I want to beta read your novel!

Hi! I want to beta read your novel!


Beta reading: someone reads your novel start to finish like a reader and gives you feedback on what’s working/what’s not working.

I want to read:
Updated 2024

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1. Finished books. I don’t care if it’s a messy draft one or a polished draft twenty, as long as it’s a complete draft, I’m game.

2.Young Adult and Adult - meaning characters that are teenagers and up and geared towards teenagers or adults. I read LOTS of YA and adult!!

3. ROMANCE or CONTEMPORARY only. I'll also do contemporary fantasy.
Romance means -- the central plot revolves around a romance/love story. I'm good with any type of romance, type of pairing, happily ever after or not, low heat/high heat, literally anything as long as the central plot revolves around a romance in a non-fantasy setting.
Contemporary means -- the book is set in today's world with no magic or fantasy/sci-fi elements. This could be a mystery or a slice of life story. There could be romance or there could be none. This could also be a historical, as long as there are no fantasy/sci-fi elements included. I'm good with historical as long as the world largely resembles our own (like the 1970s, not ancient rome).
Contemporary fantasy means -- the book is set in today's world with some LIGHT magical or fantasy elements. Like witches in a contemporary world. Ghosts/spirits in a contemporary world. Superheroes in a contemporary world.

4. Things I love in books, but your book doesn’t have to have: complicated love stories, anything with some grit or darkness, but also fluffy and light stories, anything involving music, anything involving mental health/mental illness, travel, unexpected twists, and did I mention I’m a romance SAP. My very favorite thing ever in romance is a slow burn and the slower the better. I want to ACHE and then DIE over love stories!

5. I don’t mind sex/violence/language as long as it’s necessary to the story

Things that aren’t for me/I don’t want to read:

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1. Horror, zombies, pandemics/plagues, high/epic fantasy, sciency sci-fi, anything set in space, mythical creatures like fae

2. Please no on-screen rape, torture, animal abuse, or child abuse!!!

3. I'd appreciate any content warnings your book has in general

4.Nothing over 100,000 words

So Carlito I want you to read my book and it fits into what you read. How does this work?

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1. Post your interest here.

2. If the version you want me to read is posted on YWS in its entirety and you want me to read it on YWS, I’m happy to do that! I’ll read each chapter and give you some comments as I go and then I’ll PM you an edit letter with more detailed thoughts about your book.

3. If the version you want me to read is not posted on YWS, then I’ll PM you about how you can send it to me! I’ll comment as I go on the doc and then send you an edit letter with more detailed thoughts about your book

Wow Carlito you’re going to read my whole book? What do you want in return?

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Nothing! I don’t need points. I don’t need you to read or review anything of mine in return.
I genuinely enjoy beta reading! I hope that the feedback I give is helpful to you, but you don’t need to do a single thing I suggest if you don’t want to! It’s your book after all

What’s an edit letter? What kind of feedback can I expect?

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I LOVE thinking about plot and pacing and creating tension in books. I also love thinking about characterization and creating really dynamic, interesting characters. These are often things I focus on when I beta for people.

An edit letter is basically a few pages of notes (mine can get a little long because I’m long-winded and I usually have a lot of thoughts…..) about the things mentioned above, things that worked/didn’t work in a story, or the overall impressions and thoughts about the story.

I aim to always be thorough, honest, to the point, and kind when I give anyone feedback and to give the kind of feedback I’d like to receive myself. I will make comments as I go, but most of my feedback will be at the end with the edit letter. If there are specific things you’d like feedback about, I am happy to think about and try to touch on those things for you!

Please know that I may suggest major changes. I may suggest you cut a character or rewrite whole sections or take chunks out or change the tense, etc. You absolutely don’t have to take all of my suggestions, but I like to be upfront with people that if you’re looking for someone to pat you on the back and tell you it’s great, that’s not me. I will OF COURSE tell you what I think you’re doing well and what I like and what works for me, but I will also be very honest about what I think can be improved upon. If you’re not ready for someone to suggest major changes to your book baby, that’s okay! I just might not be the reviewer for you

I’m interested, but I’m nervous about whether your kind of feedback will work for me.

Spoiler

If you want a taste of my feedback style before I read your whole book, I’m happy to read the first 30-50 pages or so and give you feedback on that. If my style isn’t for you, no worries at all! I won’t be offended if you don’t want me to read the whole thing!

How fast are you going to read my book?

