Oh yes. Some of you might have wondered when there was no news post yesterday, but I think you’ll decide that this was well worth the wait.

That’s right: It’s the Alpha Call. It’s here!

Those of you who know what this means, you know what to do. Those of you who are curious, read on!

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What is an Alpha Call? An Alpha Call is something that goes out and is posted during the Pre-Alpha edit for a book. In this case, that book is Axtara – Magic and Mayhem. Essentially, the Alpha Call is looking for those who wish to become Alpha Readers during the first Alpha Edit pass.

Yeah, that’s a lot of terms, but it’s simpler than it sounds. The Alpha Edit is the stage of editing where those reading the story are concerned with aspects such as plot holes, understanding, character motivation. It’s the stage where tweaks are made to pacing, to scenes, the characters or action sequences … Ultimately, the goal of the Alpha Reader is to identify things they see as issues that aren’t related to grammar, typos, etc (that’s for the Beta). Alpha Reader read the story in an early state and offer feedback as they go. If a plot hole or continuity error is spotted, they note it. If a scene didn’t make sense the way it was written, or a character felt out of sorts, they note it.

Good stuff too, mind. If a chapter just clicked, they note that as well. Basically the Alpha Readers are concerned with the story itself. Did things make sense? Was it clear? Did it keep them engaged through each chapter? And so on, and so forth.

It is not, I will stress, an invitation to demand an author completely rewrite a story and its characters to suite the story the reader would rather see told (yes, this has happened more than once, and some would-be Alpha Readers have reacted very poorly to being told “no, that’s not going to happen”). All new Alpha Readers are given a vetting period with a few chapters to see how they find the experience, because if one doesn’t enjoy it or finds they don’t have the time for it, it should be that straightforward to withdraw.

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So basically then, the Alpha Call is looking for folks who wish to be Alpha Readers who’ve not been such before. Those Alpha Readers will be given access to the current draft of Axtara – Magic and Mayhem via a secure Google Doc to read through and enjoy (I’d joke about “hopefully,” but come on, this is Axtara we’re talking about!) as well as leave feedback on.

Then I go through and begin making changes to correct things. Feedback that says “Hey, this went on too long?” I try to find the point where it dragged and make changes until it’s not an issue anymore. Something unclear? I tweak it and improve the clarity. And so on and so forth.

Sometimes a judgement call has to be made. Sometimes Alpha Readers disagree on things, and I have to try and choose which course to follow. The editing is on me. But identifying areas where issues are? For that, I need the assistance of the Alpha Readers.

Now, the only reward for being an Alpha Reader is, well, exactly what you’d expect for being an Alpha Reader: Alpha Readers get to read the book months before anyone else, and they get a thank you mention in the introduction (along with Beta Readers). Plus a complimentary gift of the ebook on release.

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Okay, so you get the idea now, and the rest of the post probably speaks for itself. Those of you that have been Alpha Readers in the past, look for an email next week asking if you’d like to be an Alpha Reader once more for Axtara – Magic and Mayhem! Or if you’ve never been an Alpha Reader before, but are interested in giving it a shot, leave a comment here (the main site) with a valid e-mail address (required to leave a comment) expressing interest, and I’ll use that email to contact you after the Alpha Call has been sent out to prior Alpha Readers and set up a trial run.

That’s all there is to it! With that, I’m going to get back to the Pre-Alpha for Axtara – Magic and Mayhem! Coming (hopefully) this Christmas! I’ll see you all Monday!