Willing Beta Readers Volume III

Availability: Not available for now.

Preferences: Romance, horror, erotica, sci-fi, mystery, thriller, anything comedic, historical. Those are in no particular order.

Any length from flash to novels.

I don't read:

• Anything in present tense
• Most fantasy (try me if it doesn't have a Medieval or Tolkien feel)
• Military stories
• Political stories (meaning stories where the characters are politicians or the plot revolves around politics, not ones which might have a political message)
• Sci-fi set in space (alien invasion or set on other planets is fine, I just don't like Star Wars-y stuff)
• Poetry
• Non-consensual sex or alphahole-male romances

I'm picky about YA. If much of your book is set in a high school, I'm probably not the reader for you.

What I write: Romance novels, and short stories in sci-fi/horror/whatever I feel like.

Beta Style: I ask for a Word-compatible doc and leave comments as I read about what I like, what confuses me, and how I feel about the characters. I give my overall impressions at the end of each chapter. I comment on whatever occurs to me but I don't nitpick for the sake of it, and I'm constructive about things I think could be improved. In a nutshell, I'm honest but feel no need to be rude.

Experience: I've beta'ed close to 50 novels, including some for AW members. As a writer, I have an agent but no deal yet.

Timeline: I usually finish a beta read of a novel within a week.

Contact: PM me or email me at anna dot m dot kaling at gmail dot com.

Looking forward to falling in love with some new characters!

Availability: Currently available, but please keep in mind I work full-time and am writing my own novel. I'd prefer to swap if possible.

Preferences: Romance/YA/Women's Lit/Contemporary/Comedy/Thriller/Mystery

I'm open to pretty much anything but the above is what I'd consider strengths and what I normally read. I am a Sci-Fi nerd too, so happy to give those a crack.

What I write: Contemporary/Romance/YA/Mystery

Beta Style: I'll give my overall opinion and will focus on things like characterisation, flow, pace, first impressions, etc. Happy to work with you on this. If there's something you want me to focus on, happy to help.

Experience: I've beta read quite a few novels now and have been a critique partner for several. I'm also an English Lit graduate and work for a publishing company.

Timeline: Depends on length of project. I'd say about a week, maybe more.

Contact: angela dot philipsen14 at gmail dot com

I am no longer available to beta read until I complete my current read.

I’ll repost when I am available again.

• Availability: I am currently not available.
• Preferences: Science fiction, Fantasy in adult or YA
• What I write: Science fiction
• Beta Style: I can offer opening page/chapter critique with details on where my interest piqued or flagged, dialogue scrutiny, with overall thoughts, etc.
• Experience: editorial assistant to Entangled Publishing (romance, young adult in many genres), masters in creative writing, certification in copyediting, some op-ed articles for the Orange County Register
• Timeline: First chapter reviews can be given in 2-5 days.
• Contact: AMLyvers at g mail dot com

At this time, I can no longer offer full ms reads. Sorry! Could change in future.

Availability: Currently Unavailable

Preferences: Science Fiction, Horror, Mystery, Thriller - I don't want to read your first draft. Obviously, I don't expect the book to be free of errors, but it needs to be readable. If it's not, I'll let you know. I'm not squeamish as far as content is concerned as long as the gore, sex, violence, drugs, and curse words are there for story purposes. I don't know how valuable my critique would be on romance, erotica, or chick lit, but I'm willing to read anything if you want an outsiders perspective.

What I write: Science Fiction, Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Beta Style: I'm not one to mollycoddle. If I don't think something is good, for whatever reason, I will let you know why it doesn't work for me. I can offer overall critique, chapter critique, and even some line critique (I'm not going to line edit your novel). If you want me to focus on specific aspects of the novel, I am willing to do that as well.

Experience: I've read more books on writing craft than any human being should. I've been a member of several writing critique groups and critique other people's work regularly. I am currently editing my fourth novel which I intend to publish (the first three I drawered).

Timeline: I can comfortably critique 40K words per week.

