I just finished writing my NaNoWriMo Novel called "Sonya's Been Shot". I'm looking for some Beta-Readers and reviewers to take a look at my novel. Hunter and I are going to put it through editing first, and that may take a few weeks. Basically we're planning to do 3 edit sessions ourselves before we give it to Beta-Readers, and then edit based on their suggestions. You don't need to necessarily be writers, but I would like to have a few writers take a look at it for advice as well. I don't have an application or anything to be filled out, but at the end of each chapter you read I'll need you some questions. An example of what I may ask could be found down below. Obviously if you find something isn't working, I'll ask questions to follow up. Spoiler READABILITY: Does any chapter of the story drag? If so, which part? Are there parts that you skipped to get to ‘the good part’? Do I over-inform (info-dump) anywhere? Did you understand every phrase / term I used? FLOW: Does one scene lead logically into the next? Do the scenes flow smoothly from one action to the next, or did they jump as though something was skipped? Is there enough downtime between intense scenes to allow it to build to the next? THE WORLD Can you see every action clearly while reading? If you went there in real life, would you recognize the places? Did you have to reread any part of the action sequences to understand who was doing what? DIALOGUE: Does the Dialogue sound realistic for the individual characters? Could you see what the characters were doing while talking? Could you see where the characters were while talking? CHARACTERS: Could you see what each character looked like clearly? Do their actions and reactions seem logical and realistic? Could you feel the emotions between the characters? Does the story stay focused on my main characters? Were any of my characters too much of a jerk or too aggressive? Were any of my characters whiny, wimpy, or overly dramatic (when not intended to be)? Are any of my characters too stereotypical? Who did you like best and WHY? Who did you hate and WHY? Who got on your nerves and WHY? Do any of the characters get in the way of the STORY? If it sounds like you can do this, fantastic. But I'm sure you're wondering what my book is about: Sonya's Been Shot is a LGBT Young Adult novel that centers around two female characters, Chloe and Sonya. Sonya never imagined her boyfriend would be the executor of a school shooting. She never imagined his actions would leave her paralyzed. But she isn't angry at him. She's angry at Chloe, who had been her friend since before she could remember, who she blames for ruining her life. And when Chloe comes to see her a month after the tragedy that befell her, Chloe throws her life into chaos once again. The two girls go through the long history they share together, showing each other both sides of the long narrative that contributed to the fate they have been condemned to, for better or for worse, and try to discover if they can move past it. If it sounds like you are interested in a novel like this, feel free to post down below telling me you'd be interested in being a Beta-Reader. If you have any questions about the novel, I'll try to answer them without spoiling anything for you. I will say though, as a trigger warning, there are parts of this book that deal with suicide and sexual abuse in detail. If you can't read about these topics, please don't push yourself to. If you feel like you can't continue at any time for whatever reason, it's okay. Your feedback up until that point, whether it's the first chapter or the first paragraph will be appreciated.
I can try to be a beta reader. Fair warning though, I can be a harsh critic when it comes to reading others stories.
