FictionQuest

Markets that don't offer monetary compensation are listed here, in the non-paying forum.

Not sure why an administrator would tell you otherwise, unless you misunderstood where best to post your thread.

Every section of AW has a "READ BEFORE YOU POST" thread. It is strongly advised to read these before posting.

Um, so I'm confused: You are now (or never were) a publisher? What is described is essentially a free pool of beta-testers.

Well yes, because right now I see no expectation or option for FictionPress to publish the "winning" manuscripts. Nor any reason why an author should want them to?

FictionQuest said:

Thanks. But "winning" would not be the right word. I hope it's clear that this is not a competition.

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It's not really clear what it is, why you would do it, and what the outcomes would be.

FictionQuest is for readers and authors. The objective is to find and publish great new books.
FictionQuest uses a community of beta readers to uncover new books that have great potential. Readers will find a regular offering of high quality stories from new, talented authors. The books will be in a beta form and may contain some errors, but they will have been read by us and only the most promising work will make it to the community. All that is asked from the reader in return is a response to a couple of questions to provide feedback.
FictionQuest provides authors an opportunity to get feedback from a large selection of readers, and then to have their work published commercially.
Authors can learn more about how to submit work here.

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This doesn't really say anything about how the publishing aspect works, what pay (if any) can be expected if/when work is published, what format work is published in or whether your main focus is the beta reading or the publishing. Or, indeed, how one signs up to become a beta reader, or where one can find out more about the beta readers.

I guess the problem is it is really unclear what your focus and goals are in a way that would suggest anything is planned. It feels kind of like you're throwing this idea in the air to see where it sticks. Do you have any experience working in publishing, and do you have a plan in mind regarding when and how you intend to publish works, what rights the authors will have, whether submission to the site now means agreeing to publication or whether one can choose to agree to publication at a later date if/when the opportunity arises, and so on.

I would also note that "a response to a couple of questions from the reader" is not beta reading. It might be general feedback, but it is certainly not beta reading.

You're not telling authors... much.

Well I'd go by what we have on this site. If I were to ask for a beta reader on these forums, I'd be able to look forward to receive in-depth critical analysis of my work. I can post for general feedback in the SYW section and receive anything from discussions of tone and grammar, to a sentence-by-sentence analysis of a small section of my work. Once my work is complete and polished, I'd be able to ask for beta readers from other authors, both published and published, on these forums. There are dozens of highly experienced, extremely talented writers here willing to give their time and effort to help others, and their personal beta reading styles do differ. Of course, we're extremely lucky to have them, but it is good to know that we can get to know the people beta reading for us, read their work on the forum or published, and get some idea of their crit style reading their feedback in the SYW section. What authors expect and what beta readers provide has actually been covered in quite some depth in this section of the forum.

I took a look at your site and had a few comments. First, what types of genres are you looking for? You make it clear that you are looking for a book that will stand out, but you don't have any guidelines as to what meets that criteria.

Second, I'm not sure what is in it for a writer looking to send their MS to you. Beta reading is a good start, but what happens when you do find the "right" novel? What makes going with your service superior over self-publishing on their own? I can always find a good beta reader for free.

I'm not trying to be critical, I just was wondering these things from the perspective of satisfying my own goals. If I am going to go with a service, I want a clear definition of how that will benefit me.

FictionQuest said:

Thanks for the feedback. I have not specified genre because I am open to almost anything. If I like the synopsis then I will read it. I probably will not read erotic stuff but anything else is good. What makes a book stand out? That's a tough one. The best measure I have found is just how I read it. If I simply cannot put it down and read it all very quickly then that is a good indicator. If I struggle through over a couple of weeks, then that is not so good.

What's in it for you as an author? Yes, you can find a good beta reader. I would hope to find you many good beta readers. Why can't you just self-publish? You can and if that is the case then perhaps FictionQuest could be an affiliate and help promote the book. There are various paths once a good book is found.

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Thank you for clarifying. Again, I wasn't trying to sound snarky, I just was wondering if this would be a good fit for me as an author.

Okay, so what I'm trying to get at is that there is a lot of information lacking from your website, and it's information that would really help authors determine how useful your website will be.

Examples.

If you're going to have a group of beta readers, presumably those readers will need to log in somewhere to be able to access my MS to read it. I can't see any links on the site to the beta readers' section, or any notes on how to sign up or where to log in. I can't see any requirements for people who might want to join as a beta reader. I can't tell whether becoming a beta reader requires some indication that a person is capable of giving useful analysis of work. I can't tell if you have any beta readers yet, if you are ready to receive them, or if you even have their part of the website set up yet. As such, I have no idea what kind of beta readers you'll provide, how many, or what sort of critique they will be able to give.

I'm not necessarily saying I expect the world from a beta reader when I talk about what we can expect on this site, I'm pointing out that the beta readers here have proven knowledge. If I submit my MS here for beta reading and Joe Bloggs offers to beta for me, I can check his previous posts and threads. I can see the sort of feedback he's given to others in SYW and I can see samples of his own writing. Regardless of whether Joe Bloggs is the type to go deep in depth, concentrate on spelling and grammar or give a more generalised critique, I'll know what to expect. And if Joe and Jane both offer, I can decide which of the two has a critique style more suited to my needs.

One hand-picked, experienced beta reader with a proven track record is superior to thirty complete unknowns. That doesn't mean your idea is without merit. It means it would be really, really useful if you could make them less of an unknown by putting a bit more information about the beta selection process on your website, or showing writers where the beta readers gather. I mean, I'd potentially be happy to sign up as a beta reader right now for you. But I can't see where to do so. Or what you'd expect from me in return for that.

FictionQuest said:

Really? Who are you trying to sell your books to? Experienced beta readers or unknown people who like to read? If I was an author, I would want feedback from people who are my potential customers. Would they buy it and would they recommend it to others? If not, then why not? If I get 30 people to answer that question, then I think that is more valuable than one experienced critic.

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With respect, I think this just shows that you don't understand how important a good beta reader is us writers, nor do you understand the difference between a beta reader and a regular reader.