Contact: PM me here or you can contact me at CoreyJGoldberg at gmail dot com.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

• Availability: Currently unavailable.

• Preferences: I can read anything, I usually don't pick books by genre, I can give anything a try if it catches my eye.

• What I write: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, YA, Crime, Romance...

• Beta Style: I won't be nasty if I need to critique your work, but I will definitely tell you what isn't working, what I believe you should change/add to/remove from your novel, I will tell you the weak spots I find, the strong points of the story, and I will give you my opinion on the plot and the characterization of the characters, as well as anything else I feel should be discussed. If you want line by line notes, we can definitely talk about it. I want this to be a fun experience for both the writer and I, as well as for it to be very useful in the development of the final touches of your work.

• Experience: I have beta'd an epic fantasy novel in Spain, I have an English major and an Anthropology major that works wonders for world-building in Fantasy and for research in other genres (also, my Forensic Anthropology training and my Law School studies are assets for Crime novels/works that want to display crime scenes and/or dead bodies accurately). I'm a very avid reader and I have been writing tirelessly almost a decade and a half. I have five finished novels, though they are currently in translation.

• Timeline: 1-2 weeks. It might take less time, a few days maybe, but if I see that it will take longer for whatever reason I will tell you in advance, I won't keep you waiting.

• Contact: aldara dot thomas at hotmail dot com

Availability: Currently unavailable.

Preferences: High/low fantasy, Thriller, Comedy, Action, Sci-fi, Apocalyptic; any fiction really. I'm not too big on romance as a central focus, and although I'm okay with steamy scenes, I'm not into any erotica.
I prefer to use ms Word, and will not be doing line by line. Please do clean up your draft. I will, of course, point out errors, but I would prefer to entirely put my focus on the story itself.

What I write: High and low fantasy, of which some has romance as a side plot. Have dabbled in slice-of-life and coming of age.

Beta Style: I prefer to beta a chapter a week, and will inform you of my opinion on plot, character, flow, and any other items you want me to focus on. I'd be more than happy if you would include a questionnaire on each chapter regarding anything you would like to know about specifically. The more specific the better; I'm here for you, and your story.

Experience: I have beta-ed for my writer friends, and some fanfiction writers. I've done everything from dirty edits on grammar, punctuation, capitalization and sentence structure, to the cleaner impressions on the story, advice on plot progression, and discussions about characters.

Timeline: A chapter a week. Whether you want to send me your work chapter by chapter along with per chapter questionnaires, or the whole thing at once with a long word doc of questions for the entire thing, it's up to you.

Contact: PM me here, and I will share my email for further correspondence.

Availability: Currently available but only if it fits my wishlist.

Preferences: YA anything, but probably not horror. Not too keen on paranormal stuff either. Would love a YA urban Fantasy, (hold the demons and crap, thanks)

Random stuff I hate reading about: anything that revolves around trauma, abuse, or other un-fun things. Romances are tolerable but only if they are a sub-plot. Magical realism tends to bore me, too.

Random things I’d love to read about in YA: islands, zombies, zombies on islands , original stories, the stranger the better, MC’s with unique disabilities, places that are their own subplot (Alaska, or something). Kick-ass Queens.

What I write: Surprise, surprise. I write YA Fantasy usually about kick-ass queens who are weirdos.

Beta Style: I promise that I am not a nasty bitch intent on ripping your book to pieces. I really want to love your book, and make it the best it can be. I will tell you what works, and what doesn’t. But I will not edit your book for you. I will read the manuscript and give you general feedback after I have read it. But along the way, I can email you and let you know some initial thoughts.

Experience: 20 years of reading YA novels. I’ve worked in the publishing industry, too. Timeline: 1-3 weeks for a full manuscript.

Contact: email: [email protected]

Availability: Currently have exams coming up, but I'll be free from the start of June onwards

Preferences: I prefer works with an element of horror, but I'll read most anything bar non-fiction. I'm fine with both short-stories and full-length novels.

What I write: Horror, mostly psychological. My passion project is a YA fantasy series with a steampunk-influenced setting.

