I have an author friend I occasionally have the pleasure of beta reading for. Reading his raw and edited work is a pure joy. (There are countless types of beta reading. Just a few examples might be readers who get the final product – after it has been to an editor – while others get the story raw an untouched.) This friend’s raw and unedited work is SO clean and precise that it’s envy worthy. On the other hand, my unedited work…well, let’s just say the lovely folks who beta read for me have their work cut out for them! *wink*
One such challenge they face is the dreaded homophone. A homophone is a word that has the same sound as another word but is spelled differently and has a different meaning. I’m so bad with these. Sure, I have the most common ones down. You know things like: There vs. They’re vs. Their. However, the less common ones…yeah, they give me trouble.
I’m currently in the process of going through Wes’ Denial with my first round beta readers – weeks (if not months) before the manuscript will be ready for the editor to set eyes on it – and we got a good laugh out of one such homophone-ish word: Menstruation vs. Ministration. But, since the two words are actually pronounced differently, I’m blaming autocorrect for the error. LOL!
So, to my amazing beta readers, let me once again express my undying gratitude for your patience. (Um, or is that patients? *grins*) You are cherished beyond words! And, hopefully, from here on out, the blood will be kept to a minimum! *giggles*
Peace,
JLT
#pleasurethroughdenial
I know what you mean. I have the same problem. I’m working on it. Wish I could’ve been one of your beta’s but with the same problem I guess I wouldn’t be of any help.