I have six completed science fiction manuscripts, penned over the last couple of years, that have gone through my alpha readers and are ready for some quality road testing. Each of the tomes takes place in a fictional universe I’ve created, and while the stories often interlock in some way, each is an independent novel with a discrete conclusion.
To those unfamiliar with beta reading, essentially betas are early readers who provide authors feedback on unreleased books. Typically, there are specific questions the writer (me) wants to know, such as:
- Does the opening scene capture your attention? Why or why not?
- Are there sections that you found confusing or troublesome?
- Are there bits you think could have been left out?
- Are there parts where you think something’s missing?
- Did you notice any inconsistencies in setting, timeline or characters? If so, where?
- Did the dialogue keep your interest and sound natural to you?
- Was the ending satisfying and believable?
Ideally, I would send a manuscript to 2-3 readers and incorporate their comments. If there are extensive revisions, I might then send the revised work to other beta readers. No one would be expected to review more than one manuscript unless, of course, you liked them and wanted to.
If you are a sci-fi fan and are interested in serving as a beta reader, please leave a comment or drop me a line here or at my Twitter account: https://twitter.com/billjonesjr. I can’t afford to pay, except in gratitude, but I will happily send all beta readers a finished copy of the book once it is released.
Thanks for your consideration. A summary of the Works In Progress (WIPs) is included below.
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