Willing Beta Readers Volume II

***Edit to say that I'm no longer available for Beta Reading, but good luck with your writing everyone ***

Availability: No longer available

Preference: low Fantasy, Dystopian, can do High Fantasy as long as it's not too heavy on the cliche front (dwarves with axes, elves, etc - you know what I mean), Urban Fantasy. Happy to do YA/NA if it's in these categories. If your genre isn't part of my Not Interested section, PM me and I'll see if I'm keen.

Not Interested: Horror, Romance, Western, Sci Fi. Have no interest in anything overly gory, gratuitous violence, rape/torture/child abuse etc. Also I don't want to look at first drafts, please only get in touch if you've had a few passes at the MS already.

Experience: Have been a Beta for a few manuscripts now as well as being part of a regular critique group.

My Style: I don't do line by line editing, I prefer to focus on the big picture. I'm pretty blunt, although I don't think I'm mean. That said I don't think anyone in this industry is helped by too much sugar coating or hand holding. I also prefer to work on smaller chunks at a time rather than the whole manuscript.
I normally send back an email with my notes on the overall section / chapter, discussing what works and doesn't work and why, and I also make comments on the MS for smaller things that I don't think need further clarification / discussion (this by the way will not be a line by line edit).
I tend to spend more time on what doesn't work than on what does. That's not out of some desire to be negative, but personally I get a lot more out of finding out what doesn't work than out of being told that something is great. That said, if you want me to focus on your strengths, I'm happy to do that. Best that we have a chat and see what it is you want / need out of the Beta and take it from there.

Contact: PM me with synopsis and word count.

Swap: I'm not looking to do an immediate swap, however I'm working on my own novel (aren't we all) and therefore would be looking to send you my stuff in a couple of months' time (or possibly a little earlier, depending on how quickly edits etc go). I'm only really interested in a two way relationship and I think both parties get a lot more out of it that way. If you only want someone to read your stuff without being prepared to return the favour then I won't be the right person for you.

I would be willing to beta read I'm a stay at home wife with plenty of time on my hands and a love of reading just about any genre out there. My favorites being Fantasy, High Fantasy, Erotica, Mystery, Historical, Mystery/Suspense and Thriller/Horror. I'm not so big on Westerns, some Sci-fi I enjoy.

Availability: FULL

Should you ask your beta reader to blog about your book, I mean if you're paying her? Perhaps getting someone to review your book is a different function than beta reading. Guess I'll go on the betareader.us bulletin board and post for a book reviewer. Is there anything like that on Absolute Writer?

Jeffyo said:

Should you ask your beta reader to blog about your book, I mean if you're paying her? Perhaps getting someone to review your book is a different function than beta reading. Guess I'll go on the betareader.us bulletin board and post for a book reviewer. Is there anything like that on Absolute Writer?

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Never heard of paying a beta reader. I've never received a bill, never sent one either.

Jeffyo said:

Should you ask your beta reader to blog about your book, I mean if you're paying her? Perhaps getting someone to review your book is a different function than beta reading. Guess I'll go on the betareader.us bulletin board and post for a book reviewer. Is there anything like that on Absolute Writer?

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er....not sure about the paying thing unless you've taken on a published beta reader and are really looking for more than just feedback....I know there are actually author's out there that sell their services to critique and give you feedback on a number of different levels. But I dunno about anyone doing that here on this site.....Though I could be wrong....

I don't think Jeffyo is really looking for a beta or a blogger to review his work. I think he might just be trying to steer people to his business. The link he provided looks to me to be an affiliate of Deepsix Publishing, which, if I am not mistaken is owned by the OP.
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=260455

Betas are paid on the www.betareader.us bulletin board site. As are editors, book designers, publicists. I receive nothing but the bill for hosting the bulletin board.

My question still stands - should you pay a reviewer of your book?

Jeffyo said:

Betas are paid on the www.betareader.us bulletin board site. As are editors, book designers, publicists. I receive nothing but the bill for hosting the bulletin board.

My question still stands - should you pay a reviewer of your book?

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You can pay them by beta reading something for them in exchange. Now enough of the self plugs. This isn't the appropriate place to be posting this. People post in this thread because they're willing to beta for people. Not because they want people to go to their website.

Could a mod clean this thread up?

