dayman Posted May 31, 2015 Report Share Posted May 31, 2015 How does that work? Is it something that could conceivably happen or is it a situation where there are just very few of them and all personally known to Sanderson? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxal Posted May 31, 2015 Report Share Posted May 31, 2015 How does that work? Is it something that could conceivably happen or is it a situation where there are just very few of them and all personally known to Sanderson? Brandon has alpha readers which as close family members and friends, then beta readers whom are selected fans (I think). They must have been chosen based on their dedication... I honestly am unsure on how Brandon selects them, but I assumed they must be people he personally met at the signings. I have no idea how a forumer attracts the attention of Brandon, I know some have, but why and how is still a mystery for me. So I would say your best bet is to go to as many signing as possible, present yourself and make yourself known. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeiryWriter Posted May 31, 2015 Report Share Posted May 31, 2015 Actually Beta readers are mostly picked by Peter Ahlstrom, Brandon's assistant, not Brandon himself. And he does sometimes pick people from the forums and other other online places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navybrandt Posted June 1, 2015 Report Share Posted June 1, 2015 (edited) Peter Ahlstrom, if you see this, I'd like to volunteer for 1 book, as long as it's after this Summer. I'm a slow reader but very nit-picky. Though to be fair, dayman has first dibs since he started this topic. Edited June 1, 2015 by navybrandt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curious Anamaximder Posted June 1, 2015 Report Share Posted June 1, 2015 Peter, I would like to be a beta reader for WoR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windrunner Posted June 1, 2015 Report Share Posted June 1, 2015 Well it's a little late to be a beta reader for WoR. But more seriously, just asking is not going to be enough or really help your case guys. Way more peoe on this forum would want to be a beta reader than are actually necessary. Just keep moving along like normal, posting with accurate and useful information, know the books very well, and things such as that. And bear in mind this is not a guarantee. It's no reflection on you if you're not, I'm honestly doubtful that Peter picks people directly from the forums, although people on the forums have become beta readers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kobold King Posted June 1, 2015 Report Share Posted June 1, 2015 ...They must have been chosen based on their dedication... Could I increase my chances of being selected by showing up in his house one night wearing a suit of homemade Shardplate, throwing coins at him while he's in bed? 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argent Posted June 1, 2015 Report Share Posted June 1, 2015 I asked, actually. Didn't get a reply, but I asked I've thought about it in the months since, and have decided that it's a terrible burden. For example, I know something about Renarin nobody else outside of Brandon's immediate circle knows (or supposed to know, at least), but I need to keep my mouth shut about it at least until SA3 comes out. It's a very itchy type of knowledge, knowing things only a few others know, and being unable to share. Yes, on one hand it's an amazing honor to beta for Brandon, but on the other... you essentially are reading spoilers. Really detailed and well-written spoilers, but spoilers nonetheless. The emotional impact of the book's reveals is diminished, and you only get to talk about it with a few other people (for a very long time). Ultimately, I don't think I would want to beta for a Stormlight book - I want those at maximum enjoyment. Another series... maybe. Once. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navybrandt Posted June 1, 2015 Report Share Posted June 1, 2015 That's actually why I said 1 book. That and the fact that I have a job, church-life, family-life, etc... It'd be awesome for 1 book though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxal Posted June 1, 2015 Report Share Posted June 1, 2015 (edited) Shardplate, throwing coins at him while he's in bed? Kobold, I think you are so widely known you probably stand a chance to be chosen should you wish to be For my part, it would be an incredibly, amazingly, unbelievably huge honor to be asked for this precious exhilarating task (I do not care about my busy schedule: I'd make room for it), but I do not have any hopes of it ever happening. I suspect the forum people who were chosen surely have met Peter physically: it does not make sense any other way. I also suspect they must be highly Cosmere versed people to get insights on all those pesky little details. I myself am a character lover, so anything not related to character development usually do not interest me much, so I'd be pretty useless at pointing who is a worldhopper or to highlight some detail on the working of investiture. In any case, I absolutely don't stand a chance, but good luck to all others I'd be great to have a simple fan from the forum to be chosen, no matter who it is. Edited June 1, 2015 by maxal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted June 1, 2015 Report Share Posted June 1, 2015 I don't think I would actually want to be chosen. I love the mounting feeling of panic and excitement as the release date slowly crawls closer and closer, even though I may complain (a lot!) about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 2, 2015 Report Share Posted June 2, 2015 I think it'd drive me stark raving mad if I was a Beta Reader for something like SA3 or anything Mistborn. Having to watch all you Darkeyed Skaa laboring away, making theories, while I KNOW that in chapter 11 of the upcoming book, a Koloss-Sized Shard-Monkey gets tossed into the gears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Shadow Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 (edited) Is it something that could conceivably happen or is it a situation where there are just very few of them and all personally known to Sanderson? Depends. How many souls do you have to sell? Edited June 3, 2015 by The Shadow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubix Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 I think it'd drive me stark raving mad if I was a Beta Reader for something like SA3 or anything Mistborn. Having to watch all you Darkeyed Skaa laboring away, making theories.... Stark raving mad is pretty accurate. