Take Part
Read stories before publication. Tell me what the experience was like. Help me make them better.
When I talk about being a Test Reader, I don’t just mean seeing the stories before they’re widely released. I’m talking about being involved in the drafting process and seeing the story before it’s finished.
It’s helpful to have people to act as a sounding board in the later stages of the process to let me know how it’s going. They say it takes a village to raise a child, and it follows that writing shouldn’t be a solitary endeavour either.
As a test reader (or, since everyone wants to get in on software development lingo nowadays, a beta reader), you receive an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of the story. The principle is straightforward: you read the story early and let me know what you thought about it by filling in a short form. Your feedback will be actively considered as the drafting process continues until the story is finalised, and widely released.
That sounds pretty great; would I be good at it?
The benefit to the story comes from you being a reader, not a critic or a writer. It’s not about looking for inconsistencies or grammatical issues (other parts of the process pick this up), or suggesting ideas for how you’d have done it. The test reader is just that: a reader!
It’s an easy trap for fellow writers to fall into when reading someone else’s work, especially draft work, to try and suggest ideas for what to do, changes to make, good lines to add. That’s a different exercise, and one for writers’ groups rather than beta readers.
When you’re reading the stories, you shouldn’t be on the hunt for things to point out as if you’re a schoolteacher marking homework, or be stubbornly trying to find everything ‘wrong’ with the prose – just the opposite! You should forget about all of that. Just read the story as if you’d picked it up in a bookshop or library and were reading it for pleasure. Then, at the end, share your thoughts and feelings with me on your experience with the story. Did you like it? Why?
This means anyone can be a beta reader! If you’re curious and want to have a peek behind the curtain, it’s a great way to be involved in the development of Aadanna.
Who are you looking for to take part?
A broad mix of readers. If you regularly read fantasy, that has clear usefulness to provide a particular point of view. If you read only some fantasy but enjoy strong characters, adventure or speculative fiction more generally, that’s equally valuable.
You don’t need to be a regular reader of fantasy to enjoy taking part, and to give an interesting perspective. Different readers notice different things, and different stories try to do different things. I don’t want every manuscript tested only by people with identical tastes.
The main requirements are simply that you enjoy reading for pleasure, can give an honest reaction, and are willing to finish an agreed read within a reasonable timeframe. It really is that simple. It can even be done remotely!
i’m in! How do I Volunteer?
More good news: it’s really easy! All you need to do is fill out the form below. That’ll give me a picture of what you like to read and what you’re looking for from being a test reader. Then, when I have a project enter the test reader stage of development, you’ll be on the shortlist to receive an invitation to take part in the feedback cycle!