The Queen’s Gambit Call for Beta Readers

I’ve finished writing The Queen’s Gambit. Yay! I’ll still post a chapter a week (go ahead and cue the sad trombone sound), so I’ll have a brief slice of time where I could make edits.

This is where you come in.

Have you ever wanted to beta read for a Real Live Author™? Now’s your chance! I’m looking for two or three beta readers to read the rest of the novella and share their feedback with me. Let me know what you loved, what you hated, and what made you scratch your head.

What you get: the rest of the novella weeks early, my gratitude, and the envy of your peers. More importantly, if you turn out to be a sane, reliable human who provides good feedback, then the odds that I’ll ask you to beta again (say for Polaris Rising or PR Book 2) go way up.

What you don’t get: to post any early reviews or spoilers or to share the novella with others, especially pirate sites. Do this and I will hunt you down and very sternly shake my finger at you. I will also blacklist you and say mean things about you. Don’t be a jerk.

Because I’m going to continue posting chapters, preference will be given to those who can read and send feedback quickly. I’m not looking for an in-depth edit. I’m looking for high-level this worked or didn’t type of feedback.

If this still sounds like something you’d like to do, send me an email at: EDIT: Submissions are closed.

Clearly, you should replace [my last name] with my actual last name and [AT] with @. Use the subject: TQG Beta Reader.

Include your real name and a brief (<=2 paragraphs) note detailing why you’d like to beta read and when you think you could send me feedback on ~50 paperback-length pages.

You’re welcome to post comments to let me know you’re planning to send an email, but if I don’t receive the actual email as instructed, it won’t count. :)

I’ll leave this up for twenty-four hours or so, then edit the post when submissions are closed. If I can’t decide between people, I’ll let the Random Number Gods decide. If you don’t hear from me in a couple days, you weren’t selected. I’m sorry.

EDIT: Submissions are closed. Thanks to everyone who emailed! There are so many awesome candidates, the random number gods will definitely have to be invoked. Winners will receive emails by Friday morning CST.

24 thoughts on “The Queen’s Gambit Call for Beta Readers”

  1. I would love to be a beta reader. I work during the day so I would not be available to receive an item at 8 am and return it by noon. But would be very prompt with my response in the evening or early am hours. I am enjoying your story very much and have found very few items I would identify as issues. Not sure that makes me a great beta reader or not— but you have very few grammatical errors or word choice quirks. So please consider me! (I kind of feel like I am in the seventh grade again!)

  2. I’d love to Beta read this story for you! I’m usually pretty good at picking up inconsistencies so I think I’d be a good addition to the team.

  3. Also, you all are total overachievers. I figured “quick turnaround” was a day or two or three. You all are replying with hours and minutes. I love it, but you don’t have to be quite that fast to be considered. :)

    1. You can, at least in gmail. You can do +text and it shows up in your normal inbox, but then you can use the +text to set up mail rules to auto-sort messages.

  4. Clearly I can’t figure out this newfangled email thingie. Tried emailing but unable to decode the address to which it goes.
    Will try again

    1. I got your other email! :) It’s possible your mail client doesn’t support the + format.

      If anyone else is having trouble sending, you can drop the +beta from the email address. But try it first. :)

  5. Hi Jessie,
    I just sent you an email volunteering. I’d like to pretend that it is an amusing and compelling two paragraphs, not at all pleading and “pick me, pick me”… So, for appearances sake please nod and smile knowingly…

  6. Would love too but i honestly prefer getting the snippets in my inbox. Its such a treat. I dont want to spoil the ending for myself. But thank you for the opportunity!

  7. Jessie,

    I’m trying this one more time, since my server (Cox) is throwing a fit about your gmail account forwarding messages (“No Relaying Allowed”), apparently as a SPAM measure.

    I would love to help you as a beta reader. I am retired, so quick response generally is not an issue. I have a dual undergraduate degree in English and History, a Ph. D. in history, and a MS in Computer Engineering (worked on day as a computer engineer, the rest of 20+ years was as a EE). I also spent 28 years and one war in the Army, so I tend to bring odd views to the table at times. Thus far, I have found few things to quibble with in your story. I tend to go ballistic only over improper use of apostrophes (90% of all English users cannot properly use an apostrophe, and they drive those of us who do crazy). On the other hand, I tend to fall into the “suspension of disbelief” mode easily, so I often have a hard time asking “what?” about something in the story.

    I have no problem keeping the beta copy secret. Besides, if you want someone shaking her finger at me and yelling loudly, my wife is always available.

    Jessie’s note – Edited out the email and user’s address.

    1. I got this and edited out your address. :) You spelled my last name wrong and needed a + sign between writes and beta, that was probably why the email bounced. Let me know if you’d like me to edit the rest of the comment or leave it as is.

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