Nathan Bransford - The Forums

I have to amend my list of least favorite things; before this week, the list was simple:
3. Waiting
2. Traffic
1. Waiting in traffic

Waiting for beta readers has just topped my list (I know; it doesn’t get any better once the real fun starts, but if I get past this I’ll be all right). It’s been five whole days and not a peep. The paranoid in me thinks they’re intentionally trying to torture me. The insecure child thinks they hate it and are afraid to say so. The impatient writer wants them to BE finished so I can get on with it. I don’t want to hack them off, but I really want to know what they think so far; but the etiquette conscious Emily Post says I should wait….How long?

Guess what? They are trying to slowly torture you, break you down until you're hunched over in a corner, holding yourself in fetal position, whimpering the names of your MC while blowing tiny snot bubbles from your nose.

Or maybe not. :)

If they're taking their time, then you probably have a really thorough Beta who wants to help you fill in the plot holes, pacing, voice, etc. If it was so bad, they'd probably return it to you within a few days.

Robin wrote:Guess what? They are trying to slowly torture you, break you down until you're hunched over in a corner, holding yourself in fetal position, whimpering the names of your MC while blowing tiny snot bubbles from your nose.

Or maybe not. :)

If they're taking their time, then you probably have a really thorough Beta who wants to help you fill in the plot holes, pacing, voice, etc. If it was so bad, they'd probably return it to you within a few days.

LOL just doesn't cover it. I'm still laughing - thanks

Watcher55 wrote:

Robin wrote:Guess what? They are trying to slowly torture you, break you down until you're hunched over in a corner, holding yourself in fetal position, whimpering the names of your MC while blowing tiny snot bubbles from your nose.

Or maybe not. :)

If they're taking their time, then you probably have a really thorough Beta who wants to help you fill in the plot holes, pacing, voice, etc. If it was so bad, they'd probably return it to you within a few days.

LOL just doesn't cover it. I'm still laughing - thanks

Well as long as you're laughing and not crying and banging your head against a wall. Let me know what your Beta said. (If it turns out that I was right, you've gotta convince Cheeky into posting that Chocolate Cake recipe sooner ;)

Perhaps if I banged my head against Cheeky she'll post the recipe and I can use it to bribe the betas to go faster. You win. I win and Cheeky takes a couple of asprin. Everyone's happy.

Watcher55 wrote:Perhaps if I banged my head against Cheeky she'll post the recipe and I can use it to bribe the betas to go faster. You win. I win and Cheeky takes a couple of asprin. Everyone's happy.

LOL!!!!! Sounds like a plan :) Just make sure you video tape it, and send me a slice.

Robin wrote:

Watcher55 wrote:Perhaps if I banged my head against Cheeky she'll post the recipe and I can use it to bribe the betas to go faster. You win. I win and Cheeky takes a couple of asprin. Everyone's happy.

LOL!!!!! Sounds like a plan :) Just make sure you video tape it, and send me a slice.

And one each for the StinkyButts.

Of course, cant leave them out, or they'll crush you with their boogie boards ;)

Death by boogie board - hmmm, I feel a short story coming on.

I would send you some comforting deserts if I could. Waiting is ridiculous when you are filled with prickly anticipation. If you start analyzing everything they do or say and how long it takes them to call, you're going to turn into a 16 year old girl, so be warned.

I'm not so much worried or obsessive as The OP suggests. I'm just impatient (I prayed for patience and God made me wait), and wondering how long I should wait before I start prodding.

It is frustrating, but sometimes life gets in the way on their end too. I can speak from experience...(sorry crit partners, I'll get it to you soon, I promise!).

Typically, though, response time vs. effectiveness ends up looking like a bell graph. Robin's right in that a too-quick response usually means they gave up; too long a wait and either life's interfering, or they found a lot of problems but are willing to help with each and every one, or they're just really wordy and have to get everything just right (I fall into the last category mostly, though I'm not OCD in anything else...weird); the middle ground is usually the best from the owner's point of view, because they didn't have to wait so long and they still have a pretty good amount of feedback to go off of.

Waiting sucks. I have no patience, just ask my husband. Actually, no, please don't ask him. He'll tell you more than you want to know.

"Literary" people tend to read the average novel in 2-3 days, if they do little to nothing else. And that's just reading for enjoyment, not taking into account watching for typos, plot holes, 2D characters, infodumps (or information deposits, as polymath so cleverly labeled them), as well as paying attention to their moods, reactions, and thoughts regarding the work. Editing take sooo much longer than just reading. And it's hard, and most people walk away with headaches each night.

My Mom is one of my betas. She can read an 80,000 word novel in a day. (We're both very fast readers.) My latest novel was 75,000 words and I got the entire manuscript returned to me in 3 1/2 weeks.

Hang in there, Watcher. If you HAVE to bang your head against the wall, just make sure it isn't brick. Maybe hang a pillow up. And look on the bright side - banging your head against the wall burns 150 calories an hour - more room for Cheeky's oh-so-delicious looking cakes!!

dios4vida wrote:My Mom is one of my betas. She can read an 80,000 word novel in a day. (We're both very fast readers.) My latest novel was 75,000 words and I got the entire manuscript returned to me in 3 1/2 weeks.

Hang in there, Watcher. If you HAVE to bang your head against the wall, just make sure it isn't brick. Maybe hang a pillow up. And look on the bright side - banging your head against the wall burns 150 calories an hour - more room for Cheeky's oh-so-delicious looking cakes!!

Thank you for the perspective. Now I can stop actively "waiting". Brick walls every where thank you (They got nothing on my head) as well. I just hope Cheeky saw me smiling when I posted that comment - sorry Robin, I guess this is just another lesson is patience. :)

Waiting is a part of life. I hate it to. I am impatient, but I find other things like piano, guitar and athletics to take over my mind, thus I forget about the waiting and progress in a different area. :) Luck!!!