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My goal is one month. I’ll give you updates if I think it’ll be longer than that

I want to know:

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1.   Title of your book
2.   Genre of your book (or your best guess at the genre if you’re not sure)
3.   Word count of your book
4.   Is it on YWS or would you like to send it to me?
5.   A short blurb about what it’s about (don’t spoil the ending or any big twists)
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?
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?
8.   What draft number is this?
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.?
10.   Anything else you want me to know!!

Questions?? Let me know!

Thanks for letting me read your words 💜💜

SLOTS

Currently reading:
Off YWS, Adult rom com


Waitlist:
MaryAnna Season 1 by NadyaStatham
The Halls of St. Julian's by looseleaf



Projects I've finished - 2021
1. Off YWS, YA contemporary with fantasy elements (full)
2. Off YWS, YA historical (50 pages, plus revised opening chapters)
3. Cortez Shivick by ForeverYoung, YA contemporary (full)
4. On Wings of Fire by Mea, YA high fantasy (full)
5. Off YWS, YA contemporary (30 pages)
6. GroundskeeperWIP by BluesClues, Adult contemporary fantasy (full)
7. Falling from Grace by Plume, YA contemporary (full)
8. Off YWS, YA contemporary (full)
9. Off YWS, YA contemporary romance (full)

Projects I've finished - 2022
1. Longing of a Maiden Rose by MailicedeNamedy, YA historical fantasy (full)
2. Under the apple tree by Elinor, Adult literary (full)
3. Off YWS, YA rom com (full)
4. Of YWS, YA speculative (full)
5. Skel & El by Mageheart, YA/Adult speculative (full)
6. Off YWS, Adult romance (full)

Projects I've finished - 2023
1. Dreamless by JustPerks, YA mystery

Title: Cortez Shivick
Genre: Probably realistic
Word count: Probably 5000-7000 words(not a perfect novel I guess.)
4 - I have uploaded 4 chapters of it. I will upload the rest within a week.
Blurb: life of a person who is mad for popularity.
6– second book
7- I wanna publish.
8- First

Hope you will enjoy. Waiting for the feedback

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD I WAS LOOKING FOR THIS!!!! WOW!!!!! I'm still on a horrible first draft but I hope you enjoy my work!!!

1. Title of your book
Working title: The Seventh One

2. Genre of your book (or your best guess at the genre if you’re not sure)
Light science fiction/fantasy, YA. It also has some realistic fiction-like parts in the beginning, and the world is pretty similar to ours except for a magic system and dystopia-like government. There are small elements of romance and teen drama.

3. Word count of your book
Unfinished, about almost halfway through or so, at 46758 words.

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

5. A short blurb about what it’s about (don’t spoil the ending or any big twists)
In a world where religion is woven into the very fabric of life, Story Telamine joins the private eye of her Oracles, the people who listen and monitor everyone in the city. From an unsettling event that changed her view on reality, she finds out that she's not the only desperate person trying to unveil the truth of everything they know.

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 wrote a book in fifth grade and worked with an editor to publish it on Amazon (as an e-book), so technically, this is my second. I do read writers' blogs and try to incorporate their feedback into my work, but my main goal now is just finishing my novel, really.

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 hope to traditionally publish this one one day!

8. What draft number is this?
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.?
The beginning vignettes are kind of a mess, yes. I might intersperse more into the story as we go. I also have some additional docs I use for planning the world and plot if you want those as well. About characters, in my personal opinion, I think my main, Story, could use a little work in terms of being more likeable and effective to the plot, even in the beginning.

Also, the tenses and point-of-views are a hot mess, and I apologize in advance. You don't need to read the entire thing unless you want to, or perhaps, I could contact you later on in my writing process if you're still doing this, hopefully! Thank you so much again!

Hi @ForeverYoung299! I'd be happy to read that for you Let me know when you have the whole thing posted and I'll get started!


Hi @manilla! I'm so glad you've found what you've been looking for! I'm not afraid of terrible first drafts, I promise!! When are you hoping to have it finished by? I'd be happy to read it for you then and put you on my wait list!

@Carlito

Unfortunately, I have no plans for when :,) I am winging this entire thing and I don't know anymore lmao

I'll check back with you in two months?

@Carlito I have finished posting my novel

Carlito you amazing person, you


I still have the exact advice you gave me on finding literary agents <3

You're an awesome person, and I'm sure everyone here will benefit greatly from your help!

I think you're still accepting?? Feel free to ignore if you're too busy, but I just thought I'd put this here.

Title: Falling From Grace

Genre: YA Contemporary

Word count of your book: 70,265

Is it on YWS or would you like to send it to me?: Send it to you, preferably.

