Saturday, December 09, 2006

This is so cute I can't stand it!


1 pm and 80 degrees.
This just arrived from my friend Pat (she has the same name - it makes it easy!).
She lives in California and is one of my trusted beta readers.
She sent this to me as a congratulations present.
It has teeny tiny sea creatures that you can take off and rearrange on the tree.
How cool!
Thank you so much Pat!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, yes, very cute. What exactly is a beta reader? I'm wondering if it's the same thing as a Crunchy Critter.

Kimber An

ORION said...

A beta reader is a person that reads a draft of your novel. They are a reader (preferably your genre) not a writer. That is how they differ from critters. They are beneficial to discover holes in your pacing and plot (those wtfs that Miss Snark talks about).
I have made a practice to collect them. Pat S. from California is a great one!

Anonymous said...

Hmm, my Crunchy Critters are all writers. How does one go about recruiting these beta readers? I have a really hard time ask people for help. You know, the childhood ghost follows me around, "Don't be a pest, you selfish little brat."

Kimber An

Anonymous said...

Chocolate! Maybe I could bribe them with chocolate! Hmmm...

ORION said...

You will be surprised, once you start looking for them you will find them. Here in the marina cruisers come and go and on passages books are very important. I will write a blog entry on getting beta readers. To be honest I did not need to give any bribes but now all my betas know they will be mentioned in my acknowledgment page and are thrilled. They all know the part that they have played.

Kim Rossi Stagliano said...

Italian Kim must ask: You are truly enthralled with a murano glass fishmas tree? Must that balmy Hawaii air you breathe! :)

ORION said...

I have simple yet pedestrian tastes...anytime I can have something closely resembling a Christmas tree on my boat I am happy!

Kim Rossi Stagliano said...

Fair enough. Even I, a landlubber extraordinaire can appreciate that on a boat space is at a premium. Now the Fishmas tree makes perfect sense. Go fish for a starfish for the top, yes? :)

Anonymous said...

fishmas tree? Cute. Never heard the term before, but when I lived in HI the idea of a traditional tree was silly.

My best critiquer is my best beta reader. You can have both in one. I think I can do both fairly well, too.