#betabook

[somehow-progressing]

Beta Readers Wanted

In a world forever changed by the ability to alter the world around us, Ari Aslan faces the corrupt Aldebrand Industries as the company takes the city she once loved like a blight. All while struggling to reconcile her inner yearning for a girl she once knew. Dare is queer, urban fantasy about growth in a city that has inevitably fallen into corrupt hands. Now accepting Beta Readers!

[kjscottwrites]

Something I've been wondering about betabooks but can't find the answer to: Can other readers on Beta Books see one another's inline comments feedback, or can only the author see all the readers' feedback? (I've been looking at using it, but i know from past experience that some beta readers don't like their feedback being public to others)

So there's actually a setting that allows you to choose either way, which is super nice. When you set up your book it defaults to readers being unable to see other reader's feedback, but you can go into settings and change it so they can if you want to.

tbh I've been super impressed with betabooks so far and would highly recommend!

[beepbeepmfkr]

"Akio is a tool. Finely polished, and sharpened to a keenly-bladed edge. His life has been spent training to be of service to the Homeland. The time-honored birthplace of the Human Race.

But Akio is Colony-Born. And in the Homeland, to bear the blood of the Chimeran Colonies is a stain impossible to wash clean. In order to prove his worth, he'll need to achieve the impossible: the live capture of two of his people's most wanted terrorists. The Twin Mercenaries. Harpy Eagle chimeras known to kill any Warden they can get their talons on.

Akio is determined to achieve this. Regardless of the danger.

But when his time away from the Homeland shows him more and more of the horrors his own people are capable of, will his loyalties remain firm?

Or will he show these people who raised him what the blood of a colony-born is truly capable of?"

I'm on beta books! Mostly just posting in case anyone in the community is on here and looking for smth to read. I only have the prologue posted right now, but I do have a rough draft finished that I'll potentially be posting in chunks if anyone happens to show some interest.

[deception-united]

Online Writing Resources #2

Vocabulary:

Tip of My Tongue: I find this very helpful when I can't think of a specific word I'm looking for. Which is often.

WordHippo: As well as a thesaurus, this website also provides antonyms, definitions, rhymes, sentences that use a particular word, translations, pronunciations, and word forms.

OneLook: Find definitions, synonyms, antonyms, and related words. Allows you to search in specific categories.

YourDictionary: This website is a dictionary and thesaurus, and helps with grammar, vocabulary, and usage.

Information/Research:

Crime Reads: Covers crime and thriller movies, books, and TV shows. Great inspiration before writing a crime scene or story in this genre.

Havocscope: Black market information, including pricing, market value, and sources.

Climate Comparison: Compares the climates of two countries, or parts of the country, with each other.

Food Timeline: Centuries worth of information about food, and what people ate in different time periods.

Refseek: Information about literally anything. Provides links to other sources relevant to your search.

Perplexity AI: Uses information from the internet to answer any questions you have, summarises the key points, suggests relevant or similar searches, and links the sources used.

Planning/Worldbuilding:

One Stop for Writers: Literally everything a writer could need, all in one place: description thesaurus, character builder, story maps, scene maps, timelines, worldbuilding surveys, idea generators, templates, tutorials... all of it.

World Anvil: Provides worldbuilding templates and lets you create interactive maps, chronicles, timelines, whiteboards, family trees, charts, and interactive tables. May be a bit complicated to navigate at first, but the features are incredibly useful.

Inkarnate: This is a fantasy map maker where you can make maps for your world, regions, cities, interiors, or battles.

Miscellaneous:

750words: Helps build the habit of writing daily (about three pages). Fully private. It also tracks your progress and mindset while writing.

BetaBooks: Allows you to share your manuscript with your beta readers. You can see who is reading, how far they've read, and feedback.

Readable: Helps you to measure and improve the readability of your writing and make readers more engaged.

ZenPen: A minimalist writing page that blocks any distractions and helps improve your focus. You can make it full screen, invert the colours, and set a word count goal.

QueryTracker: Helps you find a literary agent for your book.

Lulu: Self-publish your book!

See my previous post with more:

Drop any other resources you like to use in the comments! Happy writing ❤

Previous | Next

[betweenthetimeandsound]

https://betabooks.co/books/10424

I'm actually going to try BetaBooks out for Out There--or at least for part one. If you want to read and give some feedback, then let me know and I'll certainly improve!

[loopyhoopywrites]

I FORGOT TO SAVE MY CHANGES 😭😭😭

Not exactly writing but I did manage some editing and rewriting today!