Blurb: The end of sophomore year is when everything changes for Grace Harroway. For someone with generalized anxiety disorder, stuff like:
1) her best friend of seven years going to boarding school come fall,
2) the French class final proving tougher than she expected, and
3) new and conflicting feelings about a guy in her French class with a school dance on the horizon
can really make life hell. She grapples with the age old question of who she is and who she wants to be through changing friendships, poetry, and mental health.

Experience Level: I've been writing for about six years now, but this is my first completed novel draft. I've taken several writing courses and intensives, though.

Book Goals: Hoping to query for an agent and traditionally publish.

What draft number is this? First draft!

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 hear you're a licensed therapist, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on the portrayal of mental health in the book. I am diagnosed with anxiety, so a lot of it is based on my own experiences, but I'd still like to get another perspective. I didn't go to therapy all that much whereas my character does, and I'd be curious to know if I'm writing them correctly/if anything the therapist says is a big no-no in the field.

Anything else you want me to know: Just to tell you you're completely awesome for doing this. I read about the stuff you were looking for and a lot of it aligned with my novel, which was very serendipitous. If you do decide to beta, I hope you enjoy it!

I'm all caught up and ready to read more of your books in 2022!! <3

Hi Carlito,

I saw your post and was wondering if it's possible if you could read a chapter or two from my novel. I would like to know a little bit if you, as a reader, see a change in the main character's personality that should come out in the course of the story. Or to give you a bit of a longer summary about the plot to see how the flow is.

Spoiler

1. Longing of a Maiden Rose
2. YA, Growing Up, Coming-of-Age, Mystery (don´t know if it is also considered fantasy as it takes place in a fictional world in the 1920s.)
3. >255.000 words
4. It is here on YWS (currently at Chapter 15 of 21)

5. Synopsys: Claire never thought in her life that she would leave her fantasy world to go on an adventure herself.
When her friend Emma returns from her grandfather's, she tells her best friend Claire about Léonard, a mysterious young man who wants to solve a murder. Claire is about to turn eighteen and her father has already planned her future, so Léonard comes just in the right moment.
Against all reason, Claire decides to run away from home and follow Léonard. But her adventure turns out to be completely different from what she had always imagined in her head... Suddenly she meets new people, a friend for life, a writer and realises that it is the first time to decide for herself where she wants to go.

6. It´s the sixth novel I´ve finished.
7. Getting traditionally published would be a plan. (I never actually started to look)
8. 3rd draft (1st in 2018, 2nd in 2019, 3rd in 2020)
9. Feedback more in the direction of the characters, whether they are "alive" and comprehensible, especially the communication and emotions between the individual parties. Is it right the way they act or does it come across as unrealistic to the reader?

Carlito, I've actually been thinking of you as I've been working on this book and I was hoping you would get to beta read it at some point! Let me know!

1. Under The Apple Tree
2. Literary Fiction
3. 49,095
4. I would it to you!
5. Charlotte Pink is an unknown actress who dreams of creating a legacy with her art. Four years out of college, she watches her peers pass her by, with marriage and family, with glittering careers or both as she works a mundane day job, daydreaming of a better future. A series of bad romantic experiences have led her to wonder if she will ever find the true love she desperately craves, or if it even exists. One summer, a chance friendship forces her to look at her situation in a different light.
6. This is my second novel and third if you count my 27,000 word novella
7. I want to self publish it
8. Second draft!
9. Big picture stuff, and anything else you might notice. Is it interesting, does it keep your attention and do you want to keep turning the pages? Most importantly, how are the characters? Do you empathize with Charlotte, or does her narration seem like a pity party? What about the other characters, the main ones being Madison, Brady, Erin, and Laura?

Overall, how is the depiction of mental illness?

While I may defer to others in this aspect, I'd also like to know how my portrayal of non-white characters come across. I'm worried people will think my therapist character is a Native American stereotype, but she is inspired by my real life therapist who is Native American, so I want to strike that balance.

Of course, any phrasing/flow things you notice as well.

Keep me posted on timing as well, as mentioned my goal is to be self published but in the meantime I want the novel to be the best that it can be!

It's obviously not written yet but I'm totally coming back to this once I have a completed draft of FakeDeathgagement, since that's gonna lean h a r d into the romance :eyes:

Ooh! I'd like to be on the waiting list! I have about 5 chapters left and knowing someone is waiting for me to finish will kick my butt into gear! Could you check in with me on January 10th and I'll try to have it done by then? Even if you have other books you want to read by then, having that imminent deadline with make me actually do the work, and if you have other books ahead of me that'll just give me time to edit a little.

My book also isn't ready to be shared yet, but I'm definitely coming back to this thread when its latest draft is tidy enough to be shared with other people!