THIS MESSAGE IS NO LONGER VALID--NOT LOOKING FOR BETA READER ANYMORE. THANKS FOR YOUR INTEREST, THOUGH!
Hello there.
I'm looking for the honest opinion of a well-read complete stranger for my draft novel. Why would you want to spend your time reading my book when you're trying to write your own? Because I can offer the same service in return.
Here's what I'm proposing: I send you my 106,000 word, mainstream-with-mystery-elements novel. You send me a work of a similar or slightly larger size. If you write 50,000 YA novels, I'll read two of 'em. We read each others' work within an agreed upon period, say 10 days. Then we each send comments to the other, maybe 1-2 pages' worth.
Who am I to tell you what I think of your book? This is my first novel. But I have had several short stories published, including most recently in the Berkeley Fiction Review, and I majored in English, and I've been a newspaper editor, and I've been in more writing groups than I care to remember. And I read a lot. I know how to be honest and still not be a jerk. Yes, you're taking a leap of faith. But so am I, and honestly, what do you have to lose?
I AM NOT looking for someone to copy edit my novel or offer line-by-line critiques or an analysis of my word choice. You don't have the time for this and the novel is still in draft form and many of the adjectives will probably change anyway. I'd like more general feedback about the structure, plot, characters, and general cohesiveness.
If this sounds like a square deal to you, shoot me a message and we'll work out the details.
Thanks and I look forward to reading your manuscript!
Matt
Hello there.
I'm looking for the honest opinion of a well-read complete stranger for my draft novel. Why would you want to spend your time reading my book when you're trying to write your own? Because I can offer the same service in return.
Here's what I'm proposing: I send you my 106,000 word, mainstream-with-mystery-elements novel. You send me a work of a similar or slightly larger size. If you write 50,000 YA novels, I'll read two of 'em. We read each others' work within an agreed upon period, say 10 days. Then we each send comments to the other, maybe 1-2 pages' worth.
Who am I to tell you what I think of your book? This is my first novel. But I have had several short stories published, including most recently in the Berkeley Fiction Review, and I majored in English, and I've been a newspaper editor, and I've been in more writing groups than I care to remember. And I read a lot. I know how to be honest and still not be a jerk. Yes, you're taking a leap of faith. But so am I, and honestly, what do you have to lose?
I AM NOT looking for someone to copy edit my novel or offer line-by-line critiques or an analysis of my word choice. You don't have the time for this and the novel is still in draft form and many of the adjectives will probably change anyway. I'd like more general feedback about the structure, plot, characters, and general cohesiveness.
If this sounds like a square deal to you, shoot me a message and we'll work out the details.
Thanks and I look forward to reading your manuscript!
Matt
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