I'd been avoiding big edits because I wanted a finished draft, but maybe editing/rewriting might be a way of easing myself back into writing again?

[mediocre-shark-tales]

Fated by the Stars (5)

Straykids ot8 x Reader

Warnings - Mentions of Abuse, Mentions of Wounds/Injuries Traumatic Past, Violence, and Mentions of Non-consensual Molesting

Summary - The boys have to go back to work, and you need to learn how to live with only a few boys around at a time. So you decide to take up and learn some hobbies with everything the boys have been slowly purchasing you.

Masterlist

It had been awhile since that day you ran into the pack alpha's sister, ever since you have been able to slowly move on from the past. Spending time with your mates as much as you can, with everyday you grow fonder and more confident. They have shown you nothing but love and made sure you never doubt yourself for even a second.

But everything good must come to an end, and today was that day. The boys had warned you in advance that soon they would have to return to work. It took a bit before you understood what they meant. Their jobs were similar to what you did with your ex pack however they actually enjoyed what they did and got paid for it. They had sort of expected a more emotional reaction, but you knew somewhere deep down that if they could they would stay home with you forever in a cuddle puddle.

I had woken up early this morning, barely before the sunrise would begin to fill my newly renovated room with its pure golden glow. I quickly began to get changed for the day, however when I thought about the fact that a majority of the boys would be gone for most of the day, another thought came to me. I snuck quietly out of my room and looked around to see if anyone was awake. I could smell the beginnings of a delicious breakfast so I began to sneak downstairs.

I had made it all the way to the entrance of the kitchen, looking inside I saw Minho and Felix. I silently giggled as I slid into the kitchen and latched onto Minho. Giving him a morning snuggly back hug.

Minho chuckled and rubbed my hands on his stomach before returning to making breakfast. "Is everyone else still asleep Minnie?" He looked down at me. "Yup, I think everyone will be up soon since most of us have to leave soon." I nodded. "Can I go steal some clothes?" Minho stopped what he was doing for a moment and turned around to me. He cupped my face and squished it a bit. "Does our little 'mega want to smell her pack all day still." I nodded and told him. "Just want to smell my mates while they are out for work." Minho then let me go and I ran off to his room. Today only Jeongin and Felix could stay behind. I was told by all of them what their jobs were so I would know who to expect home more often than the others.

Jeongin was the CEO of company that built Omegagram, They had also created AlphaChat and BetaBook. All of these were apps created and updated to perfectly match the social media needs of a specific second gender. Because of their recent success with Omegagram, the company had funded a new project that was also doing well. Turns out Omega Heaven was also owned by him.

Felix was the owner of a world wide bakery, this bakery had the ability to become a food factory. Except Felix loved the original small hometown bakery idea, thus with every new branch he built, each one would be made to freshly bake its good. He also kept the prices lower even when demand rose.

These two got the most time off as their jobs required less from them in person and they could simply work from home most days.

The others had more high demand jobs, Chan was the CEO of an entertainment company. His jobs consisted of making sure that his idols were happy. Whatever was needed he would be able to do. If he found that a manager was miss treating them, he would easily replace the manager. If an Idol acted up he would give them chances until they ran out. However he was best when it came to helping them perfect and produce music. Hyunjin was an assistant CEO to Chan, his job fell more into the dancing side of idols, and he also helped the acting side of the entertainment company.

Minho and Jisung were also coworkers. Minho was the CEO of a fashion company while Jisung was one of the more famous Beta Fashion designers. Jisung was amazing at paying attention to feed back from customers, and then changing things to help make his brand more comfortable amongst the second genders. He was one of few that tackled clothing lines for all second genders. Minho's job however was to keep the company running, he looks care of financial managing and such. I kinda tuned out the rest seeing as it was a lot of math-y sounding stuff.

Finally Changbin and Seungmin were also Ceo's. Changbin was the CEO of a Security Company that also dabbled in a worldwide gym franchise. Seungmin was the assistant CEO under him. They had split the job, Changbin took care of the gym franchise and helped out from time to time when asked by seungmin. Seungmin took care of the Security company, he only asked for help when jobs came in too often to keep up with. They offered security to anyone in the public, however when huge celebrity events went on they would get multiple celebrities asking for a few security workers at the sametime. That's when Changbin would come help out with getting the logistics taken care of.

