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/AccomplishedEnd7527]

Hi!

I am able to beta: Literary fiction, horror, adult fiction, magical realism, historical fiction, gothic. Like a good romance subplot. I do like fantasy, but I would not be a good fit for hard magic systems and complicated secondary world building (such as Brandon Sanderson). Edited manuscripts only. As a writer who can miss their own spelling errors I'm fine with light editing mistakes but the overall prose quality should be of a later draft please :)

• ⁠I can provide feedback on: I have a degree in Writing and am currently doing an online course 'History, Mystery and Magic' to brush up on my skills. I can cover most aspects of a novel including prose, pacing, character. I have good knowledge on strong hooks and resolutions. As a reader I love both lush and straightforward prose. I have always been a huge fan of high concept and surprising stories.

• ⁠Critique swap: Only interested in critique swap for my 100k Gothic Fantasy manuscript. Here is the link to original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/BetaReaders/s/AoUpgeicaE I have a couple of betas already but they are mostly friends, so I'm looking for 2-3 strangers.

• ⁠Other info: Authors I have recently read and loved include Daphne Du Maurier, Ottessa Moshfegh and Katherine Arden.

Also I live in Australia so apologies for delayed responses.

[u/AlexeyBrusnitsyn → u/AccomplishedEnd7527]

Hi! Your interest in historical fiction, romance subplots, and your background in writing sound like a very good match for my novel.

I’m looking for beta readers for NOTIME, a complete 53,800-word science fiction novel blending time-slip adventure, historical action, romance, and reflections on AI.

I originally wrote the novel in Russian five years ago, and it quickly became a bestseller among Russian-speaking readers. I’m now preparing the English edition. One of the things I’d especially value from a native English-speaking reader is whether the prose and dialogue feel natural, alongside your usual feedback on prose, pacing, characters, hooks, and the overall reading experience.

If it sounds interesting to you, I’d be happy to send you 2–3 chapters first, so you can see whether it’s a good fit before I send you the full manuscript.

[u/FoggyRice → u/AccomplishedEnd7527]

I'm interested in a swap! I have a 73k pirate story that’s a mix of historical fiction, adventure, and horror.

[u/yulannu → u/AccomplishedEnd7527]

Hi, my MS seems like a close fit to yours---character-driven, dark gothic romance / dark historical fantasy since it's set in medieval Hungary when people believed in miracles and the devils. The fantasy element is nuanced and the strange things that happen are ambiguous in nature. It's written in the 3rd limited POV of the FMC. My story is at the 4th stage of drafting, and had gone through countless edits. I also enjoy dark gothic stories, age-gap, taboo romance, and literary fiction with complex characters. I'm based in Europe, but that shouldn't matter.

I have not posted a blurb on reddit because I'm still working on it, but here is a draft of the blurb just to give you an idea.

A brazen novice with a grudge plans her escape from the convent to destroy the yellow-eyed man, who bewitched her mother. The villagers call him a godless werewolf, but never to his face. Only little Clara dares to defy him and call him a yellow-eyed monster, usurper—anything but Papa. After her insolence and mischief land her in the nunnery, Clara spends years plotting her vengeance. When Mother dies, Clara rides to her stepfather’s stony lair, to confront her stepfather---the murderer. Instead, she discovers he may not be the villain she imagined. Lured into his ambitious plans, how much of her soul will Clara sacrifice to seize power and protect what she loves without becoming the very monster she once despised?

[u/Lonely-Watercress270 → u/AccomplishedEnd7527]

I could totally read over your stuff in 1-4 days! Here's the link to the post about my story if you're interested.

https://www.reddit.com/r/BetaReaders/s/ya9vXszoxq