Sumansona1344 wrote: ↑20 May 2020, 04:14
Hey! My question is not related to the book.
I am also planning to try the things on the other side, i.e., becoming an author. I also started reviewing in order to know how the readers review different aspects of the book. Do you have any tips for me?
Hi Sumansona1344!
The best tip I can give you, not just for this site, but writing in general, is to accept that you're never going to be able to please everyone. I've had people say that they hate the 3rd-person omniscient POV that I write in, and I've had people say that they love it (most people don't comment at all, which I take to mean they don't really care). I've sent the same chapter to two different beta readers: one came back and said that there was far too much talking and not enough description, while the other said that the huge amount of description bored her and she wanted more talking. So write what you want to write, in the style that you want to write in. It won't be a hit with everybody, but it will be your best work.
That said, you can learn a lot from the reviews. I've lost count of the number of times
Project Tau was edited to fix mistakes and expand on other things which people at OBC mentioned. The latest edition (4) is now about 6-7000 words longer than the earlier ones, with an expanded Prologue and more description and world-building throughout the book.
I also strongly recommend that the first thing you do is get an official OBC review. When
Homecoming (sequel to
Project Tau) was BOTD, several people said that they wouldn't buy it as it didn't have an official OBC review. In my defense, it was newly-released and had been up for review for about a month prior to being BOTD; it was just that no reviewer had picked it up yet!
Honest-reviewer wrote: ↑20 May 2020, 13:56
Hey Jude!
I have not read the book yet, but I can definitely say I will like it. The concept and the description of the book is great!
I want to know what inspired you to write this book ?
Hi Honest-reviewer!
Thank you so much! I hope you do like it (and hopefully the sequel
)
There was no one inspiration, to be honest. I wanted to write a sci-fi book that could be easily adapted into a movie (hence the lack of any robots, super-AI and aliens. That, and those things really bug me
) That meant making Tau a clone, and the rest of it went from there. I also wanted to try flipping the readers' perspective on its head, which is why it was told in flashback form; I wanted to see if I could start people out as sympathizing with Dennison before twisting that around
Abacus wrote: ↑20 May 2020, 14:02
I like the idea of any science that projects into the future being made the subject of a mystery thriller. As the fact that you can feel it almost happening is thought-provoking in the extreme. It is very interesting to me that you were once a reviewer for OBC, as I am enjoying reviewing greatly. Thanks for writing so entertainingly. Long may you do so.
Hi Abacus!
Thank you so much! I loved reviewing for OBC as well; I found some real gems that I would never have discovered otherwise.
teacherjh wrote: ↑21 May 2020, 03:48
I loved your book. The character development was superb and the plot intense. I only had one confusion. Dr. Dennison knows Kata is Kalin from the beginning. However, he often speaks as though he truly believes Kara is a clone. Is he deluding himself or just staying in character to avoid letting the truth slip?
Hi teacherjh!
Thank you so much
Yes, Dennison is just staying in character
He stands to lose his career and face a lengthy jail term if anyone finds out what he and Mason have done, so his own safety and freedom depend on the people around him believing Kata's really a clone. The same goes for his gaslighting Kalin; it only works if he keeps up the pretense. And we also know that almost every room in GenTech is monitored, so Dennison's going to throw himself into the whole Kata-is-a-clone ruse with everything he's got, as he doesn't know who might be listening.
This is why he reacts in such a way to Kata making the word cards for Tau;
he knows full well that Kata is a literate human, but he can't afford to let anyone
know he knows, and if he concedes as much to Kata, then he'll undo all the effort he put into gaslighting him.