ETA: Beta Reader/s Found! If you think you might be up for beta reading next time around, then either email me or leave a comment here, so I can contact you then. Thank you!
Beta Reader/s Wanted!
The Shifting Price of Prey is 'finished'*, and, as the title says, I'm looking for a beta reader or two. *looks hopeful* :-)
So, if you're happy to beta read and get an early sneek peek then please send an email* to suzannemcleod@spellcrackersdotcom - remember to replace dot with a . (gotta foil the spammers ;p), and put 'Beta Reader' in the subject line.
Who/what I'm looking for:
Someone who has read the first three books
Someone who hasn't read any of the books*
What you think and feel as you read the book, and whether the overall plot hangs together for you as a reader
And some other minor points: I'll give more specific details in my reply
What I'm NOT looking for:
Someone to critique every line.
Someone to fix typos*
Timescale: Can you read it overnight? . . . Okay, just kidding there . . . Maybe. *g* Can you have it read and comments back by March 7? Then that works for me :-).
Note: manuscript will be sent in Word. And book is long - The Bitter Seed of Magic is 120,000 words. The Shifting Price of Prey is 157,000 words, so yep, looooong. But full of awesome :-D
If you've beta read for me before, either this book or one of the others, and you're willing to read again (and if you are, then you're an absolute saint! I <3 you!), then let me know. [Book now has NEW scenes with a certain vampire! *hints* *g*)
Examples of previous beta comment:
"Dread filled my heart as I realised what she was going to tell me; Marc, the boy, no, not boy, man since he was at least my age, who’d been hitting on her for the last few weeks had finally asked the ‘date’ question." Heh! How did she know? Well ok maybe it was bound to happen, but when I read this I read it as if she already KNEW, not guessed. Like someone had told her or something.
[section]This section feels choppy. It’s hard to follow what’s going on in it.
" . . .something that lit a fuzzy idea in the back of my mind, but before it could fully form . . ." Hmm, what was the fuzzy idea? I don’t remember if we ever found out what it was that considering [redacted for spoiler] triggered in her mind.
"I slowly peeled away the sludgy poultice. Katie watched out of worried eyes" Bit awkward thing to do in front of an audience, no?
"‘It is a tempting offer, Genevieve. Thank you. But no.’"I don’t understand his refusal. Wouldn’t she be curious why he won’t?
***
These are all great comments, as they show me where I haven't been clear enough in the writing to convey whatever it is I wanted to convey, or the characters aren't acting/reacting as the reader expects them to.
So, interested? Then go email me! :-D
A HUGE thank you to anyone who does offer to beta read. And if you do beta, then I'd be delighted to include your name in the acknowledgements (if you're happy for me to), and send you a signed copy of the finished book and a small something as a thank you. :-)
*Hah! Finished here is relative - the story is done, as it is now is pretty much how it will be when published, so there will be no big changes. But there will be lots of smaller changes to things like dialogue, minor clues etc. And the book is still to go through editorial line comments and copy edits. This means there will be clunky sentences/paragraphs, typos and other weird stuff. If that bothers you, then beta reading is probably not for you :-)
*I'm only looking for a couple of beta readers, so please don't be offended if I don't choose you this time round. :-)
*Obviously, this is book 4, reading it will spoil the first three books, as they are a series. However, the books all have a self-contained story - i.e. the murderer is unmasked, so can be read as stand alones, to a degree. But they also have an overarching plot, and continuous character/relationship story archs, so, again obviously, a new reader will have to take some story points on faith, and might find some things confusing.
