So You Want to Be a Beta Reader?

I would be absolutely delighted if you are interested in being a beta reader. Please reach out to me with which novel you are interested in reading and what your initial reactions to the first three chapters are. If there is anything in your background that would make you a particularly suitable beta reader (whether it is how you relate to my ideal reader Venn diagram or that you love a fantasy novel that I also love), then please mention it! We can discuss from there whether we would be a good fit for each other.

This blog post is specifically to help you understand my expectations/what would be most useful for me before you reach out, and a handy page for you to come back to if we decide to work together.

Objective:

Help me understand how someone else reads this book; take me along for the ride in your mind as you’re reading this as someone who is reading this for fun; I know every little twist and turn so no longer can tell what is confusing, surprising, etc.

Dos and Don’ts:

• Describe your reaction. There is no need to prescribe how to change anything. I will take your reaction and decide if I want to make changes, and if so, what kind of changes I will make.

• Please be kind but honest! (“Cringy,” “WTF?” “Why don’t they just ABC?” “Isn’t it obvious that XYZ?” “So-and-so wouldn’t do this,” etc. are all helpful reactions.)

• If you catch typos and grammatical errors, please feel free to mention it, but the focus as a beta reader is not line editing.

Questions to Think About:

• What parts do you like? Dislike?

• How does this make you feel? What does this make you think of?

• How do you like the POV characters (Rissa, Rhenise, Therise, Anisha, Serena, Sage, Kara, Seira, and Avril)? Are the POVs within each novel distinct from each other?

  • Very important to evaluate character likability, how effective the character arc will be.

• What does this make you think is going to happen? What are your predictions?

  • Very important to evaluate how effective plot twists will be.

• Where did I lose you?

  • Setting – is it not immersive enough?

  • Monologue/Dialogue – too heavy handed?

  • Pacing – too boring?

  • Plot believability – are my characters dumb for not figuring it out sooner?

  • POV character relatability – are they too myopic?

  • Info dumps – unnecessary or uninteresting?

  • Does anything “break the spell”? (Incongruous phrases that pull you out of the story, etc.)

• At the end of each chapter: how invested are you in continuing to read the book? Which plot lines are you most invested in right now? What do you want to know more about?

• What are the promises I have made to you the reader (about character development, plot, tone, etc.) and am I making progress towards it? Is there satisfying payoff?

Beta Reading

Does reading my novels with periodic check-ins to answer these questions sound exciting? Then, please reach out! Even if we are not the right fit for beta reading I would still love to connect and there will be other opportunities to be involved, including being an advance reader (who gets a free advance reader copy) and I will keep you on my list for that.