I want to beta read your novel!

@MailicedeNamedy - you got it!

@BluesClues - :eyes: I'll bother you until it's done because romance <3

@Rook - you got it!! If I can't start in January, I should be able to in February

@Magebird - oooh is it the one that I commented on wanting to read when it's ready?? :eyes:

It is!

I would love a review on my realistic short story called My Roots:

My Roots

If you like what you see, lest me know because I have turned this into a novel and may be posting it in the novel forum here on YWS!

Thank you so much!!

pst i'm taking requests for 2023 beta reads!

is your book finished and ready now? - I can start in january!
is your book not finished yet but you want to be on my waitlist for 2023? - let me know when you want me to check in!

<3

OKAY. So I think I'm on the border of what you are willing to read??? I am not sure. I figured I would fill out an application anyway and, if it's not something you want to read, then feel free to deny me. ^_^

1. Title of your book:

Conqueror Rising

2. Genre of your book (or your best guess at the genre if you’re not sure):

It's... a YA fantasy that feels more like a gothic romance. (Forbidden love, blood feud between families, but like... with mythic creatures who mostly like to pose as human, even though they can change into Swans occasionally.)

3. Word count of your book:

It's about 110,000.

4. Is it on YWS or would you like to send it to me?

I would have to send it to you.

5. A short blurb about what it’s about (don’t spoil the ending or any big twists)

Gah... I suck at blurbs. Here you go...

Spoiler

To say that Solea resents her stepsister would be the understatement of the year. Her stepsister is petty and dominating on a good day and downright cruel at her worst. Worst yet, because her stepsister is the Lady -- a literal goddess reborn into a mortal form -- Solea is expected to serve her stepsister without thought or question.

Living in the shadow of her stepsister, Solea is resigned to suffer silently through her stepsister's petty tyranny. Until she meets a mysterious man named Cyrus. Cyrus is everything she has ever wanted. He is kind and charismatic with a tragic backstory that mirrors her own. Better yet, he acknowledges Solea, not as a mere servant to the Lady, but as a person of her own. Nor is he afraid to stand up against the Lady's tyranny -- especially for Solea.

The only problem? Cyrus might also be a Conqueror -- an existential threat both to her family and to the Lady reborn. Because of this, Solea knows that there can be no future with him, unless she chooses to abandon her family, which would shatter her already broken family apart.

And yet, as dark family secrets come out and circumstances throw Cyrus and Solea together more, Solea eventually finds herself confronted with a choice: to stay with her family, as broken as it is, or to find a new family with Cyrus.

6. What’s your experience level? Is this your first book? Your tenth? Do you read about craft for fun, or are you trying to figure it out as you go along?

Oh snap... I've never published a fiction book, but I would probably put myself as experienced otherwise. Except for summarizing it... I can't summarize it worth a darn, lol.

7. What are your goals? Are you writing for fun? Are you hoping to self publish or traditionally publish this book or a book? Any other goals for the book?

Honestly, I started writing this book for fun, but now I am wondering if I should do something with the manuscript because the people who have read it seem to think it is special and probably should be published??? But I am unsure of going the self publishing route (which I've done before, albeit in nonfiction) or trying to go the traditional route.

8. What draft number is this?

I... don't know anymore, lol. It should be very polished, but it has not been professionally edited.

9. Other than general big picture comments, is there anything specific you’d like me to read for, anything specific you’d like feedback on, any specific concerns about your book, etc.?

- I really, really appreciate character impressions... like, what you think of the characters at first and how your thoughts of the characters change throughout the narrative.

- The ending ends on a sudden cliffhanger, which makes me nervous because it might seem too sudden?? I've been told that it is okay by my beta readers thus far and they immediately ask for the next book in the series, so something about the ending works, but only three people have read it in its entirety so far, so I'm still quite nervous!

- THE MYTHOS. I created this world when I was seven, so like... there's an impressive backstory to go along with this whole thing, but I am also trying to keep the narrative moving because I *hate* slogging through backstory. And, frankly, I hate fantasy stories that get bogged up in the mythos. Anyway, I occasionally describe too little (which makes you confused about what the heck is happening) or sometimes too much, which might make you want to stab out your eyes. BUT. What I really want is a good narrative that takes you along for the ride.

10. Anything else you want me to know!!

OKAY.

So, um... my biggest concern for you is that there are certain parts of the story that are brutal, but like... I starting writing it for my then 14-year-old niece, so like... yes, it can be brutal, but it's not in very graphic detail??? I don't know. No rape, no sexual abuse, no animal abuse, but some characters enjoy doing violent stuff, and so you see them delight in the violence, which can be unsettling. So, if you don't like torture scenes at all, that might not work for you??? Like, it's nothing too graphic and those scenes are short, but I am not sure what your threshold is, haha. I would rate the violence at 13+, probably.

(I am probably over thinking this way too much, haha. I tend to do that a lot...)

It's also part of a four book series, of which three books have been written.

It also ends on a cliffhanger, as I previously stated. >.> If I've written it right, you will want to read the next book, lol.

