laid throughout to understand the chain of events that lead the main characters through the narrative?
  4. Flow – Not only chapter to chapter but paragraph to paragraph. Is a better transition needed?
  5. Perspective – Is there a random shift of perspective in the middle of the chapter that isn’t noted by a break? Do you ever feel like one character is lost in the mix at any time in the narrative?
  6. The villain – This was definitely an area I wanted to improve upon after Signs of Portents. Is the antagonist developed enough? Do they get enough time to shine?
  7. Repetition – Another area of concern from Signs. Character arcs are very important to me and background thoughts tend to string their main conflict along throughout the narrative. Does it ever become too repetitive in the story? Does it need to back off during certain scenes and allow the action to progress?
  8. Awkward sentences/descriptions – Are there points in the novel that tripped you up? Sentences you had to read several times over in order to understand an action occurring?

What am I not looking for?

  1. Grammar lessons. I suck at it, I know. It’s a fact of life. If you want to mark up the entire piece and save my wonderful editor the hassle later on, have at it. Telling me my grammar skills blow will not help and brings me to my final note –
  2. Vague assistance. Specifics are needed to improve the work. Telling me something doesn’t work in Chapter Forty-Three is great but I need to know what it is in detail. Not enough dialogue? A slow paragraph that didn’t add anything to the scene? Be as specific as you can, please!

Beta Readers Deadline – April 20th.

It’s not as far off as you think and it gives me ten days to work through everyone’s notes before I pass it off to my editor.

How to mark it up:

The easiest way to mark up the text is to highlight and make notes on your computer but typing up a separate document/e-mail with a list of your notes for me to go through when you are set also works.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask.

I greatly appreciate all of your help in this process. My goal is to make the best book possible and I can’t do that alone. Thanks to all of you in advance.

And thanks for reading!

Beta-Readers – A Critical Step in the Process

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There are many different paths to take when writing, many different ways to create, to build. Just as there are an infinite number of ways to publish your work – traditionally, independently, exclusively with one retailer, only digitally, etc. Certain parts of the process are critical no matter how you go about bringing your voice into the world. Instances that should not be skipped, including the use of beta readers.

What are beta readers?

Beta reader tests your manuscript (by reading it), and tells you about the ‘bugs’ so you can improve its readability, its usefulness and even its saleability. – Belinda Pollard

Sounds pretty important, right? It really is. For as much as you believe in your book, as much blood, sweat and probably more blood (damn paper cuts) has been poured into creating this fantastic manuscript you’re going to miss things. Hopefully, it won’t be major structural issues. (Wait, they start in Cincinnati on Monday at eight in the morning and end up in Los Angeles just six hours later? Someone didn’t do so well at word problems…) But if there are, it is better to catch them now before that first proof comes back or, God forbid, that first negative review on Amazon.

beta readers

Reaching out to Beta Readers

Where in the process does this fit? That is your choice. For me, I prefer to ask a small circle of readers before I send the manuscript to my editor. I prefer a fully polished book to come back from my editor, something that I can read over a few more times, make minor tweaks and then submit for publication.

The most efficient time for reader feedback is prior to editing so you can pivot and readjust where necessary to make the work stronger. It also helps so your editor isn’t looking at the manuscript in its rawest form. There have been other eyeballs on the piece to call you out on any areas you phoned in or didn’t quite nail.

When I reach out to beta readers I present the work as I would to an agent (albeit a little more casually). I introduce the product and am upfront about the timeline involved. If I only have a month for feedback and need to make a pass through the work at the end then I can only give three weeks to my readers. They need to know that right away. No surprises here. I also ask them to respond as to whether or not they have the time (or inclination) to read the book at this point. That gives me a clear headcount and I am completely aware of how many e-mails I should be receiving by the deadline given.

Ask questions.

During my initial approach with my small circle of readers I also prepare a list of questions. I typically put this together while self-editing the project. These start with all encompassing queries about the piece as a whole. Did Soriya’s arc work for you? Was there sufficient change from start to finish? Did it make sense?

Then it turns more specific. Was there enough tension in the conversation between Mentor and Soriya in chapter nine? Did I lose you at all in chapter seven when the villain turned out to be a fox? Does it make sense for Peter Parker to perform a dance number in the middle of Spider-Man 3? (The answer to that last one is NO. NEVER. Sam Raimi needed a few more beta readers…)

Asking questions lets your beta readers know there are specific areas you are concerned about. Maybe you don’t know everything there is to know about the bureaucracy of a police department so you ask your group (hopefully with someone knowledgeable in this area) to look over the scenes relating to this topic closely to point out any omissions or inaccuracies that are too glaring and pull a reader from the story. (What do you mean Loren can’t shoot another cop in the middle of the station and get away with it? Balls!)

The Best Beta Readers

The very best people to ask to read your painstakingly created masterpiece are those that can add something to the work. A close friend that loves science fiction might be more in tune with the tropes of the genre to let you know when something doesn’t work in your space opera. Another fan of thrillers might pick up on your killer by chapter four instead of when they stand revealed in chapter sixty-four. That might be a problem.

You want different voices. And you want voices that aren’t only there to give you encouragement, though some would be nice. Writing is a very lonely gig so some warm, cuddly love for your words is always appreciated but not at the expense of the final product.

Beta readers need to push the manuscript and the writer to be better.

Looking for a few good readers.

If you are interested in becoming a beta reader on my next project, feel free to shoot me an e-mail. I am always looking for feedback.

Where to find Beta Readers? – Check out Goodreads for their Beta Reader Group.

Thanks for reading.

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