Seeking Betas for YA Contemporary Romance

kdvbrunt · Jul 16, 2014

Looking for someone willing to beta read a 80,000 word YA contemporary romance. I willing to swap too (most any YA genre). The working title is A Cold Case.

In a sentence, a boy and a girl, who despise each other, are thrust together by their shared desire to solve a 25-year cold case and unravel secrets some people still don't want revealed.

I'm looking for big picture comments on plot points and characters--what's working, what's not.

mmallico · Jul 16, 2014

Your first post is for this? You need to immerse yourself in the community first before you request Beta Reads. As it is, your manuscript really doesn't work. It doesn't contain enough description and doesn't read as being unique.

Unimportant · Jul 16, 2014

Whoa there, tiger! There is no minimum post count required to request a beta read. And it would be impossible to tell whether a full length ms works or not based on a single sentence, particularly given that nearly all stories boil down to one of about a dozen basic storylines.

However, it is true that people are more likely to volunteer to help if the member has been active in the community and, even better, has already shown willing to contribute by helping others. It's great that the OP is willing to beta-swap: that's exactly the right attitude to have! Give and take

KDV, I can't offer to beta read, but I'll expand on what I think Mmall may have been alluding to: If you stick around, and wander down to the Share Your Work section, once you get 50 posts under your belt (easy to do if you write critiques!) you can post the first few pages of your novel down there and ask for critiques. It's a great way to entice readers who can say "I want more!" and then you can say "Great! Wanna beta read the whole thing?"

Pikko · Jul 16, 2014

I just volunteered for two partial reads, so I can't help right now, but I do have a staff of 17 on my Hunger Games site and if you want I can ask them if any of them are interested in doing one for you. We have staff ranging from ages 15 to 35, though all of our younger staffers are guys.

Maryn · Jul 16, 2014

I'm not this board's moderator, but let's not offer to become go-betweens for members and non-members. If the people at your website want to beta read YA, suggest they join AW, where there are many people seeking betas.

Maryn

chompers · Jul 16, 2014

Maryn said:
I'm not this board's moderator, but let's not offer to become go-betweens for members and non-members. If the people at your website want to beta read YA, suggest they join AW, where there are many people seeking betas.

Maryn

Maryn, you forgot a comma and comment after your name. :tongue

Maryn · Jul 16, 2014

OMG, I did! How can I ever face you all again?

In my defense, I've been sick for nearly a week and have had it up to here with it. Naturally, we're leaving for vacation tomorrow with not nearly enough having been completed. And who doesn't enjoy two days in the car with an upset stomach?

Maryn, heading for the beach

kdvbrunt · Jul 16, 2014

Sorry, didn't mean to step on any toes. Let me revise my pitch to focus on just beta swaps. So, if anyone would like to swap beta reading, let me know. I'm a traditionally published author of both fiction and nonfiction, and have done a ton beta reading over the years.

EllaM · Jul 16, 2014

Hi! I'm available for beta reading! PM me if you still need someone!

kdvbrunt · Jul 29, 2014

Ella, thank you for your beta read. It was fabulous. You should be an editor full time. Previously, I've used paid beta readers, but a friend said I could get beta readers as good or better on this site and he was right. Your review was awesome. FYI: I revised the manuscript as per your comments and queried it to agents--one asked to see the full manuscript within 24 hours--here's hoping things work out, but if they do, you helped big time.

Maryn · Jul 30, 2014

Oh, that's just wonderful to hear! Congratulations to you both for such a happy outcome.

Maryn, beaming (check the dimple!)

Sleepysara · Jul 30, 2014

Are you still looking for a swap? If so, PM me and I'll tell you more about my MS.

EllaM · Jul 30, 2014

kdvbrunt said:
Ella, thank you for your beta read. It was fabulous. You should be an editor full time. Previously, I've used paid beta readers, but a friend said I could get beta readers as good or better on this site and he was right. Your review was awesome. FYI: I revised the manuscript as per your comments and queried it to agents--one asked to see the full manuscript within 24 hours--here's hoping things work out, but if they do, you helped big time.

This is so wonderful! It truly was my pleasure! I would love to beta read your next one!

Please, please let me know how this turns out for you!

All the best!

Kalliopaea · Sep 11, 2014

kdvbrunt said:
Ella, thank you for your beta read. It was fabulous. You should be an editor full time. Previously, I've used paid beta readers, but a friend said I could get beta readers as good or better on this site and he was right. Your review was awesome. FYI: I revised the manuscript as per your comments and queried it to agents--one asked to see the full manuscript within 24 hours--here's hoping things work out, but if they do, you helped big time.

Congratulations! Good luck with getting your work published. I just finished my first novel, a contemporary romance called On Track with Icing. I guess it could be considered YA, though my heroine is 29 and my hero is 35. She's a plus-sized gal who runs her own business. He's a sexy, gorgeous NASCAR driver.

It's the first in a series of three books, though I wouldn't quite call it a trilogy even though I use the same characters in all three books.

Seeking Betas for YA Contemporary Romance

kdvbrunt

mmallico

Unimportant

No COVID yet. Still masking.

Pikko

Maryn

Baaa!

chompers

Maryn

Baaa!

kdvbrunt

EllaM

Herding Cats

kdvbrunt

Maryn

Baaa!

Sleepysara

EllaM

Herding Cats

Kalliopaea

Kalliopaea