My Experience As A Beta Reader

Are you in the market for a Beta Reader? Let’s discuss terms.

Good morning! When a writer and new author asked me to be a beta reader for her memoir recently, first of all I was honored and second of all, I wondered what the heck had I gotten myself into for agreeing to do such an important task.

Needless to say, the experience was a win/win for both parties. A Beta Reader is a person who brings a clear set of eyes to the manuscript to look for typos, grammatical errors,  confusion, cohesive mishaps and overall reader likability , before the author sends it off to an editor for final proofing, or places it in the hands of a publisher.

My experience led me to read a great slice of authentic storytelling, offer my unbiased opinion and help out a colleague who needed an honest evaluation of her memoir.

As a book reviewer with over a decade of writing reviews under my belt, I didn’t feel like l was heading for uncharted waters, however, the temptation to avoid book reviewer “critique” mode was hard to suppress. Luckily for me, the author didn’t chastise me for suggesting areas where she might want to tweak a phrase or two:)

Anyone can read a finished manuscript to give honest feedback to its author. Your family members and friends might not be your best choices as they most likely wouldn’t want to hurt your feelings. However, other writers, colleagues and people from your online connections would make good beta readers. Becoming a Beta Reader can also be a lucrative career move for the savvy freelance writer.

  What are your thoughts on beta readers and would you recommend this route for authors with completed manuscripts, before publication? If you have served in this capacity, feel free to share your experiences with us.

A Spartan Up! Review

Hello All! I trust everyone is enjoying the weather? Here’s my Amazon review of Spartan Up! By now you know what the cover looks like:) I hope you are encouraged to make fitness a part of your daily routine maybe not under such extremes? Your choice.

Spartan Up! A business brand that, according to its founder, offers challenging twists to running marathons and triathlon that are more beneficial than the ‘norm’. Before you can even participate in a Spartan Race, you have to sign a waiver indicating that you are knowingly and freely putting your life at risk in order to push yourself beyond your limitations and ultimately bask in the aftermath of accomplishing your goals, and get physically and mentally strong in the process.
These races are based for the most part on the Military modules of training and follows treacherous and calculating obstacle courses in order to test a participant’s endurance under pressure. The Spartan races are not just for men. Women and children participate in these events as well, only they are less challenging for children.
Joe De Sena is the author and founder of Spartan Up! He states he’s probably been called everything from maniac to sadistic to suicidal. I didn’t read anything about his being called slightly egotistical, but that was probably an oversight.
The benefits to becoming a Spartan are detailed in the book. The objective of the race is to get people off their butts and away from their comfortable and sedentary lives of `normal’ everything, including food and technology.
And, to push them to experience the real world through becoming a Spartan and obtaining fitness and optimum health through the wilds of Mother Nature and treacherous obstacles courses you never see coming.
The book is informative, encouraging, motivates the under-motivated and it has a great section on the benefits of consuming organic and nutritional foods.

Recently, I was in the Author’s Chair at Patti Smith’s blog. You can see it here: http://gridirongrannyfootballfanatic.blogspot.com/2014/05/have-seat-clara-freeman.html#comment-form

I will be on hiatus for the month of June. Thanks for visiting:)

Clara54 “Whatcha Doing” in Books for 2014!

Hello readers, writers and published authors! Well, stuff is happening in my world- some good, some not so good, but my creative juices will not be deterred:) Today, I’m reflecting upon some of the many books/authors I’ve read for my reviews here at Clara54, Goodreads.com and Amazon.com and I wanted to share and recommend some “Whatcha doing” in books to my wonderful readers.

You guys are so deserving and this is my way of saying ‘thanks’ for all you do and to remind you that great books and authors are rising up, many of whom I get to spotlight at clara54 writers blog. Today at clara54’s “Whatcha doing” book series:

“Through The Lens” by Kwana Jackson, is an enjoyable and romantic book. The protagonists discover their love for each other through the lens of a beautiful Island backdrop.

“Murder At Castle Rock” is a wonderful whodunit that takes the reader on a joyful and suspenseful journey through the love for rock & roll music and mysterious murders. This book was written for diehard music lovers and wannabe mystery solvers with a in a rock &amp ambiance. The author is Anne Marie Stoddard.

Want to read about women trailblazers in Basketball? Remember when women weren’t even allowed to play the sport? This memoir “Home Sweet Hardwood” was written by one of those women! I learned a lot about the tenacity and strengths that women had to muster in order to become ‘one of the boys’ in this male dominated sport. I’m also glad to report that Pat Mckinzie and I are great cyber ‘sistah’ friends. Keep going warrior woman!

“When One Door Closes” is one of my favorite women anthologies and not because I’m one of the contributors, but because of its author. Terri Spahr Nelson took the voices of many women and formed a community of a woman support system of shared truths and the voices of women in conversation on a global scale. I was thrilled to read and be a part of this book that reflects on Life’s turning points in the lives of women.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my own little contribution to sharing the authentic woman voice. With “A Life Toward Authenticity”, I’m not even trying to go to the place of published author (wip) with this short eBook of my personal journey to truths seeking, but I tell you it packs a great big wallop in an honest attempt to help other women on the path to living an authentic lifestyle. From my heart to yours, I ask that you receive the message in which it was given.