Beta Style: I do a lot of close-line analysis, critiquing what reads awkwardly or could flow better. I will also offer wider critique of the characters and overall story and execution. I will be honest about what does and doesn't work for me, but I'm not overly harsh. I use Microsoft Word, with track-changes and comments turned on.

Experience: I'm still young and relatively inexperienced, but I'm trusted among my friends to provide honest and constructive criticism on their writing. I've also been providing feedback on the Horror and Mystery/Thriller SYW forums since I joined recently.

Timeline: I'm a quick reader, but I'm also juggling university, job-searching, and my own writing. Depending on the length of the text, I should be able to seen you complete feedback within one-three weeks. If that isn't doable, I'll make sure to inform you.


Contact: You can either PM me, or email me at kracey11[at]gmail[dot]com

Last batch did not go well (on my part) so I'm going to try to be a little more rigorous in picking my MS's this time around.
Unavailable

I always go to beta reading (my favorite pastime) when I just can't with writing. Wrote nothing in two weeks and stressed from school! Let's avoid our problems together!

I shoot for a month. I've done much less before (I've had week turnarounds and such, but it's all based on how polished the MS is). I'm going based off of immediate interest, so if I pass it's because I'm either not a good fit, or your first few pages need some reworking (I may point this out). My only promise is to get through the first five, really. (I don't say all this to deter anyone, my last round went really poorly by my standards so I'm kind of lacking confidence right now). I'm mostly useful for overall plot concerns and your books entertainment level, but I'm also a relatively (informed) PC person, so while I usually stop at offensive points, I make sure to gently point out what came across not-so-okay.

I have beta'd for plenty of people. I read across genres, but typically I read Urban Fantasy (I.E. Ilona Andrews or Neal Shusterman (which I count as urban fantasy though lots of people would disagree)/lighter fantasies (as in tone--like Howl's Moving Castle and such), and I like contemp thrillers, too. YA & MG are fine. While I'm not a straight romance person, I'll read anything with some drama or heart. >75K is my sweet spot because I'm a binge reader and try to read everything in one sitting (might be my problem, honestly).

PM if you're interested! Please give me some info on your story (like a pitch, rather than a query if you dont have one) and the word count and genre

Availability: Prefer to beta for only one novel at a time but will make exceptions for short stories or partial manuscripts ie. the first 50 pages. I'm currently working on my own novel so I would prefer to swap if possible.

Preferences: Erotic romance in all of it's forms, no matter how extreme or 'out there.'
Horror/Thriller
The quirky and the weird. I know that isn't a genre but it should be.
Basically anything except Sci Fi (I respect the genre but it just isn't my bag!)

What I write: Erotic romance - currently have one WIP at the moment

Beta Style: I aim to provide constructive but honest feedback - if I have an opinion I won't hold back, so if you're the type to throw a tantrum then please don't send me any work. I have a good eye (or ear!) for character progression and plot arcs, my bug bears are plot holes and continuity errors so if there's one in there, I'll probably find it! I work by leaving comments throughout the document and then a paragraph or two at the end, summing up my advice and opinions. I like to work with people with whom I can have an effective dialogue and am happy to beta again on the same piece after it has been edited/re-worked as long as it was a pleasant experience the first time round!
I don't tend to drip feed comments line by line if I'm reading a novel, but if you've sent me a shorter piece of work then I will usually have time to comment in more detail if you wish it.
Please don't send me trash work! I can't properly beta if your work is full of spelling and grammatical errors, proof read it first before you send it to me. I'm also not a big fan of first drafts, I want you to have done your absolute best with your work before you send it to me. This is simply because I'm currently working on the first draft of my own novel and one first draft in my life is more than enough!

Experience: This is my first time beta-ing on this forum but I've beta'd for many friends in the past as well as been part of critique circles in other forums and creative writing courses. The comments and advice you receive from me will always be honest but professional - I will never tell you to stop writing. Ever.

Timeline: It depends on my real life workload and how large your novel is but I try to get something turned around within two weeks and if I can't manage that then i will always let you know.

