This month I opened up the post to questions and got this really excellent set with respect to beta readers:

Wynter asks: How much writing/editing do you put into your manuscript before you hand it over to your Beta to read? And how much time usually goes into this particular part of the process before it’s submitted to a publisher? In fact, how involved does a Beta really become in a story?

Henley replies: I’ve come to the realization that my ‘Beta’ is probably more of a right-hand-man than the industry’s beta ‘norm’. So I’m going to detail the process that we do, but I’m pretty sure this isn’t a consistent process for most. For one thing, I’m good friends with my beta. He isn’t a stranger that I send my stories to, and I doubt that I could ever do that. Nor do I just pack up my completed manuscript and send it off to him. It usually starts like this…

I get an idea. Let’s take Baby’s on Fire, for an example. I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone that I got the idea for the novel after watching Velvet Goldmine. It’s an interesting movie that was directed by Todd Haynes, written by James Lyons and Todd Haynes, and produced by a whole pile of production companies: Channel Four Films, Goldwyn Films, Killer Films, Miramax, Newmarket Capital Group, Single Cell Pictures, and Zenith Entertainment. Another close friend of mine, Kelly Wyre, mentioned it in conversation and when she heard that I hadn’t seen it, she insisted that it had to go on my list of must-sees. It would, however, be a fallacy to say that my novel is based off this movie in any respects. There were several characters that I didn’t like, including two of the MCs, I despised the ending, and not only did the movie end poorly, it wandered pointlessly (in my oh-so-humble opinion).

The idea, though, of a late 60s, early 70s glam rock star trying to find love that would work in that environment struck me hard. So my beta’s first ‘job’ was to watch the movie. We then spent hours, and I do mean hours, talking about the premise of glam rock performers—who they were, what they were trying to accomplish, where it got them—and how that genre of music continues to crop up again and again within the music industry.

So, back to the question, or at least the first part of it… “How much writing/editing do you put into your manuscript before you hand it over to your Beta to read?” Some days it would be a thousand words, two thousand, five thousand. Some days there’d be none. The point, however, is that my beta read/reads every little bit along the way. We talk about where the story is going as it’s taking its journey, and we ponder over the next place we figure it’s going to land. My beta looks at nearly every bit of research and every picture reference that I find. He tells me if he sees inconsistencies in the story or the characters, and he points out places where I’m confusing him. We do bit-editing at this point as well (“I’m not sure you mean ‘foot’ here…”).

Of course, with Baby’s on Fire we both had the added bonus of watching each of our projects develop at the same time. For those that don’t know, my beta was the artist for the novel’s cover – Raphael. So for every time that he asked, “Did you get some writing done today?” I got to counter with a, “Did you get any drawing done today?” It was a great reward system.

When I finally get to the point that I can write those magical words, The End, I take the complete draft, hole up somewhere quiet with a lot of caffeine, and I do a full edit pass. That second draft then goes to my beta. He carefully (and usually somewhat painfully) combs through the story and once again reports back with anything I might have missed. After he sends it back, I made any corrections and do another full read-through. So, to answer part two of the question: “… how much time usually goes into this particular part of the process before it’s submitted to a publisher?” A lot. On a longer novel like Baby’s on Fire, we’ve banked about six months’ worth of effort at that point.

Do we miss some errors along the way? Of course we do; neither one of us is perfect nor do we claim to be. My beta isn’t supposed to be (again in my oh-so-humble opinion) the editor of every mark of punctuation or word slippage. What he does do is give me a reader’s perspective on the plot, the characters, and the story itself. Less Than Three Press has a fine staff of editors and it’s at that point where they take over. Tracey did a great job with Baby’s on Fire and I’m forever grateful. (Yes, I’ve seen the comments about LT3 editors and I just have to say that on my second read through King’s ‘It’ I’ve found four errors so far that don’t fall within the realm of author preference. Nobody’s perfect. Nobody.)

For me, there really is only one way to answer the final question, “In fact, how involved does a Beta really become in a story?” Damn near as much as I do myself. Maybe I’m lucky—I know that I definitely believe I am—but I truly hope that everyone has a beta that loves both the author and the author’s work as much as mine does.

More questions next time! Perhaps even a post on pie, hm, Frost? 😉

Until then, I remain your indebted servant,

AF Henley <3

Please note: the Rafflecopter for Baby’s on Fire is still running and will continue to run until May 22nd. Check it out HERE and throw in a couple of ballots to win a $20 gift certificate the Less Than Three Press book market, a set of ‘silver’ and crystal glitter-ball earrings, and a signed print copy of Baby’s on Fire…

Henley was born with a full-blown passion for run-on sentences, a zealous indulgence in all words descriptive, and the endearing tendency to overuse punctuation. Since the early years Henley has been an enthusiastic writer, from the first few I-love-my-dog stories to the current leap into erotica. A self-professed Google genius, Henley lives for the hours spent digging through the Internet for ‘research purposes’ which, more often than not, lead seven thousand miles away from first intentions but bring Henley to new discoveries and ideas that, once seeded, tend to flourish.

Henley has been proudly publishing with Less Than Three Press since 2012, and has been writing like mad ever since—an indentured servant to the belief that romance and true love can mend the most broken soul. Even when presented in prose.

Henley’s newest release, Baby’s on Fire hit the market on May 6th and is now available at your favourite online book retailer. Check it out on Amazon, or directly through LT3 Press: ebook, print.

For more information please stop by for a visit at afhenley.com.