My Updates 3rd October 2015

Hi All,

I finally found an exchange beta reader (thanks CeeCee). We’ve been madly reading and critiquing each other’s work on a quid pro quo trade off basis for the past couple of weeks. Hopefully we’ll be finished this weekend.

I have to say it’s been a positive experience. It’s my first time as a beta reader and I’ve enjoyed doing it. Who knows, I may eventually look into doing an editing course so I can add that skill to my repertoire of writing chops.

I’ve really benefitted from CeeCee’s feedback. She’s helped me figure out what I needed to do to strengthen one of my characters as well as pointing out plenty of other areas that could do with some tweaking.

One thing she’s helped me with in particular, is weeding out words and phrases that don’t translate from Aussie speak to American speak. It’s amazing how many parts of our every day dialect is unique to where we live. We spend our entire lives believing certain words and sayings are universal…not true. Here are two examples:

1. “Come on guys. You all look like a bunch of stunned mullets,” I say between chuckles.
2. I remember it took a good two weeks for the penny to drop.

It seems the saying ‘stunned mullet’ is intrinsically Australian. According to the Australian National Dictionary website it means: Dazed, confused, bewildered. The phrase, first recorded in the 1950s, alludes to the goggle-eyed stare (and sometimes gaping mouth) of a fish that has been recently caught and made unconscious. A person typically looks like a stunned mullet as the result of a sudden shock or surprise.

According to Phrase Finder website, ‘penny drop’ originated in the UK and was then adopted by Aussies. It means: A belated realization of something after a period of confusion or ignorance. The earliest use of the phrase with the ‘now I understand’ meaning, is from The Daily Mirror newspaper back in August 1939.

CeeCee’s experience as a beta reader has helped a lot and I have to say, she’s also boosted my confidence. We write in different genres, however, they’re very relatable. It also helps that she is a long suffering author hehe. I needed that ‘writer’s eye’ on my manuscript. I’m excited about our connection and hope we’ll continue to beta read for each other in the future. You can buy CeeCee’s books here. She’s published six books so far (memoires and novels) and is way ahead of the game compared to me. I’m sure I’ll be picking her brains in terms of publishing if/when I decide to let go of the traditional route.

For now, I’ll continue building my writer’s platform while I’m looking for a US agent. I’ve set a deadline of mid next year and if I haven’t found the right agent by then I’ll definitely look at self publishing. I’ve already engaged in a little research and it seems it’s a much better option for authors than it was in the past. For now, I’ll stick to plan A.

Gracie’s Girls has now had two regular readers, my good friend, Alison who did an amazing job and my daughter, Lisa, who also did an excellent job. I’ve had my cousin, Tracy check all medical aspects, a friend, Andres, check Omar’s speech (my Spanish sub character), and an expert, William H. Marquardt, Ph.D., Curator of South Florida Archaeology and Ethnography, read and critique all excerpts about the Calusa Indians. And now I have, CeeCee, my US citizen AND an actual author to appraise it (big check!). Last on the list will be a local Marco resident and all boxes will be checked.

That’s if for this week. If you’re a writer, I’d love to know how you’ve personally benefitted from having beta readers or being a beta reader.

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Take care all, Viv x