On January 3, 2020, I’ll be opening up a round of beta reading for Farisa’s Crossing. Since I intend this to be the last round I do– I would like to begin serialization in April 2020, with the entire book published by February 2021– there’ll be more slots than in previous rounds.
What does a beta reader do? You’re not asked to copyedit the manuscript; copyeditors do a much more intensive read and that’s a paid service. As a beta reader, your job is to read the manuscript as you would any other book, and give feedback on what works for you and what doesn’t. You’re not expected to do more than that. It’s a time commitment of about an hour per week over 3–4 months.
Tentatively, I’m looking for 10–12 readers, preferably a diverse set with regard to age and gender (since there are major LGBT characters as well as characters with disability) as well as sexual orientation and disability.
More to follow. For now, if you’re interested in being a beta reader for an epic fantasy novel, my email address is michael.o.church at Google’s email service.