I currently had snatched a t-shirt from Minho. Now I was sneaking into Hyunjins room, opening his drawer I found a pair of tall socks. Snatching those I snuck back out to put them on. Going into Jisungs room, I stole a pair of boxers without being detected. From Seungmin, I successfully snatched a pair of shorts. Finally had grabbed a jacket from Changbin. Last but not least, I needed something from Chan.

Slowly opening the door, I saw Chan on his side playing on his phone. I giggled internally as he hadn't noticed my scent or heard me yet. I crept over slowly, till I was next to the bed. Seconds later I was jumping onto the bed, specifically onto Chan. He huffed as I landed on him. I giggled as he smiled down at me. "Hey there princess. Good morning." I smiled back up at him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Good Morning Channie." Then I tumbled off of him and began to look around for what I came in here for.

Chan sits up and watches me for a bit. "What are you looking for princess?" Seconds later I had found it. I picked up and smelled this blanket. It was just a plain grey blanket, I had seen Chan use it often and new it would be perfect to use today. "Just this Channie, need to make sure I can still smell my pack while they aren't around."

Chan cooed at me, he got up and walked over to pick me up. "such a good 'mega for us. We will make sure to come back as quickly as we can. Then how about we fall asleep to a movie of your choice down in the pack room?" I nodded. "Sounds great Channie!"

Together we walked back down to the kitchen where the rest of the pack waiting for us. I saw everyone begin to smile, slowly they realized I had stolen a few clothing items and was currently wearing them. "I wondered why I could smell a faint scent of vanilla when I woke up." Jisung said as he tickled my sides when I passed him. I giggled and tried my best to escape his grasp.

Once I did, I sat down in my personal seat, quickly eating up my breakfast. I had forgotten a gift for them upstairs. The other day, Seungmin had gifted me some art and crafts supplies. Amongst the supplies was some elastic string and beads. Yesterday I spent most of it making my boys bracelets. I heard the boys call after me when I ran upstairs, but I only had one thing on my mind.

I threw open my arts and crafts drawer, grabbing the box I had put them in. I opened it to make sure they were all still there, once I had confirmed it, I then ran back down stairs.

There stood all the boys waiting for me, 6 of them ready to leave. "You weren't gonna let us leave without hugs and kisses goodbye right?" I smiled. "Nope, but I had to go get my surprise!" The boys all gave me curious or astonished looks. So I walked up to Chan first, pulling out a grey bead bracelet, each bracelet had a red heart bead surrounded by the color I saw them in the most often. So Chan got a grey with glittery black bead bracelet. Next was Hyunjin, his bracelet was orange beads, some were plain beads and some looked more like carved gemstone.

Next to hyunjin stood changbin, I gave him a pink beaded bracelet, his was mainly plain pink beads as they were the only pink beads I had. I gave Seungmin a white sparkly bead bracelet. Minho's bracelet was a dark green color, mostly gem shaped beads. Next I gave Jisung a blue bracelet, his was different as I had many different style beads in a similar blue shade. Finally, Felix got a Yellow bracelet with little sun shaped beads and Jeongin got a brown sparkly bracelet.

"Everyone has a different but similar bracelet, the heart bead is to remind you that I-" I blushed and looked away. "What is it sweetie?" Felix placed his hand on my shoulder. I mumbled in responding, however no one seemed to hear me as Felix placed his hand on my cheek making me look at him. "You're gonna need to speak up sweet thing." So my immediate response was to speak very quickly hoping they wouldn't react too much to my words. "The heart is to remind you that I love you, especially when you are stressed out at work. I spent a lot of time choosing the colors and beads for you bracelet, I wanted the bracelets to match how I see you. The color is the color I match to you the most. So yeah." I could feel my face heat up even more, I probably looked like a bright red tomato now as they stood there in silence. Glancing at their faces, all I saw was looks of awe and shock.

This gave me a rush of anxiety as I blabbered out again. "I-I'm sorry if you weren't ready to say that then I won't say-" I was cut off by lips on mine. Hyunjin had launched himself over and crashed his lips against mine before pulling back. "No no no, Honey, we were just in shock that you were so comfortable to tell us you loved us so soon. We love you just as much if not more, we are so happy to be able to tell you that now and show you we love you in so many more ways." Staring into his eyes, I could tell that there was nothing but honesty in his words. I glanced at the other pack mates, who all gave me smiles and nods in agreement with Hyunjins words.