When I Can Start: Its first come, first serve. I am officially finished school next week Wednesday so I will put all my attention into the story then. But once I receive the story, I will begin.

I Will Read: Fantasy (i don't like vampires and werewolves, I like dragons though! ), Dystopian (no high technology or advanced stuff...sorry They are cliche and they bug me). Low romance (meaning romance can be a subplot), low adventure, and there can be some action (like fight scenes). I will also read Christian Fiction, Children's Literature (as long as there's a mix of the above in it), and Mystery.

Please Do Not Send Me: Horror, Pure Romance, Pure Action (also anything else I didn't mention above). Sorry, I'm very picky No fantasy with demons or angels. I don't like gore, but i can handle some blood.

My Experience: I have done a lot of reading over the years of YA and fantasy and Dystopian.

How I Will Mark: I took a Prose class recently, so I have several Paradigms, and additional information that I will use to critique work (includes information on characterization, plot, etc.)

I'm very careful, I will probably read it a million times to make sure I get everything.

I read for flow, characterization, plot flow, style, some grammar, theme, motifs, etc. Don't expect me to be extremely particular about grammar.


Important Additional Information: You can PM me with your book genre(s), the synopsis, title, word count, chapter count, the first chapter (just to see what your stories like) and the status (finished or not. I will probably only accept a book that is finished or a couple chapters away from being finished).

I will not be asking you to read any of my work because it is nowhere near ready to read. I will be asking for a beta reader when its ready

(Willing to read one book)

Availability : Unavailable. Just taken on someone's book. I've just finished writing a novel so I'm taking a brief 1-2 month break before moving onto the next one. Wouldn't mind some light reading to pass the time whilst I plan my next book and send my queries etc.

Genres : I write fantasy but can read most genres. Except for non fiction, historical fiction, and children's.

What I'm willing to do : Give general opinions, answer specific questions. Can happily wait until I've read the whole thing, or comment per chapter/section.

Time scale : Takes me 3-5 weeks to read a book usually. Although if it's Lord of the Rings length you've got, expect longer.

When I can start: Available

I will read: Fantasy, light sci-fi, steampunk, mystery, historical adventure, lesbian romance. Would also take a gander at a new fresh approach to vampires, as well as dragons. I adore Marie Brennan's Lady Trent novels, so anything like this is greatly desired!

Please do not send me: Fantasy set in high school or anything to do really with characters in high school. Anything "YA" please have them be at least out of high school. Horror. Any Christian work. Heteronormative romance.

Contact: Send me a PM with a pitch of your work and we can go from there. Open to swaps too.

Availability: Available

Preference: Speculative YA

Not interested in: Category romance, non-speculative work, anything hyper-literary, first drafts

My style: Whatever you need!

I'm a long time novelist, first time beta, though I have experience critiquing work in writing classes. I'm looking to swap. My YA historical fantasy needs some fresh eyes. If that sounds interesting, PM me a quick summary, genre, word count, and what you're looking for.

Availability: Available

Preference: Urban fantasy, paranormal romance.
(I'll probably open this up to a wider variety later, but with RL things at the moment, those are my preferences.)

Not Interested: MG, non-fiction.

Experience: Have given feedback on many short stories and a few longer projects, including for a traditionally-published author. Avid reader of UF/PNR/fantasy.

My Style: What do you want me to look for when reading your story? Normally I'll pick up spelling & grammar errors, and look for any parts where I think the writing could be clearer. I also look for any plot threads that get lost or are unnecessary, whether the actions of the characters make sense, and any other places where I think the story could be made stronger.

Contact: PM. I'd prefer to start with just the first chapter to see if we can work together - I don't think I'll be able to beta effectively if I'm not enjoying the story, and I want you to find my feedback useful.

Availability: currently booked for novels already - thank you! - if you have shorter works, however, PM me I'd still like the experience

Preference: YA, NA, historical fiction, sci-fi, fantasy, dystopian, paranormal, biographies, history (primarily Tudor England), non-fiction on gardening, cats, knitting, crochet. I love anything British, or anything with vampires, witches, zombies, etc. Willing to read some Christian fiction (depending on sub-plots; I especially like Amish fiction), some children's, and some sub-romance

I LOVE series, but I'm not a big fan of jumping into a series - really hate it, actually, so be prepared to give me at LEAST a good summary of earlier books ....