‘Eating Smoke” by Chris Thrall stayed in my mind long after I’d finished reading it. It’s a true to life story of addiction, psychosis and a man alone in Hong Kong, whose life force is quickly spiraling out of control as his addiction to drugs worsens and his sanity wan. I’m still waiting for an interview with this author, but he’s presently in talks and preparing this masterpiece for the big screen!

Wow, you talk about a master at work, “AS The Heart Bones Break” by Audrey Chin is so descriptive and detailed in its craftsmanship. The story unfolds via a mysterious voice painting tales of espionage and secrets that extends from Singapore to the shores of the USA. The protagonist is determined to stay true to his people; his heritage and considers it an honor to spy for his country from where he lives and works abroad. The secrets within his own heritage and insidious family dramas colors the story and lures the reader, making it impossible to put the book aside. I was pleased to hear of the author’s success with her book, only one of several. I predicted Heart Bones would become a bestseller and box office draw 🙂

These are some of the books I’ve enjoyed reviewing for my blog or at Amazon.com and there are others that I want to recommend, but those will come at another posting. I hope those of you reading this post will pick up one or more of these author’s books. Clara54 was selected as book blogger site in 2010 for a reason, people, so go on and get your read on.

Have you read any of my recommendations? Feel free to share.

Book Review/Hugo The Happy Starfish Children Educational Book Collections

Happy Friday to you! I slept later than usual this morning and when I woke up feeling rejuvenated, I heard my body responding “You needed that” 🙂 Today I’m sharing a review from the HUGO THE HAPPY STARFISH collection of award winning educational children’s books by the author Suzy Liebermann.

I’ve given an honest review of three of Suzy’s book in the collection for Amazon and I’m providing the links to those at the bottom of the post.

4.0 out of 5 stars Lessons For Early Learning, March 6, 2014
By Clara (Illinois)
This review is from: SIMPLY CHARMING – THE ISLAND OF APPRECIATION (HUGO THE HAPPY STARFISH – Island Adventures 12: Educational Children’s Book Collection) (Kindle Edition)
The premise of Suzy Liebermann’s books centers on educating young children about different aspects of life. I thought The Island of Appreciation accomplished what it set out to do in teaching kindness and appreciation through expressing simple compliments to others.

Hugo The Happy Starfish and his friends arrive on the Island Of Appreciation and are encouraged to show appreciation on a daily basis or suffer the giggles by Tony, the Tickle Monster. The starfish had to endure the giggles if they hadn’t offered words of appreciation to anyone and sets out to show appreciation to others. By giving others compliments, Hugo and his friends find that showing appreciation help make others feel good

I think children will enjoy these simple acts of showing appreciation as a learning tool in the classroom and as a fun read during their bedtime rituals.

I was given complimentary copies of Hugo The Happy Starfish in exchange for an honest review. Read my Amazon reviews here:

http://www.amazon.com/review/R1T48V4A0P0G1A

http://www.amazon.com/review/RMNA7XQILAKU7

http://www.amazon.com/review/R14ZR79OANYE4M

To learn more about the author and her HUGO Books, go here: www.SuzyLiebermann.com

What are your fond children books memories?

Authors Seeking Book Reviewers

TGIF! I know right? In order to promote their books and great works, many established authors are seeking book reviewers to help them do that. I’ve been asked to do many book reviews over the years and loved doing it because I’m a book voyeur from way back:)

Do not be fooled, doing book reviews is no easy task as it’s time consuming, demanding and can interrupt your personal writing and time schedule. For this reason, I’m more selective when choosing books for review- so many wonderful books, so little precious time (sigh) The books posted today are available for review from their authors and ones that you might consider reviewing on your blog.

The Redeemers Tale- Book One by J.P James is an epic fantasy of good vs evil, with some magic and romance thrown in for good measure. Mr. James invites readers to visit his lpjamesblog.com to get details of how to download a complimentary copy for review. You can also visit www.smashword.com/books/view/404767 and use the coupon code TF62U. And get it via the promotional site at Tomoson.com, along with a giveaway for your readers.

When you sign up at Tomoson.com you will be on their book reviewer list for promotional book and product reviews and giveaways for your blog readers. Some products and books come with prerequisites such as number of FB likes or Twitter followers. If the author is familiar with your work,however, they will sometimes waive prerequisites and contact you directly. Such was the case for Hugo The Happy Starfish author, Suzy Liebermann, whose line of children books are educational learning tools introduced in the schools.

The author will be leaving Tomoson. com in March and asks that any blogger wanting to review her line of educational books for children, contact her at http://www.suzyliebermann.com or email HugoTheHappyStarfish@gmail.com.
I have committed to writing an honest review of Hugo, just because my grandchildren might get a kick out of hearing about Hugo and how he solved problem faced by so many of today’s’ children.

What do you think of authors seeking book reviewers for their projects? Have you had to turn away books for review?