As my editor and I are making our way through the first round of edits on the book chapters, I'd like again (this time in a more structured way) to have a focus group of around 20 - 30 readers to take a look at the book and give me/us your input.
So, for those of you dying to read it, who can't wait until spring to get your hands on it, here's your chance!
Here are the particulars of what we would need from you: • This is reading for content, clarity, and topicalness ONLY. We do not need structural editors or copyediting: we've got all that taken care of. What we need to know is if the content is what you feel you need, not too high over your head or too low under it, if it speaks to you, if we're forgetting anything, etc.
• Diversity: as diverse a group as possible is ideal, since this is an all-inclusive book. So, men, women, transmen and transwormen, genderqueer folks. Readers who are sexually active, readers who are not. Folks of all orientations, differting personal ethics per sex, all walks of life.
• Age: we need readers for the group to be between 14 and 24. The target age range for this is 16-22.
• A confidentiality agreement: we will need to email you and have you sign -- with your legal name -- an agreement making clear you will NOT release this information/content to anyone, reprint it, or discuss it other than with me and yourselves, in a passworded forum here which I will set up for this purpose.
• The ability to read Microsoft Word documents.
• Fast reading skills. This group will take place between now and the 15th of November, and the book as a whole is around 500 single-sided pages. When printed, we're looking at about 250 pages. So, if you're a very slow reader, or English is not a language easy for you to understand, I'm afraid we'll need to decline.
I will limit this group, and be choosing not by first-come, first-served, so much as by what makes the most diverse group.
If you are interested in being part of this, please post below with the following information (just cut and paste this part right into your post), and be sure that the email you registered to the site with is current. I'll get the group going within the week and email those of you I've chosen for this
Age: Sex/Gender ID: Orientation: Sexually active or not? Location: Highest level of education: Level of sexuality knowledge (what you think/feel like you know, overall, on a scale of 1 - 10, ten being highest):
-------------------- Heather Corinna, Executive Director & Founder, Scarleteen About Me • Get our book! Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead Posts: 63382 | From: An island near Seattle | Registered: May 2000
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Age: 22 Sex/Gender ID: female Orientation: lesbian Sexually active or not? active Location: europe Highest level of education: sophomore in college Level of sexuality knowledge (what you think/feel like you know, overall, on a scale of 1 - 10, ten being highest): 8
I'd really love to help you out with this! Can't wait to read the book and I'd like being able to help out with the process of finishing the book. Oh, and I'm a very fast reader.
[ 10-16-2006, 03:12 PM: Message edited by: September ]
-------------------- -joey Scarleteen Volunteer
"The question is not who will let me, but who is going to stop me." -Ayn Rand Posts: 8422 | From: Cologne, Germany | Registered: Sep 2005
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Age: 19 Sex/Gender ID: Female...mostly Orientation: Lesbian. Sexually active or not? ....not yet. Might change soon, might not. Location: Virginia Highest level of education: First-year in college Level of sexuality knowledge: 7 or 8?
Posts: 129 | From: Mid-Atlantic US | Registered: Feb 2006
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Age: 15 Sex/Gender ID: Male Orientation: Heterosexual Sexually active or not? Not Location: UK Highest level of education: GCSEs completed, A levels current Level of sexuality knowledge: I'd say 8 out of 10.
-------------------- “In a strange room, before you are emptied for sleep, what are you. And when you are filled with sleep you never were. I don’t know what I am. I don’t know if I am or not... how often have I lain beneath rain on a strange roof, thinking of home.” Posts: 1269 | From: London, UK | Registered: Jun 2006
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Age: 18 Sex/Gender ID: Male Orientation: Heterosexual, reserving the right to change my mind any time I feel like it Sexually active or not? Active Location: New York City Highest level of education: Currently in first year of college Level of sexuality knowledge: 8
-------------------- "This war all around us is being fought over the very meanings of words." - Chad Dumier, Deus Ex Posts: 25 | From: New York | Registered: Sep 2006
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posted
(Everyone here has been emailed confidentiality agreements. And as I said in the other post, we can still have room for a few more people: the younger end of things, the better right now, and male users would also be particularly great to have more of.)
-------------------- Heather Corinna, Executive Director & Founder, Scarleteen About Me • Get our book! Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead Posts: 63382 | From: An island near Seattle | Registered: May 2000
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posted
Just wondering, when are you going to send out the first chapters as I won't be able to receive email from Sunday to Thursday.