Contact: PM me with a synopsis (no spoilers!) and let me know how long your novel is as well as how in depth you want my comments to be - do you just want my overall opinion or something more in depth? This is your novel remember, you call the shots! Also, it would be helpful to send me the first few chapters of your work so that I can get a feel for it and decide whether or not I would be a good match, I know where my beta strengths lie and if I feel that I'm not the right person to beta for you, I feel that it's my duty to tell you that from the off instead of wasting both of our time!

Availability: Available, however, due to current beta reads I am working on, any new work would take longer than anticipated. I am happy to keep accepting work if you are not bothered about a fixed deadline.
Preferences: I'd be happy to read Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Romance, Thriller. Extreme content of any kind is fine.
What I write: Fan fiction and short stories - Romance and Fantasy orientated mostly
Beta Style: I can offer constructive criticism. I am happy to read anything from first drafts to final copies, of any length. I can offer help with plots, characters, and language and punctuation. I have Word 365.
Experience: I've never officially beta read for anyone, though my friends appreciate my advice in their works. I have been reading all my life and am currently taking English GCSE (To get into University as my original GCSE's are 10+ years old now!) and my teacher predicts me at a grade 8-9 (A-A*)
Timeline: I have a lot of free time currently, so I could probably turn a read around in a few days, at most two weeks. I would be able to be more accurate on a one-to-one basis however.
Contact: PM with synopsis and length and stage of work.

Availability: Unavailable - too many projects are going at once for me.

Preferences: I prefer Erotica, Horror, Science-Fiction, and Non-Fiction. I will certainly read others, but those are the ones I read the most of and know the most about.

What I write: I actually write very little. I'm a professional audiobook narrator, so I read for a living.

Beta Style: My background is probably a little unusual for a Beta, but other than general flow and critique, I can help with catching grammar mistakes.

Experience: I was a librarian for 12 years so I have read a bit of everything. I'm currently an audiobook narrator.

Timeline: My turnaround time will depend on my current work projects, but should be reasonably quick if you let me have a weekend in there.

Contact: PM me or email me. My contact info is in my profile.

Availability: Available


Preferences: Erotica, Fantasy, Science-Fiction. I don't read Non-Fiction, Romance, or non-Adult Fiction


What I write: Sci/fi, fantasy


Beta Style: Am actually looking for a critique partner. Can do everything except spelling or grammar.


Experience: Been doing this since I was 13.


Timeline: Can do every two weeks


Contact: PM me.

Availability: currently available.

Preferences: I read mainly adult fiction but will read YA if it tends towards the older end of the spectrum. I love anything a bit weird, literary, experimental, dark. Will consider most genres except erotica, horror, or high-fantasy. I am also happy to read short stories and poetry. If you have anything apocalyptic please send it my way.

Beta Style: I use comments + track changes in Word. I will also put my thoughts into a separate document for more detailed feedback in particular areas. I can be gentle if need be, but if something doesn't work for me I will make it clear. Let me know if there are specific things you are looking for feedback on. If not I will give you general comments on flow/character/writing/pacing etc.

Experience: I have beta read for a few people here on AW, and have also critiqued in a writing group.

Timeline: currently 3 weeks.

Contact: if you think we would be a good fit please PM me about your work!

Availability: Unavailable
Preferences: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery (But no Horror). Also please keep it PG rating, I am a Lady, and can be rather sensitive. Also, I prefer Light over Dark stuff. I prefer to have a PDF file format if at all possible. I am not a big fan of Romantic heavy fiction.
What I write: Science Fiction
Beta Style: I will be honest about my feel over a piece. I'll comment about what stands out. If you send me a list of questions I will only open them to read after I finish so they don't affect how I get to know your story. Please send those in a separate file labeled as such, and I'll try to answer them. I will give you any suggestions that come to mind, but don't look for a line by line analysis. And don't count on me to catch your grammar/ spelling mistakes.
Experience: I am rather new at this, I'll admit.
Timeline: Unpredictable,
Contact: Try PM me a summary of what your work is about, and a first page. I'll let you know if it seems like it will work.

