Readers Requested

[WhitewaterWoman]

Is anyone here employed as a reader or editor of books and/or magazines? Or retired from a similar position? I would like to hear from you.

I have a 20,000 word rough draft of my experience tripping in the wilderness for 22 days. It got really good reviews in my canoeing forum. I am wondering how it reads by an audience not so predicated to like me.

I am especially interested in people who have worked in publishing or are English majors, but it is open to anyone ineterested.

Please DM me if interested.

Thank you.

 

[Judge]

Can't help but ask....whether or not your autism is part of this draft? Just wondering. I'd think such a fact might expand your reader audience.

But yes, I'm hopelessly biased over such a thing....

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

Can't help but ask....whether or not your autism is part of this draft? Just wondering. I'd think such a fact might expand your reader audience.

But yes, I'm hopelessly biased over such a thing....

Not yet, but I’m headed there. It’s in development.

 

[Hypnalis]

Editing a "rough draft" is quite time-consuming.

If it's actually an editor-ready draft, I suggest you say so.
If not, perhaps tune it up a bit first.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

Editing a "rough draft" is quite time-consuming.

If it's actually an editor-ready draft, I suggest you say so.
If not, perhaps tune it up a bit first.

I don’t know precise definitions. And I’m not asking anyone to do actual editing. That would be a lot of work. And I don’t know what skills people have. I was hoping for someone with some experience to weigh in on it.

It’s already been published and well received in another venue.

 

[Hypnalis]

I'm guessing it's in fairly good shape already, and you want input on something like whether it is of interest to people who aren't kayakers; whether it could be expanded into a larger work; whether it could be used as the basis for a different kind of work (e.g. fiction).

(and if I was editing your post, I'd have started with questions that allowed me to write that concisely, accurately, and with complete information

GL anyway!

FWIW I've only done technical writing, but I've done a lot of it. And had a (technical) book published. But I don't have the right skills or interest for wilderness experiences.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

I'm guessing it's in fairly good shape already, and you want input on something like whether it is of interest to people who aren't kayakers; whether it could be expanded into a larger work; whether it could be used as the basis for a different kind of work (e.g. fiction).

(and if I was editing your post, I'd have started with questions that allowed me to write that concisely, accurately, and with complete information

GL anyway!

FWIW I've only done technical writing, but I've done a lot of it. And had a (technical) book published. But I don't have the right skills or interest for wilderness experiences.

Thank you, Hypnalis.

I also have considerable published technical and nonfiction writing, but have never tried to publish something like this.

I'm aware I may not be using correct, concise terms. It's a learning process for me. Your input is valued.

PS I'm a canoeist, not a kayaker. This is a critical distinction.

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

PS I'm a canoeist, not a kayaker. This is a critical distinction.

Yep. There is the old joke in the whitewater community; "Half the paddle, twice the man." I've enjoyed showing kayakers that I could roll my low volume Flashback.

I'm in the final steps of building the Wee Lassie for my spouse. Tomorrow I will start the process of cutting and milling the gunwales. She wanted Walnut gunwales, and I like the fine grain of that wood. I've used ash before and cutting the scuppers took care because ash fractures easily. Some people avoid that by mounting the inwale on blocks, but I rabbet out the outwale so it covers the top of the hull and when the inwale is glued on it makes a seamless looking gunwale. It looks like I'll make the targeted weight of 25 lbs.

 

[Hypnalis]

PS I'm a canoeist, not a kayaker. This is a critical distinction.

In my defense, the canoe/kayak distinction is different to yours in both my first and my second languages (though that's probably changed in my original English dialect). Locally, what you (and I suppose most of the world - wikipedia definitely sees it your way call a canoe has a unique name, and if you say "canoe" (basically the same word, slightly different spelling) people assume it's something else.

In my native English, back when I first used a "kayak", "canoe" covered single- and double-paddle craft. "Kayak" was an exotic term when I was a kid - I owned one (canvas and wood, hand-built (not by me)), but always called it a canoe.

FWIW I still miss the convenience of having a super-lightweight watercraft: less effort to paddle, much easier to handle when they're not used as a boat, and IMO they're also easier to handle in rougher water (lakes, ocean - not (AFAIK) "whitewater").