On Revising, Part 4: The Subject of Beta Readers

Photo by Colin + Meg on Unsplash

One of the cool bits about writing is how much of it is an activity that doesn't require a lot of collaboration. Unlike, say, movies, you don't require a lot of collaboration from actors, directors, producers, and technical crew, not to mention additional writers.

The financial budget of producing a novel, no matter how you classify that, is going to be insignificant compared to the budget of even a grade-Z film going directly to digital distribution. It's not a coincidence that George R.R. Martin first started writing his A Song Of Ice And Fire series after being frustrated with the technical and financial limitations television had put on his ideas as a Hollywood screenwriter, ironic since that series would inspire one of the most expensive television programs in history. 🙂 Being your own boss as a fiction writer has tons of advantages. You don't get into any arguments over whether a character or plot twist makes sense, or whether your story should b…