“Buried Ladies” is DONE! Calling all Beta readers.
I’m so excited to tell you I finished writing my first novel, “Buried Ladies” — this is just a working title and I’d love to have feedback and suggestions for a better one.
I also NEED Beta readers to provide feedback and suggestions to improve the book before sending it off to the copy editor, then publishing it on Kindle.
What is a Beta reader?
A beta reader is:
A good beta reader can help you make your manuscript 10 times better than it was before.Even experienced writers need second opinions on their books. But how do you find one of these magical creatures? [cite]
Some folks seek out readers with specific characteristics, some pay for expert readers, some join writing groups where they exchange reading for getting critiques.
Join my Beta reader list here:
As a marketing professional, my preferred source of Beta readers comes from social media marketing. Some folks in my writers group think I’m crazy, letting perfect strangers critique my book. I figure perfect strangers will read my book (I hope), so getting them to critique it now while there’s still time to fix it makes sense.
What it takes to be a Beta reader
Read. Critique.
That’s it. Easy peasy.
All you need to be a Beta reader is to read a book and provide an honest, respectful critique of the work.
Grammar isn’t critical unless it makes the writing confusing. A Beta reader should comment on overall structure of the book, plot lines, character development, areas of confusion, realism, pacing (too fast or too slow in parts), style, and other aspects of the writing, not focused on grammar.
Don’t just drop casual comments like “it’s good”, “I liked it”, “I enjoyed reading it”. Sure, that’s nice to hear, but it’s not really helpful.
Don’t be mean or nasty. A writer (me, in this case) spent a lot of time on their work. In many cases, they have a lot invested in the novel. Be nice, but don’t feel you have to agree with every writing decision they made.
The writer gets comments from lots of different people (hopefully). Some comments won’t mesh with a writer’s goals, so they won’t take your advice all the time. That’s cool. Sometimes, commenters disagree with each other, too. As the writer, it’s part of the job to decide which changes to make and which to ignore.
Feel free to make comments anonymously. My book is available on a Google Drive, so you can leave comments anonymously, if you wish. I won’t think less of you if I don’t always agree with your comments, but identifying your comments let’s me get in touch if I have questions or would like you to read over my changes.
Because I’m continually updating the book based on your comments, you’re welcome to re-read the book to see what’s changed over time.
Some comments on being a Beta reader
Please share my book with others you think might enjoy reading it.
Also, let me know if you’d like a complimentary copy of the Kindle version once it’s released.
If you think you’d be interested in reading a physical book (at cost), please let me know. I’m considering printing a limited number.
Book 2
As I’m editing “Buried Ladies”, I’m working on the second book, which follows Jaime and Estella to Washington, DC. It picks up 2 years after “Buried Ladies” and follows a string of terrorist murders of prominent political figures by hacking into the computers housed in the prosthetic devices of innocent individuals.
I’ll post an Indigogo to raise funds for publishing that book and I’ll offer opportunities for contributors to name characters and other incentives. Stay tuned.
Meanwhile, I’d love to get ideas for titles, for both “Buried Ladies” and the new book on my Facebook Page. Please take a moment to like the page.
Thanks.
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