Updated for 2024 and open to beta read again!! <3

1. Title of your book: MaryAnna - Season 1

2. Genre of your book (or your best guess at the genre if you’re not sure) YA, Adventure. (I'm not sure about other genre's; little mentions of people with powers, three or four side story romance lines0

3. Word count of your book 37339 now - I'm still finishing it up

4. Is it on YWS or would you like to send it to me? I'd like to send it.

5. A short blurb about what it’s about (don’t spoil the ending or any big twists) This story is about a fourteen year old girl named MaryAnna Bradshaw who is a very stubborn, kind and interesting girl who lives in Eastwood Valley with her brother, Alex (shy, introvert and smart) and his best friend, Jake Dalton (loud, extrovert, pretty boy). Together the trio is up-to-no-good at all.

MaryAnna’s father Richard Bradshaw, is a mean jerk who abuses their lovely mother and tries to shape MaryAnna into a sophisticated young lady ready for marriage, but MaryAnna is not that easily manipulated.

On the other hand, criminal, drug dealer and mafia boss, Daniel Anderson cooks up lots of devious plans with his team of Shadow Reapers (his assassin group).

Now what happens if MaryAnna’s mother gets a call from an old friend and Richard finds out. She lands in the hospital, because of the terrible abuse. At the same time Daniel gives his Shadow Reapers the order to carry out Operation MaryAnna.

6. What’s your experience level? Is this your first book? Your tenth? Do you read about craft for fun, or are you trying to figure it out as you go along? This is my first book, but I've written a lot of short stories before.

7. What are your goals? Are you writing for fun? Are you hoping to self publish or traditionally publish this book or a book? Any other goals for the book? I really want this book to turn into a succesful Netflix series. And I'd like to entertain people with it.

8. What draft number is this? 2

9. Other than general big picture comments, is there anything specific you’d like me to read for, anything specific you’d like feedback on, any specific concerns about your book, etc.? Feedback on my characters, concept, twists . actually everything.

10. Anything else you want me to know!! Who is your favourite character (top 3) Why do you dislike (certain characters?) Did you figure out any twists? Did you enjoy reading? What would be the best rating for my book and what genre's is it actually? And what do you think of the names I've chosen?

I'm almost done with the draft, can I be placed on the waiting list? I'll PM you when I'm done. If this is not something for you, please let me know Thank you so much!

Other question: Do you also read short stories and novella's (under 30 pages?)

1. Title of your book:

The Halls of St. Julian's

2. Genre of your book (or your best guess at the genre if you’re not sure):

Historical fiction, romance, mystery

3. Word count of your book:

65,602+ (I have the last chapter to go, but it's more of an epilogue than part of the actual plot)

4. Is it on YWS or would you like to send it to me?

I'll send you the Google Doc or whatever is best for you!

5. A short blurb about what it’s about (don’t spoil the ending or any big twists):

A Czech Nebraskan's attempt to assimilate into a wealthy, East Coast boarding school during the Great Depression goes completely awry as his principles, his family, and people's lives are threatened.

6. What’s your experience level? Is this your first book? Your tenth? Do you read about craft for fun, or are you trying to figure it out as you go along?

I have written and submitted short stories to competitions before, but I have never finished a novel. This will be my first one I've ever completely finished! I've watched YouTube videos and read some guides about writing and plotting novels before, but most of my knowledge comes from reading and deciding what authors' styles I like best.

7. What are your goals? Are you writing for fun? Are you hoping to self publish or traditionally publish this book or a book? Any other goals for the book?

In an ideal world, I would love to publish this book. I know it's in really rocky shape right now, and probably needs to go through five more revisions, but I've been dedicated to this story for over two (maybe three) years now and I want to publish it. I don't really care how, and I haven't done much research on the benefits and downsides of the different publishing methods.

8. What draft number is this?

Draft number one!

9. Other than general big-picture comments, is there anything specific you’d like me to read for, anything specific you’d like feedback on, any specific concerns about your book, etc.?

I'm mainly concerned with if I'm trying to fit too much in. I'd love to know what you think the message/main themes of the book are, and what plot points or events you think don't fit in. I would also like to know if you think I need to develop/spend more time on the relationship between some characters (Eduard and Hedvika, Eduard and Ethel, George and Cameron, George and Wilma, etc.).

I do have a few more specific questions that I would like answered, but they spoil what happens so I'd rather not ask those until you're done reading it! But really I'd love comments on everything/general stuff, too.

10. Anything else you want me to know!!

Please keep in mind I wrote the first 5-7 chapters for LMS, which I mostly worked on late Sunday nights. So, there may be a lot of repetition or grammatical errors. I will fix those eventually!

I also totally understand if you don't want to start reading it until I'm done with the epilogue. If so, please let me know and I'll hurry up with finishing it!

@NadyaStatham - I'd be happy to look at it for you! Send me a PM when you're ready and we'll go from there
I'll look at short stories and novellas as long as they're still within romance/contemporary/contemporary fantasy land!


@looseleaf - this timing should work nicely because I'm beta reading something right now and by the time I'm done I'd imagine your epilogue will be done! (unless you're like me and put off writing the epilogue for like two drafts). Send me a PM when you're done!

Hello there! I am canopy a Res & Comm crew mod and I have marked your thread as closed as it hasn't been active in the last 12 months! Should you ever want to reopen your thread again you can edit your post as mark it as "Accepting".

Please feel free to reach out should you have any questions or concerns!

Thank you!