Out in the World

Two things have happened recently on the writing/author front and I wanted to blog about them:

First of all, you’re looking at it! I have a website now — www.howardwolke.com. It’s still a work in progress, but I feel like everything about writing is a work in progress. More on that in a bit…

Anyway, the website is exciting, but even more exciting (at least in my mind), is that I have sent the current draft of my book to a friend (read: non-family member) that graciously agreed to be a beta reader for me. So now, someone who is not related to me in any way has my book. And it’s a bit nerve-wracking.

Ok. It’s REALLY nerve-wracking. On the one hand, I’m super-nervous that she’s going to come back and just say “meh.” She’s a friend and colleague, so she’ll be kind, but meh is still meh and that’s the last reaction I want from my book. On the other hand, I also want some quality feedback so I can make the book better before I move on to my next round of beta editors and then *shudder* to querying.

I think I’m leaning towards wanting as honest of feedback as possible. That’s what beta-readers are for. And this friend of mine is really excited about feedback. She said, “You’re ok with lots of edits right? And I mean LOTS. It’s kind of a thing I do…” And that’s what I need! Edits. Feedback. Questions. Comments. I need it all! I’ve said it before that I’m new to this fiction thing, and I can use all of the help I can get.

So, I’m out in the world with the website and my book is out in the world with its first beta-reader. Please wish us both some luck. And if you’re a writer, let me know in the comments what your experience was like with either of these things. Thanks!

-H