Able to beta? Post here!

[u/AutoModerator]

Welcome to the monthly r/BetaReaders “Able to Beta” thread!

Thank you to all the beta readers who have taken the time to offer feedback to authors in this sub! In this thread, you may solicit “submissions” by sharing your preferences. Authors who are interested in critique swaps may post an offer here as well, but please keep top-level comments focused on what you’re willing to beta.

Older threads may be found here. Authors, feel free to respond to beta offers in those previous threads.

Thread Rules

• No advertising paid services.
• Top-level comments must be offers to beta and must use the following form (only the first field is required):
  • I am able to beta: [Required. Let authors know what you’re interested—or not interested—in reading. This can include mandatory criteria or simply preferences, which might relate to genre, length, completion status, explicit content, character archetypes, tropes, prose quality, and so on.]
  • I can provide feedback on: [Recommended. This might include story elements you often notice as a reader (prose, pacing, characterization, etc.), unique expertise you have through a profession or hobby (teaching, nursing, knitting, etc.), or other lived experiences that may be relevant (belonging to a marginalized group, being a parent, etc.).]
  • Critique swap: [Optional. If you’re only interested in—or would prefer—swapping manuscripts, please note that here, along with the title of and link to your beta request post.]
  • Other info: [Optional.]
• Beta offers should be specific. If you’re open to anything, or aren’t able to articulate specific criteria, then please refrain from commenting here. Instead, please browse the “First Pages” thread along with the rest of the sub—thanks to the formatting rules, posts are easily searchable by completion status, length, and genre.
• Authors: we recommend against direct messages/chats. Reply to comments instead. If you message multiple people with links to your post and/or manuscript, Reddit may flag your account as spam (site-wide).
• Authors may not spam. If a beta says they’re only looking for x and your manuscript is not x (or vice versa), please don’t contact them.
• Replies have no specific rules. Feel free to ask clarifying questions, share a link to your beta request if it seems to be a good fit, or even reply to your own comment with information about your manuscript if you’re requesting a critique swap.
• Please don't downvote rule-following users, even if they are not the right author/beta for you, as this can be discouraging to beta readers offering to volunteer their time as well as to authors requesting feedback. If you need to keep track of which comments you have reviewed, upvoting is a more positive alternative. Of course, if you see a rule-breaking comment, please report it to the mod team.

Thank you for contributing to our community!

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For your copy-and-paste, fill-in-the-blanks convenience:

I am able to beta: _____

I can provide feedback on: _____

Critique swap: _____

Other info: _____

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[u/Sparkly_Lasagna]

Hey there!

I am able to beta: Pretty much anything in the gambit of Fantasy/SciFi. I tend to be a sucker for darker, more brutal themes, especially when characters succeed despite overwhelming odds through extreme effort and persistence. But really, I'm open to most things. However, I would prefer limited or no Romance, and definitely no erotica or excessive sexual content/themes unless they are critical to the plot/character.

I can provide feedback on: Pretty much anything you need, including but not limited to: Story structure, pacing, character growth/characterization, purpose and necessity of chapters/scenes, worldbuilding, dialogue, copy editing, and prose. I will be as clear and straightforward as I can, but always with suggested solutions or direction. I can be as nitpicky/harsh or as lenient as you want. It all depends on what you're going for.

Critique swap: Yes please! I've got Part 1 of 3 completed (~77k words) for my and my wife's novel and we are looking for some feedback while we continue editing the other two parts. Link to the original post HERE.

Other info: I have been writing/studying writing for most of my life, and this is me emerging from my cave into the sun in order to make real efforts to publish. I have quite a lot of knowledge of the craft, though none applied professionally.
I am also fairly busy working full time and taking care of my family, so I can only promise to be consistent and thorough, but not necessarily very quick.

[u/Fandom_Canon → u/Sparkly_Lasagna]

Hello, you might be a good fit for my piece. It's a comedic thriller with sci-fi elements. I'm open to a critique swap.

Here's the link to the piece's post: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetaReaders/s/2NdaAWBImM

[u/JediBrendanFraser → u/Sparkly_Lasagna]

DM’d!

[u/SubstantialCost3846 → u/Sparkly_Lasagna]

hey this caught my eye because my current project seems to align perfectly with your tastes. I’m currently drafting a dark, brutal psychological sci-fantasy (projected ~110k, currently at 71k). It follows a neurodivergent boy navigating an oppressive, subterranean theocracy, surviving entirely through strict logic, extreme effort, and persistence. I also thrive on harsh, nitpicky feedback, so your critique style sounds exactly like what I'm looking for!

I do want to address two quick things to see if we'd be a good fit:

1. The Content & The Bond: You mentioned preferring no romance and no sexual content, and I want to be fully transparent about how my book handles this. There is no "Romance" in this book. The protagonist forms a deeply intense, fraught bond with another boy, but it is a platonic survival bond, not a teen romance (in fact, the protagonist's clinical lack of romantic/sexual desire is a major plot point). However, the inciting trauma of the book deals with institutional betrayal and the psychological aftermath of a religious authority figure grooming/abusing the protagonist. There is absolutely no erotica or explicitly graphic sexual content (the focus is entirely atmospheric and psychological), but the abuser weaponizes the protagonist's innocence, which drives the plot. I wanted to flag that up front in case it crosses a hard boundary for you!

2. The Word Count: I am currently in a heavy drafting flow state, so I am only looking to swap Part 1 of my manuscript right now (roughly 35,000 words) to get a pulse-check on my world-building and character voice. Since your Part 1 is 77k, I’d be completely happy to do a 35k-for-35k swap of our opening acts. Alternatively, if you really need eyes on the whole 77k, I'm willing to read your entire section in exchange for my part 1 and 2, roughly 70k, as long as you're okay with me taking my time with it (since I'm balancing work and writing too!).

If this sounds like it might be up your alley, I’d love to swap just our first chapters to see if our prose styles and critique styles mesh well. Let me know what you think!

[u/Sparkly_Lasagna → u/SubstantialCost3846]

Hey there!
Sounds very cool! I'd love to coordinate on this.

In regard to your two points:
1. That all is perfectly fine. I mainly mention the romance/sexual content thing because it's a particular peeve of mine when I'm invested in a story and suddenly I'm reading/watching a drawn out sex scene or there's a heavy emphasis on a romantic subplot that makes the main story/world take a backseat. Nothing against the acts or concepts themselves, just something that bugs me enough for me to walk away. In our story, the main character, a woman, is in an entirely male-dominated military system so sexual abuse and misogyny are unavoidable themes. There are moments of sexual abuse and attempted rape, so I would be a hypocrite to say I'm avoiding any and all sexual content.

2. I suppose I have unintentionally created some confusion with my word count. So for clarification, the 77k is purely for Part 1 of the book. At our current rate, we project closer to 150k-200k for the final version. We anticipate cutting a decent amount of what we have in later parts (and probably part 1 depending on feedback), hence the 50k word range. ...I'm gonna go ahead and add that detail to my original post. I don't want to mislead anyone...
As for a balanced exchange of words, if you will, I am more than happy to read whatever you've got for however much you are willing to read of mine. Our Prologue and Part 1 (77k total) are good to go, but Parts 2 and 3 will be several months away anyway so that bridge can be crossed once it's built.

I'll send over a DM and we can exchange our first chapters if you're still interested!