Availability: 03/29/12: My free time continues to ebb and flow. Please PM me to inquire as to my current availability.
Experience: I am a former Borders bookseller and romance expert with over nine years of experience in the market. While I have beta-read for various fanfiction authors, I have also read for a published author whose second & fourth book hit the USA Today bestseller list and her third book made the New York Times extended paperback list.
Specialization: My main area of expertise is paranormal romance. Aside from that subgenre, I am willing to read contemporary, historical, erotica, Christian inspirational, steampunk, urban fantasy, fantasy, or space romances. I will also do military, multi-cultural, or suspense, but these are the areas I read the least. Young adult is acceptable if it is primarily a romance with the obligatory happy ending. I am comfortable with m/m or m/f, but I have no experience with f/f at this time. I am not opposed to reading non-romance manuscripts, but I will not be as effective. At this time, I'd prefer only romance or erotica manuscripts. I've reached my limit on everything else.
What I won't read: Anything containing zombies, adultery, cannibalism, incest, scat, necrophilia, and gratuitous child or animal abuse. I will notify the author promptly if I feel I will not be able to read the manuscript with an objective frame of mind. At this time, I am also rather burned out on paranormal romances containing angels with religious origins.
Schedule/time frame: The turn-around time will depend on the quality of the manuscript, the length, what the author is looking for from the beta-reading, and how much time I can eke out. It could range from a couple of hours to a couple of days.
My critique style: I prefer the manuscript in a Word .doc so that I can make comments directly onto the document. I make stream-of-conscious comments while reading. After I'm finished, I will type up a report with any overall questions, comments, or concerns. Unless specifically requested otherwise, I will also make note of any awkward sentence phrasing, misspellings or other grammar issues that I notice (I am not claiming to be a copy-editor so there may be things I miss). Please note that I tend to the brutally honest side of things. You won't get rah-rah cheerleading from me unless I genuinely think you deserve it.
Other Notes : I am currently offering my services for free as I wish to build my resume. I maintain strict confidentiality about the manuscripts I read, but I may ask to list your book as a project I've worked on. In addition, if the current manuscript is a second book in a series, I'd like either an e-book copy or a detailed summary of the first book. If the manuscript is eventually published by a small press or mainstream publisher, I would also like a copy of the finished file or book.
Disclaimer: While I can tell you if your book is on trend or marketable, it will be my opinion. I cannot help you get published.
Contact: Please PM me if you're interested or have any questions. Once we have agreed on what your expectations of me would be, I will provide you with an email address where you may send the file.