Hey Y’all?

How are you all doing? Hope you’re well. As of today, it’s been about two weeks since Black Dahlia was released and most of the responses have been very positive. I always welcome feedback no matter how you felt about the story. Whether it is positive, negative or in between. I like hearing your thoughts and questions on my work.

With that said…

I am looking for two to three more beta readers to help me during the revision stages of my books.

Now you might ask, “Tiffany, what’s a beta reader?” Good question. Allow me to explain.

A beta reader is someone who is a fan of the genre and likely the author they are critiquing. They are given a preview of the author’s work after the first one or two (or twelfth) draft has been written, but not published. The job of a beta reader is to give honest feedback and critique on the author’s work.

Here’s a list of questions I’d ask of my beta readers:

1. Did the book hold your interest?/ Were there parts you got stuck/lost interest?
2. Did you feel connected to the main characters? If not, why not?
3. Did the setting help add to the story, take away from it, or was it just neutral (neither adding nor detracting from the story)?
4. Were there any discrepancies in time or sequencing of the story?

These are just some of the questions I would ask of my beta readers. You wouldn’t necessarily be asked to write down each answer and send back responses in a Word document or anything. These are just questions to keep in mind as you read over the story.

I would likely give my betas about a week’s turn around time from when I send out the novel to when I’d need your feedback. I understand most people are busy and this is a favor you are doing for me as an author, so I will do my best not to rush anyone or send readings at the last minute. As a beta reader, I would also require that you not share the writing with anyone else.

Essentially, your job as a beta is to help me avoid producing work like this:

As a beta reader you will get to read the story before anyone else (for free! at that). So it’s a win-win situation. You get to read a (hopefully) enjoyable story and I get some good critique and a chance to produce a better novel for readers.

That’s pretty much it.

If you’re interested in being one of my beta readers. Send me an email at [email protected] with the words “Beta Reader” in the subject line.