Availability: Currently available
Preferences: Fantasy and sci-fi, though I'm open to nearly any type of YA. No horror though, because I'm a giant baby.
What I write: YA Fantasy, occasional NA Fantasy
Beta Style: I'm very stream-of-consciousness, so I often leave comments like "loved this phrasing," "OMG they're gonna get together I'm calling it" etc. in addition to crit. I like to do this so you have some indication of what I was thinking at various points in time, as well as letting you know where you've done well. If you don't like that style of crit though, I can stick solely to "aspect x is good, aspect y isn't working for me because of these 3 reasons." I prefer to use Google Docs because my computer has an ongoing feud with Word, and will crash if it's open too long.
Experience: I've beta read 3 novels for friends and in my college creative writing class had to crit everyone's stories numerous times
Timeline: At this point in time... between one to three weeks? Probably will depend on the length of your novel.
Contact: PM me with a brief overview of the story, word count, and what kind of read you're looking for, and I'll let you know if I'm interested!

Available
I'm quite picky and won't beta-read a story that doesn't interest me, sorry. I don't check in here regularly so you might not get a reply for a while.

Preferences: Women’s Lit, general lit, romance if it isn’t all cliché and shallow, erotica, medieval historical fiction, memoir (depending on subject matter), maybe supernatural but no horror.

I would like to read the first chapter or two before I commit as there’s no point continuing if it doesn’t interest me

What I write: a memoir and a mish-mash of historic, romantic, erotic women’s lit with a little fantasy

Beta Style: I will provide feedback as a reader – what works and what doesn’t for me.
Happy to beta read sections or as you go for WIP (as long as not first, rough draft)
I'm not a grammar expert but I will point out what jars me.
I want to be gentle but don't seem to be good at it. Be prepared for blunt criticism

Contact: PM me

Availability: Currently Unavailable

Preferences: 1 full-length novel that's as polished as you can make it.

Genre: Fantasy (YA, NA, Adult, Urban, Magical Realism, Supernatural, Paranormal, Epic, High, Low, Dark, Fairytale retellings, all of it really. I don't even know why I typed all that.)

What I write: Fantasy, of course!

Beta Style: Developmental/Content Editorial Assessment.

I specialize in assessing the content of the story itself. I will assess your story for it's structure, pacing, setting, characterization, plot, conflict, tension and most importantly, the overall emotional experience.

No line edits. No copyediting. No proofreading. I'll shrug off minor grammar and punctuation flubs and will only point out the ones that affect the read, significantly. As in, what you intended isn't clear enough for me to use context clues.

I prefer to start off with just a first chapter critique initially, just so we can see if we mesh well before we go deep into a full read/analysis. The personality is just as important as the actual work! And this will give you a taste of what I can offer you.

I'll read your manuscript in full TWICE. The first time I'll read it as a reader and pick up what I can and enjoy what I can. The second time I'll read it as an editor.

You'll receive a separate coaching document from me explaining what I liked, what confused me and what bored me, chapter-by-chapter. The assessment will identify your book’s strengths and weaknesses, and help you devise a revision strategy that dramatically improves the execution of your idea.

I do my best to help make sure the story is as good as it can be. I'll never force you to write my way. It's much more effective to let the words on the page speak for themselves. It's my job to understand what you are trying to accomplish in your book. Once I understand that, it's my job to help you get there.

Experience: I coach and mentor writers as a day job. Learn more about that in my profile. I don't want to spam the thread.

Timeline: Delivery window is 6 weeks from the time I receive the manuscript. Could be sooner. It depends on the extent of your project and also based on backlog from my day job. And I don't want to promise 2 weeks and then have to go back on my word. So, 6 weeks is the safe zone. But we can discuss a reasonable timeline.

Contact (in order of most prompt response time you'll get from me):

Facebook Messenger
Email
PM

Cheers,
Michael

PS. When you message me, tell me your word count and premise.

