• Read this stickie before posting.

    • In order to reduce the number of new members requesting a Beta reader before they're really ready for one, we've instituted a 50 post requirement before you can start a thread seeking a Beta reader.
    • You can still volunteer to Beta for someone else; just please don't request someone to Beta for you until you're more familiar with the community and our members.

I WANT YOU...

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Helsen

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...FOR BETA READING!

Thank you for taking the time to view this. I am very open to criticism, 100% honestly is greatly encouraged. I take my work very seriously and wish to convert it from just passion to a career.

I have my first manuscript complete at 84,000+ words, with the sequel wrapping up. I have elements of the third and fourth complete as well. My main focus right now is this series off and running.

So here we are... What you, as my beta, reader are getting into is a mostly Action/Adventure novel.

Sound good so far?

But it's more.

As a warnng any beta reader of mine should be ok with graphic violence, corse language, Norse Mythology, minor horror, some romance, and poorly rounded jokes.

Still there?

Ok, that's a lot to chew on. If you're still here with me then also understand that I'd love to be a part of your process as well. We could swap initial chapters and go from there. We could set up a schedule or whatever works for you.

Questions, concerns? Let me know. I wanna hear from you.

Thank you for your time.
 
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divynal66

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Helsen,

I am also interested in finding a beta reader and would be honored to be a beta reader for you.

My manuscript is just over 76k words of sci-fi action adventure set in the future, and touches on surveillance, aliens, soldiers and veterans and vigilantes. My work has violence, some gore, some strong language and hopefully humor that others get.

Let me know either way please and I hope I can help :)
 

Helsen

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I am so down. Your story has my attention.

The first step here, I would imagine, is figuring out what we want from this. Are you looking for spelling/grammar? Or do you want that, but you mostly want to focus on plot cohesiveness, character development, pacing, etc...?

Me, any help you can give is more then appreciated in any shape or form.

Second step: how do you want to exchange chapters? Via email or maybe we could do it through PM, I don't know.

Again, thank you. I can't wait to hear back from you.
 

Bufty

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Welcome both- and another word in your ears even though a Mod already gave you good advice in response to your introductory posts.

Each of you guys would benefit from taking a deep breath and spend time browsing this vast site, both absorbing and contributing, so you each know what is available and can be found here before jumping into bed with a total stranger. :welcome: :Hug2:
 
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Maryn

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Bufty is wise--which you know once you've cruised the boards for a time.
 

divynal66

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With that being said, what should we do then? I'm new to the site for the purpose of getting critiques of my work before moving forward?
 

VeryBigBeard

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Hi, and :welcome: both.

I lurk a lot on the beta threads because I will beta if I see a book I like and am confident I can help with it. If the book isn't pretty close to publishable, it's not really ready for serious beta. I do think you can get a lot out of doing a switch even earlier, if you're the type of writer who responds well to that, but there are risks, and you can read about them in the sticky threads. There are lots of tips for making sure a beta goes smoothly--things like making sure you agree on timelines, level of crit (this one's especially important if the manuscript is a bit new--it's often easy for people to overestimate their ability to handle professional feedback), and even approach to the story. For instance, I'm a terrible beta or crit partner for historical romance, and though I write what could be described as action/adventure, I don't do well with all action or all adventure. I tend to give very structural, very technical feedback and that can jar some people out of a composition process, get someone upset, or just not be all that helpful. Writing and betaing are both big time commitments and feelings tend to go well if you know each other a bit first.

As a beta-reader, what I like to see on these posts is the equivalent of a query, if slightly more casual. I don't care if the query's perfect, but I do care that the writer is at a point where he or she can put it together reasonably well. I also want to see more than just, "this is a book about feral Tonka trucks and my niece's cat, and their ensuing relationship struggles in post-apocalyptic Boston." It's not setting or character type that promises a good read. I'll read books about knights, or space aliens, presidents, or peasants. I want to see some hint of what you're going for.

I also like to see some idea of what you want from the beta. Is there an issue in the book ("My plot just feels flat;" "Are things just a bit too weird with the Tonkas?") you want my advice on? Sometimes the best way to see this, if you're not sure yourself, is to post the opener in SYW. That way I can get a sense of the writing style, some promise of what the rest of the book holds, and a sense of where I'm going to want to focus. A beta-read where I have to structurally edit every gorramn scene is a very different enterprise than a read where I'm really just looking for a few places the character arc could be tweaked and maybe snatching some typos so they don't end up in some acquiring editor's lunch.

You can get into SYW--the Share Your Work sub-fora--by using the password vista. Having it behind a password just protects against Google search spiders so you're not risking publication rights. If the MS is ready for beta, people there will tell you, and sometimes offer to beta for you. If it's not ready for beta, they'll tell you that, too. You need 50 posts to post there, and it's good form to crit others before you ask the community for help. Same goes with betas. Helping others is a great way to get loads of people wanting to read your book.
 

Kylabelle

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With that being said, what should we do then? I'm new to the site for the purpose of getting critiques of my work before moving forward?

Welcome here! What I suggest you do then, er, next, is to participate in some ongoing threads that address your interests, especially including threads in SYW. Offer some crits to others. Read how it's done here, and make the kind of contribution that lets people get to know you a bit.

Then pretty soon you will have fifty or more posts and you can put a section of your work up for crit.

And as VeryBigBeard says, read stickies.

Good luck!
 

SageChild

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Hi Helsen, I've sent you a PM. I would love to swap with you if you're interested.
 

Ameliexx

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Hello. I'm a newbie here also looking for beta readers. I'm in the process of revising my novel so I'm in no rush yet. I'd like to polish it up as best as I can myself first. Hopefully by the time I've done that I'll have 50 posts and will have befriended some of you here. PM me if you would like to discuss swapping chapters at some stage.
 
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