Want to say “I knew him before he was popular”?
Want to casually drop a name into conversation and draw admiring looks from your peers and friends?
Want to dine out on the success of someone you know?
Then I suggest you go and hang out with John Green, Neil Gaiman, Zadie Smith and about a dozen other famous authors. What I’m offering right now are possibilities and maybe dinner if your feedback is really useful.
Be my Beta
Okay…marketing blurb aside you don’t get to be famous just because you’ve read my first attempt at a novel. You do however get to have your name written into legend within the acknowledgments and cited as a true believer who gave up valuable time to help turn a story from just a story into a story that strangers like to read.
Contrary to popular belief, being a beta is nothing to be ashamed of.
I’m aiming to publish a collection of short stories in November and I’m midway through the 1st edit of my first novel “The Spy Who Didn’t Love Me” (working title) and having consulted with a number of successful authors (a big thank you to Ben Galley for invaluable advice) and associated publishing geniuses, I need readers to test all this material on.
What I’m looking for
Consistent, accurate and complete
That is the key definition of what editing is all about. I need my work to be consistent, accurate in the context of the story and complete. Editing must be done without bias…so of course I can’t do it all myself.
What a Beta Reader needs to have (thanks again to Ben Galley for summarising it better then I ever could!)
- Honesty – this is no time for ‘yes-men’ (or women) and biased feedback. I’m looking for accurate and impartial suggestions. In other words I’m looking for people who aren’t afraid to speak their mind.
- Trustworthy – I need to be able to trust you with an unfinished and private piece of work. You can’t go mouthing off plot, character details or criticism on Facebook or Twitter. That’s not cool….at least wait until the book’s published before you slag it off!
- Great Grammar and Spelling – It’s no good having a reader who can’t spell nor readers who don’t know their ‘there’ from their ‘their’. You must be red-hot where language and prose are concerned.
- A dose of creative talent – If you are creative in any way (particularly when it comes to writing) that’s a plus point. You won’t just point out my mistakes but be able to offer good suggestions too.
- Genre experience – If you don’t like the kind of genre my stories or book are written in then this is probably not for you. You won’t have any chance of enjoying this process and I want you to enjoy reading what I’ve written, otherwise what’s the point?
- Easy to work with – You need to be fairly chilled out and easy to talk to and work with. If you don’t like your ideas or suggestions being considered but disregarded then this is probably not the best idea for you.
Before you say “Oh God no!” be aware of the following:
- What you read I have already gone through once myself to eliminate as many errors and inconsistencies as possible to make it as easy for you to read.
- I enjoyed writing these stories (even though it’s hard) so my hope is that someone else will enjoy reading them.
- I am not someone to take help lightly and I always help in return where I can. I hold people in high regard for offering help.
- It might inspire you to write something yourself and I’m all for encouraging people to write if they really want to do it!
- You don’t have to be a close friend of mine…in fact if you don’t know me that well or know me only in passing you might be a perfect candidate!
- If you are a friend of mine I’d be delighted if you offered to be my beta reader. Just remember; you need to be as impartial as possible.
So if you’re interested then first have a look at the synopsis of the 2 books below and if you feel they’re books/stories you would read if you saw them in a bookshop then drop me an email expressing your interest. Once I’ve selected my betas (I’m looking for between 6-12 people) you will be sent a brief guide on what to expect and when I would ideally like feedback by.
If you want to Beta Read my work
Drop me an email at info@iwriteyouread.co.uk
Message me on Twitter #bejohnsbeta
Message me on Facebook
I hope to hear from you!
Have a great week and remember….you could be famous!
I hate being photographed personally, but if you become my beta reader I’ll gladly let you step in front of the cameras for me.
The Spy Who Didn’t Love Me (Working Title)
Fearless at work, respected by his colleagues Paul Timson is 32 and almost has it all. A good job, a good sense of humour, a good appreciation for film and art and a fairly good flat.
But there’s something Paul doesn’t have, and that’s a good woman.
Oh, and friends.
The only problem is Paul’s terrified at approaching, let alone talking to women or people outside of work. Following an embarrassing incident with a beautiful co-worker, Paul resolves to change himself and become the man who’s surrounded by attractive women.
When he meets fellow ‘useless-with-women-lifers’ 52 year old Gerald (divorced ex ‘wanker-banker’), 38 year old Amit (‘virgin and proud’) and 26 year old David (‘the man the geeks disowned’), he becomes drawn into an underground seduction community filled with frustrated men all seeking to become a master with women and led by the ultimate seduction guru; Master Chief.
But the community may not be everything it claims, and when members start exploding in clubs and pubs around London, Paul learns the power of seduction is more dangerous then he or his new friends first realised.
Fortunately his job skills come in handy when it comes to uncovering murder and terrorist plots as Paul Timson is a spy…
A story about the man most men have been and the man we think women want us to be, ‘The Spy Who Didn’t Love Me’ is a tale following the adventures of an average guy trying to find his James Bond suave.
For Shits and Giggles – A collection of Short Stories (Working Title)
What if you went speed dating but suffer from multiple personality disorder?
What happens when a tube driver thinks he’s going to die?
What if the Prime Minister lost his mind?
What happens when a woman introduces her dead fiancé to her parents?
All these questions and more are answered in this collection of short stories veering from the serious to the absurd and to somewhere in between…
