Colony Alpha Reader Call!

Holy smokes, is this for real? I'll give it to you straight. Yes. Yes it is. I've been kind of quiet this week (having a holiday on Monday helped), save reminders that Unusual Events: A "Short" story collection is coming out in just four days! If you've somehow missed all the news on that end, it's awesome, it's excellent, and you can pick up a copy ahead of time to be delivered the moment it comes out by going here. Or, if you're still curious, you can read a free sample from the collection here and get a taste of what's inside its cover for yourself! You can also share either of those links if you're particularly excited and want to tell people about Unusual Events.

Right, gotta get those plugs in there. This is how I eat, after all.

Anyway, back to that title. Yep, it's finally time. While Unusual Events has been getting all the attention, behind the scenes I've been wrapping up the second Alpha draft of Colony and getting it ready for another set of Alpha Readers to take a look at it now that it's been cleaned up and polished a bit.

Which means ... Yes, that's right. After me teasing this thing for almost a year, it's finally ready for another Alpha reading. Or it will be by tomorrow, at least. Which means ... Alpha Reader call.

So, some background information. What am I looking for?

I'm looking for Alpha Readers. Not Beta Readers. Alpha Readers are readers that are less concerned with grammatical problems and more concerned with "Um, this segment felt unneeded," "this was confusing," or "this part needs to be more clear." Basically, an Alpha Reader is looking for problems with structure and presentation, going through the story and leaving comments throughout on what worked, what didn't, what they felt could be cut, what wasn't clear, etc."

It's not an easy task. Basically, an Alpha Reader has to read an entire story in its rough, unpolished state, and point the author towards the areas that need that polish so that they can get to work on it (spit polish, the grammar nitpick, is beta). It's not a "Hey, the author wants to give me this book for free." Nor is it a "read until you don't like it" project. What it is is an agreement to read the entirety of an author's early work in order to provide them with valuable feedback.

With that clear, what is Colony?

Colony is a Science-Fiction Space Opera Epic I wrote about a year ago, just before I wrote Beyond the Borderlands. It follows three characters—a corporate investigator, a mercenary, and a hacker—as they work together to track down a missing computer programmer on one of Earth's colony worlds—Pisces, a planet covered entirely in water. Of course, nothing is ever simple (we wouldn't have a story otherwise), and before long all three find themselves in over their heads and fighting for their lives as the ripples of their arrival start to rock the planet right down to its core.

Yep, this is the story where I said I wanted to bring all these action elements together, throw them in a blender ... and then make the blender explode.

Colony is the longest thing I've written, currently clocking in at 332,000 words, or somewhere around 1100 pages in print form. It's was also written without any sort of my usual planning (I was trying out writing without one to see how it would go), which makes me cautious about it. Especially at that length.

Yeah. It's long. A lot happens in its pages. At least, that's what I think. And now, after making some cuts from the first draft, trimming things here and there, and trying to balance things out a bit better, I need to know how it looks, how it worked, and whether I should be pushing for a third Alpha Draft.

Right. So, I need Alpha Readers. Alpha Readers who are willing to pour over the story on Google Docs, chapter by chapter, and leave thoughts, notes, and feedback on what needs to be fixed and what doesn't. What works and what doesn't.

With some hard work and elbow grease, plus sales from Unusual Events to pay for everything (like a cover) Colony should be coming out in May of 2016. That's the current release window.

Anyway, that's the info. So, want to be an Alpha Reader? Comment below and let me know why and what you'll do. No promises that simply commenting will get you in (after all, I already have some prior Alpha Readers that have expressed a lot of interest in Colony, so they've got first dibs).

See you on Pisces.

Comments

[Cromegas_Flare]

I would like to be an Alpha reader.

I would read through the docs on my computer while I wait the hours between my school classes, I will also put all my personal writing projects on hold to help you out with this.

I find this to be more than just practice, for that was everything before hand, but a chance to flex my skills. This is also my strong suit when reading stories, and with giving comments through out the story, you will receive comments, questions, and suggestions from me, both good and bad. I don't like being nit picky, and I can easily look through mechanical issues and find anomalies in the dramatic structure.

I will also recognize that this is your story, and I will work to keep it that way. I will recognize that my suggestions are just that, and my job is just to find what works, and what doesn't.

My name is out there if you want me on the team.

I want to do it for the simple reason of helping out a friend.

I have lots of free time on my hands to work on this project.

[Singularity Dream]

Tempted to offer, but I don't think I'd be any good leaving notes on Google docs. Not a technical angle, just not my preferred method. Given that my preference would be to download it and read it on my device with the occasional note as things struck me. Hope the alpha reading goes well so it can come out soon so us waiting can read it.