Availability

June, 2014 

Week 1 -- Booked
Week 2 -- Booked
Week 3 -- Booked
Week 4 -- Booked

July, 2014 

Week 1 -- Booked
Week 2 -- Booked
Week 3 -- Available
Week 4 -- Available

Author Feedback

I encourage authors I've worked with to leave a comment under this page reviewing the beta read they've received from me.

~Kylie~

What Other Authors Think

What You'll Get In A Beta Read

As a writer I’ve experienced many different types of beta reads. Some have read through and left very little feedback other than ‘good book’. Others scrutinise every facet of my stories to draw attention to hundreds of illogical inconsistencies, while giving little positive feedback (I find this one helpful, although a little brutal). The last type of beta reader is more like a proofreader and comments mostly on grammar.

While all of this feedback can be helpful in improving your book, alone, they don’t cover what you need in a beta read.

Here’s some of the questions I ask myself in order to give you feedback:

What are the magic or fantastical elements of the world? Are they logical, rational and do they have limitations?
Is the main character believable, multifaceted and acting consistent with his/her character?
Is your plot always moving forward?
Do you have excessive wordiness?
Are your sentences clear and concise?
Are your fight scenes punchy and direct?
Regardless of being fantasy, is your plot line believable?
Is your book original?
Do you resolve conflict too easily (do you use deus ex machina tactics to resolve conflict?)
Is your style clear and easy to understand?
Is it clear how much time has passed between scenes?
Are your character’s emotions reflective of what’s currently cited in psychological literature?
Do you have too much, or too little symbolism?
Does your plot resolve well?
Am I bored with any section of your novel?
Is there enough conflict in this story?
Does the writing reflect the interests of the intended readership?
(If your book is set in medieval times) Are the language, description and characters of your story reflective of medieval times?

What I will do:

…check for Americanisms if your book is set in medieval England.
…give positive feedback on aspects of the novel I’m impressed with.
…be open to further discussion on any feedback I leave.
…leave bullet points at the end of every chapter highlighting the chapter’s strengths and weaknesses.
…give clear feedback, not just on what doesn’t work, but how I think you might resolve any problems I find.
…offer solutions where I can.
…won’t be overly concerned with your feelings to the point of holding back on my opinions. I’ll deliver my feedback in a nice way, but I will be honest and upfront with you on what I think.
…check for misuse of present/past tense.
…tell you what I’m feeling about characters and events where necessary.

…give all feedback using track changes in Microsoft Word.

Fees

FEES


3 day turnaround -- $0.005 AUD per word.
5 day turnaround -- $0.0045 AUD per word.
7 day turnaround -- $0.002 AUD per word.
14 day turnaround -- $0.001 AUD per word.
1 month turnaround --$ 0.00075 AUD per word

*please scroll down for more details.


Three Day Turnaround -- $.005 AUD per word 

- Second drafts only. No first drafts.

- Only Manuscripts (MS) that are under 75,000 words will be accepted. I will consider more words depending on how clean the MS is.

- Three day turnaround means in 72 hours I will have the MS back into your hands. I do not speed read. I read every sentence with focus and attention. A 72 hour turnaround on 75,000 words means I will be severely sleep deprived afterwards.

- First books in a series only. Or, if I've beta read the first/second/third etc book in the series before, I will accept subsequent books.


Five Day Turnaround --$.0045 AUD per word

- First drafts acceptable. (After I've looked at two sample chapters) -- up to 90,000 words.

- 120 hours turnaround. Will accept second or third books in a series if provided with a clear synopsis of events in previous books. Synopsis needs to be 1000 - 2000 words. (I'll be referring back to the synopsis if I get lost).


One Week Turnaround -- $.002 AUD per word

- First drafts accepted up to 150,000 words. (After I've looked at two sample chapters).

- 7 day turnaround time. Will accept second or third books in a series if provided with a clear synopsis of events in previous books. Synopsis needs to be 1000 - 2000 words.


Two Week Turnaround -- $.001 AUD words

- This is my standard service. I accept up to 250,000 words for this beta reading.

- I will consider reading previous books in a series up to 100,000 words for an extra $25.00 per book on top of the final amount, otherwise, just a synopsis of each preceding book is required.

- If the book to be read is no. 5 or more in a series, I will require an additional day for each book that comes before it. I may also ask for the previous books, and additional synopsis to understand what's going on in the series.


One Month Turnaround-- $.00075

- Same conditions as the two week turnaround.

- 250,000 word negotiable. I may accept longer files.

Welcome Fantasy Authors

My name is Kylie and I've been writing fantasy fiction for four years. What a good beta reader requires is a critical mind, an eye for detail and logical consistencies. I have these in spades. In addition, when it comes to novels, I believe characters drive plot. Certainly a good plot helps drive your novel, but with most novels, it's the characters that decide where the story will lead. With my background in psychology and a very high emotional quotient, I understand human motivations well.

I also have a keen interest in philosophy. I understand deductive and inductive reasoning. I'm an empirical and creative thinker that will analyse your book for both rationale, symbolism and of course, entertainment. Entertainment is why I read and it's why I write. I do not beta read for grammar, although I might comment on it if I think it's necessary.

I'm a perfectionist at heart and, due to my own standards, will give every novel I scrutinise a high degree of attention and time. A beta reader is the most important step to ensuring your novel keeps your readership engaged. With the growing rate of indie authors on Amazon and other publishing venues, we've all seen first hand that it's not just correct grammar and sentence structure that impresses readers, but the expression of imagination and greatness of story-telling. This is why you should invest in a decent beta reader before your story even makes it to the hands of an editor.

I've chosen to only read fantasy fiction because this is a genre I am most passionate about, and it's also the one I'm mostly widely read in (both indie and traditionally published authors).

Keeping to time frames is important to me, because of this I am selective with which manuscripts I read. A heavily unstructured and extremely poorly written manuscript won't be benefited by a beta read and because of my high standards I wouldn't even attempt to give feedback on it. I do, however, believe that a fantasy writer who has taken pains to write an entire manuscript (and what an amazing feat that is), and seeks out guidance on their story, is to be greatly respected for their accomplishment. I will be hard pressed to turn down any writer who places their work in my hands.

Reading about other worlds, fantastical beasts, utopian and dystopian societies, magical systems and the people who reside in such vastly differing existences, is a great passion of mine and I can't wait to share it with you.

I look forward to hearing from you.