Beta Reading My Book

An essential step in the journey...

Hey friends,

Greetings from Ashoka University, India!

Book Update: I've just completed my first round of beta-reading. I gave the book to some friends for their unbiased feedback, and now I'm working on ironing out the wrinkles they highlighted.

Most feedback was positive; they mentioned that it's promising and the writing is quite tight, which was my biggest concern. The goal of any significant writing project is for the writing to be so smooth that you don't notice it. For 85% of the book, it's smooth sailing.

However, they unanimously pointed out some fundamental flaws in the first three chapters.

I can't share the details here, but currently, there are some flaws in how they're written. The rest is good ("superb," according to one reader), but if the first chapters don't hook you in as a reader, you might put the book down and never get to the good stuff.

So now, I must return to the drawing board and reexamine those chapters.

The thought of doing this initially scared me, but now, as I delve into the details, I can:

• See the flaws they mentioned.

• Realize that addressing them might not require a lot of work. It will take effort, but I can pull it off. After all, I've made it till here.

I found this process to be similar to trekking: once you reach what you think is the summit, you realize that there is more ground to cover. I genuinely thought we were reaching the end. But now I realize there is still a good chunk of work left.

It's not that I dislike the work. Honestly, I've grown to love the editing process. It forces you to think about so many little things; after a good editing session, I feel like I've just run a marathon. In a good way :)

So, I suppose the book editing will take some more time. But it will all be worth it in the end.

We all have our mountains to climb. And we must do so, no matter how many steps it takes.

PS: If anyone here wants to write a book, PLEASE find a good editor. My editor (who very kindly reads this newsletter as well :D) is such a gem. He's tolerated so many of my back-and-forth editing. You know who you are :)

Also get good friends who can be beta readers.

Postcard

When people think about the Himalayas, they usually picture big towering peaks capped with snow. And yes, there are so many mountains that reach high into the sky. And before I visited this landscape, I thought that was all there was to this place.

Until I visited it.

The Himalayas also have smaller mountains cloaked in either oaks/pines/cedars/maples/rhododendrons/[Insert every other Himalayan tree], or these fabulous alpine meadows. 

Today, I thought I’d share a screenshot of my laptop background, which shows an alpine meadow I visited late last year. This is on the way to the Kuari Pass, the famous overlook on the Lord Curzon trail in Uttarakhand, one of my favourite states in India. This shot was taken in October, and so that’s why the grass is brown. 

I simply love these colours; that’s why I set it as my desktop background!

Favourite Quote

“Who you are, what you think, feel, and do, what you love—is the sum of what you focus on." - Cal Newport

Have a creative, wild and inspiring week!

If you’re new, welcome to The Owlet! My name is Ishan Shanavas, and I am an Artist, Photographer, Writer and Student of the Natural World.

Here I talk about my work, along with curating the most interesting ideas on the internet. I confine them to topics like Nature, Culture, Photography, and Art but often fall prey to other genres.

I would greatly appreciate it if you shared my newsletter and work with your friends. It really helps me out :)