The title says it all. Book 1 of the new speculative mystery series is done and looking for a couple of beta readers!
If you’re unfamiliar with the term, a beta reader is a generous soul who volunteers to read a pre-publication draft of a novel and provide feedback. (Alpha readers see the manuscript at an early, still-in-development stage; beta readers see a close-to-publication draft.)
If Your Problem is Murder is a speculative mystery set in 1985, the first in an intended series. (Yup, this is the book formerly known as Dogwood, the one I was determined to find a one-word title for. As you can see, it…didn’t work. Maybe I’m just fated to have long titles?) The book is 77K words, about 275 pages. Here’s a brief pitch: In this small town mystery series, Redmond Marrs, a life coach with a big secret, tackles the personal problems of residents—all the way up to murder.
Let’s do a quick Q&A:
Does a beta reader need any previous experience?
No, just a love of reading!
What kind of feedback will be expected?
I like to keep it simple. The main question I have for you is this: Is the story working? If not, which parts?
The important thing to remember is that you can’t hurt my feelings. I’m eager to make the book be the best it can be. You would be helping me do that! The manuscript has not been copyedited yet, so at the very least you should expect to encounter typos and the odd goof (timeline or factual) here and there.
What do I get in return?
A signed copy of the book upon publication and my eternal gratitude.
What’s the timeline?
I can email you the manuscript immediately. I would need to receive your feedback by June 9.
What’s the next step?
If this sounds like something you might be interested in, great! If you’re reading this in my newsletter, go ahead and respond to the email and let me know your preferred format. The options are .docx, PDF, epub, mobi. I can also do Google docs. I’ll reply with further details and the manuscript.
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Neve Maslakovic 