I am working on my alpha read for Illusion of Truth. It’s been pretty rough for me, so far, but I’m working through it. I have to say, I think that the book is getting better.

I’ve had some people ask what an alpha read is. It is a term that I believe comes from programming. The first draft of anything, whether it is a book, a game, or a word processor, will suck. I’m not sure it matters how much it much you edit as you go or plan. There will be problems in the plot, character, pacing, something. The alpha read happens after you are done with the first draft. You go through and look for plot holes, inconsistent characters, plot holes, obvious misspellings, and so forth. It is the first step in editing.

The next step is the beta read. This is where you ask other people to critically read your book. This can be a critique group or other writers, but ideally it will include people in your target demographic. For me, that is someone who reads and/or watches Game of Thrones and Bones/Temperance Brennan series. So, I give the alpha read version of my book to several people. They read it and give me feedback, which I use to make my third draft.

After that, I give it to my editor. If you can’t find a good editor, keep looking. Having a professional editor is absolutely necessary. I use Happy Jack Publishing, who I would highly recommend. Once I get those edits, I make my fourth and final draft. That is what I publish.

Still having a great time with my writing. I’m pretty far behind, but I still have hope to get it out this November.