Availability:
Available currently

Preferences:
I am most interested in Nonfiction, creative nonfiction, historical fiction, and literary fiction as well as post-apocalyptic/alternate future sci-fi. I am not a appropriate fit for fantasy, romance, erotica, religious, or supernatural fiction.

What I write:
I edit more often than I write, focusing on nonfiction, academic, and business works.

Beta Style:
I will give you honest, fair, thorough feedback on the overall strengths and weaknesses of your story as well as detailed notes in the margin regarding specific areas where you excel or fall short in communicating your ideas.
I won’t leave you hanging. If I can not complete your manuscript, I’ll let you know ASAP.
I will never share your manuscript. That’s just rude.

I will provide you with 2 kinds of feedback:
Comments in the margins of the Google Doc addressing specific areas of the book. I may point out when I got bored or laughed out loud, places where things are unclear, where you made your point particularly well, or minute but important inconsistencies/ anachronisms in your plot or dialogue.
An evaluation of specific questions I answered about the manuscript overall. These address larger, overarching issues like flow, pacing, character development, plot, voice, and mood.

My goal is to make you a better writer by pointing out both your strengths and weaknesses. To that end, my notes will be honest, fair, and thorough with both praise and criticism.
I will tell you why I made a specific comment. Hopefully, this will help you evaluate whether my feedback is truly relevant in your next revision.
My comments will often be in the form of a question. I am not here to correct your story, but to give you a look into what your readers are thinking as the story progresses. Not all of my comments will require revision, but rather reflection on your part about whether your readers are feeling the way you want them to at a certain point in the book.
I will not give you specific structural or line edits during a beta read. However, if you like my beta notes and would like help with editing once the beta is complete, we can talk about taking it to the next level.

Experience:
In addition to working as a freelance copywriter and editor, I also volunteer as a beta reader on the Goodreads forum.

Timeline:
I can usually commit to a turnaround of a week or two.

Contact:
Please DM me for my email.

How it works:
I'll ask you to send me an email with:
A five-page sample of the book
A description of the storyline/premise of your book in 10 words or less
The length of your manuscript
A deadline for finishing the notes

I’ll let you know if I think I am a good match for your project. Typically, I look at 3 main areas:
Subject matter - I want to make sure I am the most appropriate and qualified reader for your future masterpiece. If I am not part of your target audience or do not have the technical expertise to evaluate your subject, I’ll let you know.
Editing level - As a beta reader, I’m here to make sure your writing flows, the story makes sense, and the narrative is consistent. I do not expect your command of the language to be perfect just yet, but pervasive misspellings, punctuation errors, and poor grammar can make your writing confusing, making it difficult to evaluate. If this is the case, I may suggest you run your manuscript through basic Grammarly and get back to me.
Availability - I’m here to help, not hold you up. I will let you know if I can not complete your work in the time you have specified.

Once I’ve accepted the project, I’ll ask you to provide:
A link to your manuscript in Google Docs.
A paragraph or so describing your goals for the book (What do you want the reader to get out of it? What’s your message). Writing is about effective communication, and I want to make sure your internal idea/vision of the book matches what you are actually putting down– that you are saying what you think you are saying.
A list of areas to concentrate on (like pacing or character development) or specific questions you would like me answer (like, “Is the dialogue realistic?” or “How would you describe the voice of the narrative?”)
Your preferred feedback timeline. Do you want all of my notes at once or periodic updates? Of course, you may contact me any time during the process with questions or concerns.

What do I get out of it?
Hey, I’m just the beta, so you are under no obligation to me. I could ask for a beta swap, but I am not in book writing business myself.
I am, however, interested in breaking into an editing position at a publishing house, and maybe you can help. If you like my work:
Make me your regular beta
Refer me to a friend
Mention me in your acknowledgements
Send me a testimonial singing my praises
Offer yourself as a reference


Talk to you soon!

Availability: Unavailable - fully loaded.

Preferences: Romance, YA, NA, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal - also happy to look at fantasy if it's not a 1000 page epic.

