I’ve written a suspense novel for Clive Cussler’s Adventure Writer’s Competition and I’ve already had a professional editor look at it. In the interests of getting as many eyes on it as possible, I’m turning to the Dope.
Anyone can read/download the novel here, but I’m willing to pay eight Dopers $125 each for reviews. I’m not looking for professional critiques, but I’d like something more substantial than “don’t quit the day job.” If you’re interested, I have three requirements:
[ol]
[li]No lurkers. At some point in the not-too-distant past, you must have contributed enough to a conversation to verify your fluency in English.[/li][li]You must have a PayPal link or similar mechanism for me to pay you.[/li][li]You must PM me with your payment information. I’ll let you know if you’re one of the first eight Dopers.[/li][/ol]
The novel is like a lot of spy thrillers: a secret organization has launched an evil plan and only the protagonists know anything about it. While the protagonists do their best to the thwart the plan, the organization has unleashed its agents of darkness to eliminate them. In the background, the lawful authorities are struggling to figure out what’s going on.
Here’s where it gets weird. My two protagonists are Army sergeants who’ve taken an experimental drug that induces identity loss. One sergeant thinks he’s Robert E. Lee and the other thinks he’s Lord Horatio Nelson. This presents an element of comedy that some (including my editor) found off-putting. If this doesn’t interest you, please don’t read the novel.
So there you are. I think of it as one part Ian Fleming, one part Tim Powers. But keep in mind that it’s my first novel, so don’t expect perfection.
BTW, the novel is 381 pages long, approximately 94,000 words.
There’s no rush, but if the reviews could be done by September 1st, the Thursday before Labor Day, that would be great.
My main concern is the content - What parts of the novel do you find confusing or boring? If there’s anything in the novel that makes you want to set it down, please let me know.
But all assistance is welcome, so if you feel like helping with typos, that’s great too.
Do you want feedback from those of us that aren’t getting paid? I’ve done enough critiques of scholarly writing for my colleagues in the past, that I can at least offer in a unique ninth insight!
Also, (not that I’m asking for such a file, since you rightfully have to be careful of such things on teh Inturrnetz) are you providing your reviewers with PDF or .doc files? Because it seems to me that had you asked me PERSONALLY to review the manuscript, I would rather like to use trackback commentaries right in MS-Word.
Thanks for your willingness to help. Anyone can download the PDF here, but if you’d prefer an MS-DOC version, please send me an email: mattscar at gmail dot com.
In response to astro’s post, you’re right: my novel is fairly odd. But I’ve always been disappointed with suspense-novel protagonists. You either have the James Bond type who can fight his way out of anything, or the Robert Langdon type who can barely fight at all. In the first case, it’s hard to sympathize with James Bond, and no one worries that he might fail. In the second case, Robert Langdon can never be placed in serious danger.
The only real variation on this is Jason Bourne, who combines the vulnerability of the everyday Joe with the mysterious know-how needed to hold his own in a fight.
My story has a SPECTRE-like evil organization, but that’s not the focus. My novel is intended to be character-driven, not plot-driven. I won’t claim to have succeeded - it’s my first novel after all.
I don’t know: Harry Turtledove’s alternate histories, Bujold’s space operas and E. E. Knight’s Vampire Earth series all mix those elements to a certain degree, and all of them have quite a few books on the shelves.
Spy thriller + slapstick, no. Spy thriller + main characters who are sometimes confused by the world around them due to loss of memory… will work if done right.
I would love to be one of your reviewers. As far as competency with the English language, I was an editorial assistant with NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service Scientific Publications Office, for what that’s worth, and I’ve tutored Engish and Spanish and taught ESL as well as written resumes, grant proposals and helped edit various dissertations and theses and the like…I can spell, and I enjoy the suspense/mystery/thriller genre(s) when I read for recreational purposes. I’ve also been on the wrong end of a divorce from a lawyer (when I didn’t think I needed one for myself because of course he wouldn’t do anything of the sort … yada yada…) and I am trying to re-establish some sort of a life without any kind of income to speak of, so this would be a wonderful experience - recreational reading that is also paid work!
I’m probably much too late, but I just joined here, and I’d very much like to be an active participant wherever I might be able to contribute. As far as other general info, I’m not sure what to say other than I have a Liberal Arts degree and I have enough credits for another except for those pesky little math and science credits… I have the work experience but not the classroom credits.
I’ve worked as an editor, proofreader, ghostwriter, and…well, I’m rambling. I just hope you will consider me.
Thanks either way for your time! Good luck to you; it sounds like a great plot!