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orlion Blight Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 Think about beta reading like this: You've read an intense chapter with a cliffhanger ending... you must know what happens next! Buuuut, you gotta type up your critique, somehow focus and give useful commentary beyond "OMG, gives us the precious next chapter nowz!!!". You have to send that critique, and wait for the next chapter/section to be sent to you. But Brandon's at three conventions at once and Peter is busy handling the PR fallout when Brandon says he guesses that Pepsi is better than Coca-Cola, so it's three weeks before you can get that cliffhanger resolved... By then, the constant adrenaline rush from not knowing has taken a toll on your heart... and your family. You lash out at loved ones and steal car stereos because you've all ready stolen all the copper piping in the tri-county area. The fuzz is on to you, it will be just a matter of time... you have to hide in collapsed buildings, they can't capture you! Not alive anyway, not this time... You see a butterfly, just outside of your reach. It's beauty reminds you of happier, simpler times... you think that if you touch it, you might be able to regain some small measure of those halcyon days... some small measure of your humanity that has long since rotted in the trenches. You reach out and lean out of the shadows, reaching for that butterfly... only to be picked off by a Hun sniper no one knew was there. Two days later, Armistice is reached with the Germans. It's all quiet on the Western Front. Time travel induced by madness is a heavy burden indeed. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxal Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 Think about beta reading like this: You've read an intense chapter with a cliffhanger ending... you must know what happens next! Buuuut, you gotta type up your critique, somehow focus and give useful commentary beyond "OMG, gives us the precious next chapter nowz!!!". You have to send that critique, and wait for the next chapter/section to be sent to you. Would not be such an issue for me: I am notorious for ending my reading in the middle of cliffhangers because it is bed time Family life forces me to go to bed at a regular hour. I figured the pace of the chapters would probably fit perfectly within my reading time frame And waiting for the next chapter would be fun as it would remove me from always glancing at said book from the corner of the eye while said kid are jumping around. It is actually safer for my family life. I think the hardest, for me, would be not being able to talk about it, though since I actually spoiled myself on WoR it would not be a bad thing for me. Once the book is released, I may very well the last one to finish it as some of you will devour it in 3 days It will therefore be nearly impossible for me not to spoil myself Beta reading would solve this issue 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curious Anamaximder Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 I asked, actually. Didn't get a reply, but I asked I've thought about it in the months since, and have decided that it's a terrible burden. For example, I know something about Renarin nobody else outside of Brandon's immediate circle knows (or supposed to know, at least), but I need to keep my mouth shut about it at least until SA3 comes out. It's a very itchy type of knowledge, knowing things only a few others know, and being unable to share. Yes, on one hand it's an amazing honor to beta for Brandon, but on the other... you essentially are reading spoilers. Really detailed and well-written spoilers, but spoilers nonetheless. The emotional impact of the book's reveals is diminished, and you only get to talk about it with a few other people (for a very long time). Ultimately, I don't think I would want to beta for a Stormlight book - I want those at maximum enjoyment. Another series... maybe. Once. You know something about Renarin! FeatherWriter would be so jealous! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navybrandt Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 Would not be such an issue for me: I am notorious for ending my reading in the middle of cliffhangers because it is bed time Family life forces me to go to bed at a regular hour. I figured the pace of the chapters would probably fit perfectly within my reading time frame And waiting for the next chapter would be fun as it would remove me from always glancing at said book from the corner of the eye while said kid are jumping around. It is actually safer for my family life. I think the hardest, for me, would be not being able to talk about it, though since I actually spoiled myself on WoR it would not be a bad thing for me. Once the book is released, I may very well the last one to finish it as some of you will devour it in 3 days It will therefore be nearly impossible for me not to spoil myself Beta reading would solve this issue Man, ditto except that I stay off the forum while I'm reading a new book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxal Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 Man, ditto except that I stay off the forum while I'm reading a new book. I envy your self-discipline Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dayman Posted June 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 IDK I think all things considered, even having read some well thought out counter-arguments above, it would be nothing but a blast to be a beta reader. In the last 2 or 3 years I've gotten really into fantasy books and now regularly shred ~500 pages novels in series I like in about 2 days and just move right onto the next--so work load would not be a problem (even though I am busy like everyone else). The opportunity to actually write something up pursuant to whatever guidelines Sanderson puts out there would be a thrill. I mean, if I read it and provide a bunch of feedback throughout the process ... reading the final book once it comes out would take on a whole new deminension. What changed? Seems like fun. I do agree that something like Mistborn adventure or a one-off would be better than Stormlight or "full" Mistborn series...but I would take what I could get. Hit me up Pete! I'll tell you all about who I am I think I would be a pretty good beta reader! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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