-------------------- “In a strange room, before you are emptied for sleep, what are you. And when you are filled with sleep you never were. I don’t know what I am. I don’t know if I am or not... how often have I lain beneath rain on a strange roof, thinking of home.” Posts: 1269 | From: London, UK | Registered: Jun 2006
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-------------------- Heather Corinna, Executive Director & Founder, Scarleteen About Me • Get our book! Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead Posts: 63382 | From: An island near Seattle | Registered: May 2000
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posted
(SmileyJoseph: Check your junk mail folder. That's where hotmail put them for me.)
-------------------- -joey Scarleteen Volunteer
"The question is not who will let me, but who is going to stop me." -Ayn Rand Posts: 8422 | From: Cologne, Germany | Registered: Sep 2005
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I didn't expect them that quickly actually, I was expecting a date next week. You're sure no slouch, Heather. I hadn't checked my mail yet, but it was right there.
-------------------- “In a strange room, before you are emptied for sleep, what are you. And when you are filled with sleep you never were. I don’t know what I am. I don’t know if I am or not... how often have I lain beneath rain on a strange roof, thinking of home.” Posts: 1269 | From: London, UK | Registered: Jun 2006
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Age: 22 Sex/Gender ID: female Orientation: lesbian Sexually active or not? not now Location: las vegas Highest level of education: first year grad student Level of sexuality knowledge (what you think/feel like you know, overall, on a scale of 1 - 10, ten being highest): 7
Posts: 5 | From: Las Vegas | Registered: Apr 2006
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Heather- I haven't been able to track down a scanner to use to send you the confidentiality agreement, but I just wanted to inform you that I'd still like to be a part of the focus group- apparently my cousins have a scanner and I will be visiting them early next week, so I will have the agreement scanned for you then Sorry if this causes any problems!
And if you can just email me the word doc filled out without the final signature, as I noted, that's enough legally for me to send you the chaps.
-------------------- Heather Corinna, Executive Director & Founder, Scarleteen About Me • Get our book! Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead Posts: 63382 | From: An island near Seattle | Registered: May 2000
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Ack! Miz Scarlett, if you sent anything, it didn't make it to me.
-------------------- "Cut her down." "She is a witch!" "But she's our witch. Cut her down." Posts: 174 | From: Indiana, USA | Registered: Jun 2006
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posted
Did you check your email address that's in your registration here per it being current?
-------------------- Heather Corinna, Executive Director & Founder, Scarleteen About Me • Get our book! Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead Posts: 63382 | From: An island near Seattle | Registered: May 2000
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Hmm... address is current... my PDA doesn't separate junk, but it might have slipped by me when I downloaded stuff to the PC. I'll have to check tomorrow.
-------------------- "Cut her down." "She is a witch!" "But she's our witch. Cut her down." Posts: 174 | From: Indiana, USA | Registered: Jun 2006
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I just want to apologize for dropping out of the study. My Microsoft Word doesn't work, and all .doc's can't be converted on my computer. I wasn't thinking about that when I signed up to pre-read the book. So, my most humble apologies.
-------------------- 19, male, interested in Sadomasochism (BDSM) and some bisexual tendancies. Posts: 157 | From: Canada | Registered: Jan 2006
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I would have been glad to put them in another format for you.
-------------------- Heather Corinna, Executive Director & Founder, Scarleteen About Me • Get our book! Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead Posts: 63382 | From: An island near Seattle | Registered: May 2000
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Age: 16 Sex/Gender ID: Female Orientation: Mostly attracted to males, but I'm not limiting myself prematurely. Sexually active or not? Sexually active Location: Massachusetts, USA Highest level of education: I would be a junior in high school, but I am home schooling Level of sexuality knowledge: 10
EDIT--Sorry, I didn't realise that this was over. If you do anything like this again, I would love to be a part of it.
posted
So sorry: this should have been closed. We're finished with this for right now, and the manuscript has since been delivered, and is now in the hands of the copyeditor.
Thanks so much for the offer of help, though! I sincerely hope NEVER to write another book as big and involved as this one again, and imagine it might be a little bit before I pitch another one for teens (mostly because a six-year publishing shop process is NOT something I want to go through again), but if I do, and need another focus group, I'll ping back the folks who wanted to be part of this one here.
-------------------- Heather Corinna, Executive Director & Founder, Scarleteen About Me • Get our book! Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead Posts: 63382 | From: An island near Seattle | Registered: May 2000
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