I wonder if there are any elder care centers around that might entertain the idea of creating a beta-reader club.
Here’s a population of folks with time on their hands. They have organized activities, book-o-the-month clubs, social gatherings and whatnot. They sound like the perfect victims for assaulting with the likes of a poorly written beta-level novel.
“Hello, Epione’s Excellent Elder Care Home? Yes, I’d like to swing by with rough-printed copies of my new novel for your residents to read, at their discretion and interest level.
I would bring donuts…
You’d have to get approval from management? Of course. Yes, the content is relatively tame — no hard-core sex scenes, or disembowelments.
I can come by? Excellent.”
Baby Boomers Abound. I think this is an untapped resource ripe for harvest. Imagine organizing the Elder-Brain-Trust into a distributed knowledge processing service center. Millions of old-foggies bored to tears, aching for something to do with their time. And here come all these nascent authors in need of beta readers. Bingo! A perfect match.
I’m gonna print off 10 copies of my latest story and march right down there. For $85 I can get ten printed copies delivered. Sounds like a plan to me.
Anonymole - apocryphal agitators 
Updates? It’s been four days, surely one or more of these seasoned citizens have made their way through your story, between reruns of Matchgame 75 and Big Valley?
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Well, the intent was (is) there. I’m still working on the final compilation of novel #2 which, when done (soon), I’ll see if it fits the mold for such a beta-experiment.
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Looking forward to more updates!
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Fins? How the hell did I get fins out of “join”?
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Uh….we’re invisible, old people. Unless you are looking for shotgun marketing data this is absurd, on the order of showing up at a coupla dudes with wrenches lawnmower repair shop, unloading a spiel and a trunk full of DJ gear. What you are apt to hear might be unprintable. I know that as fact. In Danforth Connecticut there used to be a combo music store and of questionable legal origin motorcycle parts place. I had no clue about the motorcycle parts business in the back. I rolled up, heard noises in the warehouse, wandered to the back with a briefcase and was immediately surrounded by large biker types wondering WTF I was doing in their parts warehouse. I told them I was the synthesizer guy and they could have cared less, expressed that in clear terms and that the music store part of the operation didn’t open for an hour. It cost me $50 worth of pizza and beer (in 1982 $) to get out of there alive. Still with a pocket full of their explicit opinions.
Fins, or start, a writers group. Enroll in a university continuing ed class (what I’m going to do) get some opinions from writers and teachers and seek out your demographic,see what they think. Old farts are all going to say shit that doesn’t matter. Just my .02.
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Well, obviously I wouldn’t try this in Texas. Old codgers there prolly wheel around packin’. And I’d need literate folks anyway.
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Hukt awn foniks werkt fur mee. Reemynd mee tu tel yu uhbowt r stawr kwawturbak sumtym
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Brilliant idea. It sounds like it could even be organised into a business.
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Excellent plan! Don’t forget the companion pets! Elders. The most under-utilized population ever!
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