I'll read anything within these genres.

Let me know what level your work is at (1st draft, final draft etc) and what you're hoping to get out of the beta, what areas you're worried about etc, and I can make that my focus (while still looking at everything else ). I'm happy to read things at different levels, depending where you need the help most.

What I write: Romances, YA, NA and Urban Fantasy.

Beta Style: I definitely don't like being harsh, but I will be open with what I do and don't like - a critique, but a fair one. I will look at the overall story, characters, arcs and structure. I'll generally pick up any errors along the way - typos, inconsistencies etc. I don't have time to do line edits, but you will get a good amount of notes (if needed) at the end of it all.

Experience: I've beta'd a goodly amount of writers over the last few years (in other words, I don't remember, but it's more than a couple). I'm a long-time beta for an Amazon best-selling author, and have two CP's that I've worked with for a fair while now (one of them several years).

Timeline: 2-4 weeks, depending on my available time, and the length of the project. I doubt I'd be able to commit to something urgent.

Contact: nelldayauthor at gmail dot com (PM is okay, but less likely to get a quick response).

Availability: closed for the time being

Preferences: YA (I won't read anything that isn't YA), Mystery, Romance, Thriller, some types of sci-fi, some fantasy. I'd also like to know where you're at with your novel (ie: what draft), what you'd like me to focus on, etc.

What I write: YA, mystery, romance (what I'm currently working on); also dabble in sci-fi and fantasy. (If anyone would like to swap, I'd be happy to do so.)

Beta Style: I wouldn't call myself harsh, per se, but I'm honest. If something isn't working for me, I'll point it out. I'll look at the main things -- plot, characterisation, story flow -- but if there's anything in specific you'd like me to focus on, do let me know. I prefer to work with Google Docs.

Experience: I've been beta reading for almost a year now.

Timeline: Depends completely on the book itself. I'm happy to discuss things with the author beforehand.

Contact: Send the title, genre, summary (mention what draft it is), word count and the first two chapters of your manuscript to [email protected] , or PM me. Eager to read your works. Keep in mind that I'm willing to prioritise those interested in a swap, for I myself would like some feedback on my manuscript.

Availability: Seeking full-length novels, will accept up to three at a time
Preferences: Fiction preferred, fantasy especially. Memoirs/other nonfiction also accepted
What I write: Fantasy
Beta Style: I prefer to use google docs or MSWord comments to suggest edits/present ideas. I do not ever edit actual documents
Experience: Been editing fanfics for years
Timeline: 100,000 words takes me a a few hours, if I'm interested. If it's something I'm not as 'into', it'll probably wait until a weekend, when I'll go through it in a 6-8 hour day (I have a lot of free time)
Contact: PM me if interested

I am happy to be your first-read, but be warned I will not sugarcoat. Syntax/grammar errors I simply correct and move along, but if I hate your idea, I will tell you. Politely, but directly. Erotica makes me vaguely uncomfortable. If your book contains erotica, that''s fine. If your book is a vehicle for sex [see: 50 Shades], I'm not the reader for you.

Availability: Generally Saturdays and Sundays for Interview format. Can read shorter chapters (read less than 3 words over a period of a few weekdays). Weekday calls would have to occur during my commute and I would not have my eyes on your writing. So yeah probably not weekdays.
Preferences: sci-fi, fantasy, romance (not erotica), adventure
What I write: Same
Beta Style: I prefer reading for specific questions an author has, but I do make comments about how I feel and what should be changed. I generally don't edit for grammar in longer reviews, but will comment if the grammar gets distracting. Please edit your work before submission. If we are not a good fit, either person can walk away at either time. (For instance, if you find out I'm not your audience or you can't improve with my feedback, you're under no obligation to stick with me. My feelings will not be hurt.)
Experience: Real life, lots. As a beta, none.
Timeline: Depends on length. On weekends, I try to get it back within 24 hours (if length is reasonable).
Contact: via PM only. Will arrange skype/email later if selected and we're a good fit.