Visit to an angry planet, revisited.
So there's apparently a lot of negativity attached to this post. Which I understand, I was a really angry person for a lot of reasons when I wrote that.
So as a result I was probably not as clear as I could have been.
Right here:
3. DO NOT SUGGEST REVISING MY BETA PROCESS. Even if in reality the author might need to, many just had bad weeks. My betas have had amazingly startlingly bad weeks and they also tend to read my feedback the same way I do. And get terminally embarrassed just as *I* do when more than the average 1 mistake per 1500 words is pointed out. Or at really OBVIOUS homonyms.
This seems to be the point of contention.
What I meant is that, phrases and sentences containing the words "revise" and "beta" and "process" should be rethought or retooled into phrases and sentences not containing those words. I'm very open to things like "you may want to learn more about commas" or "you keep missing the following homonyms" or even "this entire thing feels rushed, I'd suggest letting it age and rereading it after a week with fresh eyes."
Saying "revise your beta process" comes across as an attack on the writer and her betas, who are more than likely her friends, and is thus not exactly going to get a positive reaction.
One last thing, that people seem to keep missing. I'm fine with having my mistakes pointed out, I'm happy to correct the little things and attempt to integrate the larger ones into my future process. What bothers me is how they are pointed out.
In summation: a little bit of tact goes a long ways
So as a result I was probably not as clear as I could have been.
Right here:
3. DO NOT SUGGEST REVISING MY BETA PROCESS. Even if in reality the author might need to, many just had bad weeks. My betas have had amazingly startlingly bad weeks and they also tend to read my feedback the same way I do. And get terminally embarrassed just as *I* do when more than the average 1 mistake per 1500 words is pointed out. Or at really OBVIOUS homonyms.
This seems to be the point of contention.
What I meant is that, phrases and sentences containing the words "revise" and "beta" and "process" should be rethought or retooled into phrases and sentences not containing those words. I'm very open to things like "you may want to learn more about commas" or "you keep missing the following homonyms" or even "this entire thing feels rushed, I'd suggest letting it age and rereading it after a week with fresh eyes."
Saying "revise your beta process" comes across as an attack on the writer and her betas, who are more than likely her friends, and is thus not exactly going to get a positive reaction.
One last thing, that people seem to keep missing. I'm fine with having my mistakes pointed out, I'm happy to correct the little things and attempt to integrate the larger ones into my future process. What bothers me is how they are pointed out.
In summation: a little bit of tact goes a long ways