I'm not interested in: pure romance, sports, politics, erotica (some sex OK), mysteries, suspense, poetry, anything where an animal / pet dies, anything with rape/abuse/torture/bullying/anything too graphic (yes, I'm a wimp). Horror's OK if it's not scary horror (something like Walking Dead or the Dome is OK).

Experience: I have never been a beta reader before (though I am receiving my first novel to beta from an author I met on facebook). I am, however, an experienced book reviewer (http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1259503-anastacia-knits). I'm a technical editor in the craft field as part of my "day" job as a knit / crochet designer/teacher, so do have some experience with editing.

My Style: My inexperience will really show here, as I obviously haven't found my style yet. I'll mostly like be reading your story/book several times, looking to see what works and what doesn't work, what seems far fetched or fake. I tend to notice errors in books and am happy to help with proofreading as well (as long as the book has been well gone over, I'm not going to do all your editing for you). I'll do my best to give constructive feedback.


Contact: PM me. I definitely would like to see a chapter or two up front to see if I think I'll enjoy your story, as I think I'd be able to give better feedback on a story/book I really enjoy.

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I'd love to start work on some smaller pieces first, since I am inexperienced at this.

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eta: fleshed out preferences section to include dislikes

Hello, I am in need of a few good Beta Readers! The novel is around 105,000 words long and I would consider it to be an adventure/crime novel. I am open to all types of suggestions ie how you feel about the book, content edits, grammar, etc. I have provided a description below so you can get a sense of the book:

"Ben and Hector, two ex-scientists of a private weapons development company, have created a virtual reality facility hidden underground somewhere in Nevada. Unwitting teenagers are used as pawns in profitable simulations broadcast live to a carefully selected clientele.

These teenagers are repeatedly drugged, leaving them with no memory of the simulation. Over time, the drug causes side effects, leading to violent behavior. Local authorities intervene when the behavior spreads to a concerning number.

Ben and Hector will do anything to keep the simulations running."


If you are interested in Beta Reading, please let me know here or via PM and I can coordinate with you via email and send you the first few chapters in Microsoft Word format (or whichever format you prefer.)

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you. I am also open to critiquing any of your work as well.

Bahamut5098 said:

Hello, I am in need of a few good Beta Readers! The novel is around 105,000 words long and I would consider it to be an adventure/crime novel. I am open to all types of suggestions ie how you feel about the book, content edits, grammar, etc. I have provided a description below so you can get a sense of the book:

"Ben and Hector, two ex-scientists of a private weapons development company, have created a virtual reality facility hidden underground somewhere in Nevada. Unwitting teenagers are used as pawns in profitable simulations broadcast live to a carefully selected clientele.

These teenagers are repeatedly drugged, leaving them with no memory of the simulation. Over time, the drug causes side effects, leading to violent behavior. Local authorities intervene when the behavior spreads to a concerning number.

Ben and Hector will do anything to keep the simulations running."


If you are interested in Beta Reading, please let me know here or via PM and I can coordinate with you via email and send you the first few chapters in Microsoft Word format (or whichever format you prefer.)

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you. I am also open to critiquing any of your work as well.

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This thread is for people who want to beta-read, not people looking for beta-readers. You're better off starting a new thread if you're looking for readers.

Hi Everyone!

I'm new on the site and and thought I'd jump in and offer myself up a beta reader! What I would particularly like to read is fantasy, SF, or maybe horror, or if you have something really funny I might take a look. no erotica, please. I work full time as a bookseller and specialize in YA literature, so I suppose my only qualification is that I have read A LOT of YA literature and end up having to know quite a lot about the genre, like it or not. If you do have YA I might be interested, but I'm a bit burnt out at this point so it depends.

Crime/Mystery/Thriller
Message me!

Availability: Currently available (and willing to trade beta reading, my novel is a paranormal thriller).

Preference: Mystery/thriller/suspense. Romance. Horror. I read less science fiction and fantasy, but I do watch sci-fi and fantasy type movies, so I'm not opposed to it. I have an 11 y/o that actively reads a lot of YA, and I read whatever I give her, so I'm open to that.

Not Interested: Stories that are predominately plot with little focus on character development. Apart from that I'm pretty open minded.

