What job would you do for free?
Easy. In a heartbeat, I’d volunteer to be a beta reader. For the uninitiated, these bookworms are given ARCs (advance reader copies). The latter are final drafts before the books go live. Netgalley has the widest range of well-known authors. Getting your hands on these diamonds is a privilege. You enjoy them before everybody else. All they’re asking in return is your honest opinion or feedback. No complex survey or long queue. You get the sample eBook, bury your nose in their universe, all good. This week’s title is a metaphor. To build their pueblos, scriveners utilise us tireless test users. We ‘stand on the shoulders of giants.’
300
Recently, I’ve experienced a reading resurgence. In three weeks, I finished two hoops books. Pipeline to the Pros and Robert Parish’s memoir. Both were over 300 pages. Today, my preorder of a fellow author’s debut novel has landed. Another 300 pager, I should be good for some time.
Musings
Being a beta reader would highlight my reading skills. As a teener, I got 8.5 out of 9 in the IELTS Reading Test. I was confident of a perfect score. Imagine devouring my fave authors. John Grisham, Mitch Albom, Michael Connelly, Jodi Picoult, Matthew Reilly, and many more. Perusing them would make me feel important. Though casual, I’d have a hand in shaping literary history. As a wise man once intoned, ‘With great power comes great responsibility.’
Mind you, it’s not only the Grisham’s and Picoult’s who utilise the masses’ assistance. In Apple’s beta program, software updates are provided to developers before becoming public. They release two betas and a final release candidate. This is significant for quashing out bugs and applying security patches prior to reaching our devices.
Just as in the literary world, the author and publisher could take our comments onboard before presenting their shiny new book.
Beta phase
In the Big Bang Theory, Penny and Leonard commence a beta stage in their relationship. Their other friends are unawares of their lovey dovey. The secret canoodling lasts for a few weeks or months before all is revealed.
Knocking back books is rewarding. They make you grow as a person and writer. I’ve detailed how reading changed my life. I catalogued my latest reads. Always a voracious reader, this has shaped my own discourse. Speaking of beta reading, I remember LeBron’s boasting during his Miami ‘inauguration’.
‘Not one, not two, not three…’
Yes, they did not win six successive titles. However, Bron made eight straight NBA Finals. On two teams. He was the Finals MVP thrice, before another nod with the Lakers. His bragging did not sit well with observers, but he kept his word.
The Long Haul
Writing books is a long grind. You keep writing, revising, and polishing. Patience, diligence, and a hungry mind are required. Browsing eight ARCs is child’s play compared to penning eight books. As the saying goes, ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.’
Most importantly, perusing is something I love. If it was acting or engineering or painting, it’d be different. Early on, taking in prose was instilled in me. As a popular quote holds, ‘Choose a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.’
‘For the love of the game‘
Beta readers are volunteers. No money changes hands. Despite the arrangement, test users are a big community. This shows that the pull of first dibs remains strong, regardless of remuneration.
In Oz, focus groups are quizzed about upcoming products. They are given gift cards. Supermarkets have product testers. Customers are provided sample items. Their opinions, from canned goods to juices, wedges to hand wash, are solicited, aggregated, and analysed.
The Countdown
During uni vacations, I watched Filipino news early in the morning. The show was called ‘Bandila’ (flag). The nation’s finest newscasters and reporters were featured. I was updated on my adopted homeland. They would always have this pre-credits spiel.
‘At Yan na naman po ang isang araw ng pagbabalita. Isang araw na Bahagi na ng kasaysayan. Sa ngalan ng pagmamalasakit sa bayan. Sa ilalim ng nag-iisang bandila.’
(And that’s another day of reporting. Another day that’s a part of history. In the name of empathy to our land. Under one flag.)
My older sister tested me on that before her work, as though a pop quiz. Well, I wasn’t the only one tuning in. My auntie was hooked. She never missed the show. At 8:10am, you would find her with rapt attention on her couch.
I end with this Francis Bacon quote: ‘Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man’.
Almost five centuries since his pronouncement, the tradition of bibliophiles has long endured.