My Style: I have never done beta reading before, so I'm winging it a bit here. I would anticipate that my style is largely informed by my background. I'm a psychologist by trade, working on my doctorate. I have been writing fiction for many years as well as scientific/academic writing (the super-strict technical variety). I have professional medical experience in addition to my behavioral health experience. I also have some military and forensic background (albeit far less than medical and psych). That said, I tend to focus on character development, continuity in plotting, and pacing. I'm also a musician, and I kind of think of writing like music - everything has a pace and a rhythm.

Contact: PM me.

I have just recently started looking for Beta readers for my 105,333 Novel. The two I've found have been wonderful. Initially, I was pretty nervous about sending out the whole ms, but I have a record of it at various stages of development etc.
I think this is a very important and much needed part of getting published. We receive little feedback from queries/submissions. This way, we get to know essentially, if our story reaches out and touches a reader.
I was nervous of reading my first feedback report (only a couple of days ago), but it was incredible, and considering it is a romance (read by a male beta) I was over the moon with his evaluation. Very informative and concise.
I actually used fiverr.com. I thought that way I would have a record of sending etc. I would certainly use him again. If anyone would like the link - I would be happy to send./y
The second beta (a woman) I met via a beta Facebook group.
She emailed me halfway through reading the ms with how the story had emotionally engaged with her so far.
I am so pleased that I decided to work with Beta readers, as it has had such a positive impact.
Any feedback, positive/negative is always a good thing. It opens you up to things previously not noticed.
Trace ;o)

Traceyanne said:

I have just recently started looking for Beta readers for my 105,333 Novel. The two I've found have been wonderful. Initially, I was pretty nervous about sending out the whole ms, but I have a record of it at various stages of development etc.
I think this is a very important and much needed part of getting published. We receive little feedback from queries/submissions. This way, we get to know essentially, if our story reaches out and touches a reader.
I was nervous of reading my first feedback report (only a couple of days ago), but it was incredible, and considering it is a romance (read by a male beta) I was over the moon with his evaluation. Very informative and concise.
I actually used fiverr.com. I thought that way I would have a record of sending etc. I would certainly use him again. If anyone would like the link - I would be happy to send./y
The second beta (a woman) I met via a beta Facebook group.
She emailed me halfway through reading the ms with how the story had emotionally engaged with her so far.
I am so pleased that I decided to work with Beta readers, as it has had such a positive impact.
Any feedback, positive/negative is always a good thing. It opens you up to things previously not noticed.
Trace ;o)

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I'm a bit confused. Are you offering to beta read or asking for a beta reader?

In either event, it would be to your advantage to get involved in the AW community before diving into the Beta Readers arena. When people get to know you they will be more inclined to help or be helped.

Okay, I got three books I'm working on now. Unless you already got a PM from me, I'm going to call that good for now. Thank you for all the offers to swap. I will re-post when I am ready for another round.

Availability: Available. I’m willing to take one or two books on loan, but I am mostly looking for someone to do a swap.

Preference: I tend to read more YA simply because it tends to be cleaner and I guess that’s where my head is at. I LOVE fantasy of any kind (traditional/urban/paranormal/what-have-you), but would also be open to read light romance, thriller/suspense, historical and sci fi (just don’t bore me with a lot of techno-babble). Really, I’m not that picky so long as you have a good character.
I would prefer a completed novel (not perfect, but a complete story).

Not Interested: Please do not send me any erotica or explicit material of any kind. I can handle some violence, but it needs context (motivation/setting/character). Unless you have a clear redemptive arc, I’m not interested in an anti-hero who behaves just as badly as the “villains.” I want to have someone to root for.

Experience: I’ve been a beta/critique partner for several writers for the past six years. I run an in-person writing group in my house for the last two years. I have also attended several writing conferences during that time.

My Style: I can be very blunt when I don’t like something, but I’m also willing to cheerlead you on. I mostly will give comments on content and overall flow, but will do line edits if I notice consistent errors. I LOVE good strong characters and will have a lot to say about that in any WIP.

Contact: PM me. I will probably ask to start with just a few chapters so we can get to know each other’s style.

Swap: As I said, I’m mostly looking to swap, so here’s a bit about my WIP. It’s YA Fantasy—91k. It has a lot of traditional epic/fairy tale elements with a few twists, focusing on a very lazy djinni. It has a female lead and romantic subplot, so it probably appeals to a more female audience, but I would love a willing male beta. I can give you a full description if you are interested.