I hugged Hyunjin tight. "Okay, then I really love you guys and I can't wait for you all to come back home. I hope we can have a movie and cuddle night together." Pulling back from hyunjin, I ran around to give everyone else a hug as I continued. "So go to work and earn as much as you can so we can keep living happily together!" I then stood by the door. This action earned another set of confused glances from my mates. I smiled and they slowly began to get ready to leave. The first one to stand infant of the open door was Seungmin. I grabbed his hand and asked him to bend down. As soon as he did I gave him a quick peck on the lips, "I love you, see you soon Seungie!" He smiled and walked out the door after returning with a similar I love you in return.

I went through a similar action with every mate that walked past me to head to work. Each one gave me a smile and 'I love you too' before they left.

Once the door shut, I turned around to see Jeongin and Felix smiling at me. "Shall we spend the day cuddling together little one?" Felix asked while Jeongin opened his arms to me. I Nodded running into Jeogin's arms.

Masterlist

[sam-glade]

Happy STS! What are your go-to/preferred writing tools? Favorite pen types, notebooks, keyboards, etc, but it doesn't have to be limited to just those things. Writing programs, favorite reference books, thesauruses, dictionaries, TTS software, whiteboards, corkboards, flash cards, encyclopedias, anything goes!

Happy STS, Nopal!

Montblanc Meisterstück fountain pen - a graduation gift from my family.

Currently amethyst purple ink, but the bottle is running low and the next in the queue is burgundy red. I change ink colours every time a bottle runs out.

Squared A5 notebooks, preferably paperback. Nothing fancy; I go through them so quickly that the simplest will do.

I type it up (eventually) into Scrivener.

I used to use only Google Docs before, and I still do for anything that isn't novel-sized.

Betabooks or Google Docs for sharing with beta readers.

I actually don't create mood boards/storyboards, so I think that's it?

[authoralexharvey]

As a follow up to my beta reading timeline poll [here], here's a second poll:

[If your answer is not any of these, that's fine! I'm collecting this poll for MY personal reference and these means is how I will likely be sending my work out when the time comes!]

[24hourdreamer]

In summary of my last post, I am looking for beta readers to invite to BetaBooks for my queer fantasy adventure novel, Fate: Misfortune of the Banished. If you are interested or have experience being a beta reader, please message me personally for an invitation link

[lady-wren-of-tella]

I would ALSO absolutely love to get my grubby little hands on your books!

-🧋

absolutely!!!

i’m contemplating posting the draft(s) on betabooks like i used to

but if/when it gets published, i’ll absolutely make it so you guys can get a copy

[acertainmoshke]

I’m looking for beta readers!

I mentioned this before, but I’m going to make a separate post to see if I get any interest. If you aren’t interested I totally get it and that’s fine but please reblog this if you can so more people see it!

I usually write and talk about adult SFF, but this is not that. This is a low stakes realistic middle grade book about a disabled autistic girl making a new friend and learning to accept her needs. It’s only about 21k words and since I have a free account on betabooks, I’m looking for 3 people to read it and give feedback on plot coherency and interest level, mostly. It’s already been professionally edited and shouldn’t need much grammar work. I would also appreciate title suggestions—the working title is “Fae and Brownie,” but I’d like something more memorable.

Disclaimers: (1) it is in first person present tense (I know some people don’t like that) and (2) it is purposely exposition heavy to emphasize how she has to manually process concepts that are automatic for others. The only possible tw is “polite,” child-understandable levels of transphobia against her parent as part of the b-plot. Also, this is a story about disability pride—the point has nothing to do with her learning to behave or “be good.” (A disclaimer I now include after a shocking comment I got one time from a previous reader).

I’m happy to swap beta reading if anyone likes, but I’d prefer if whoever wants to read mine has at least some interest in and experience with children’s books.

I’m going to include a snippet from chapter 2 below the cut so you can decide if it sounds interesting. If you’re interested please DM me or reply/reblog this post. Thank you in advance!

Now Ms. Luna is on the floor in front of me, bent down like adults do to when they talk to little kids. Not 10-year-old kids, except they still do it to me. Mama says that if I stand up tall and smile and talk to people using the big words I do at home, they won’t think I’m like a little kid. I think she doesn’t understand school.

“Fae, we’re going to work on spelling worksheets. Can you come back to your desk, please?”

Ms. Luna doesn’t look angry. She doesn’t look sad. She doesn’t look anything. But I’m still scared to say no, because that can get me in trouble sometimes.

“Fae, come on. I know you like spelling, and I need you to participate, ok?”

I wonder if teachers ever get annoyed when they’re stuck with the really weird kids.

She won’t go away until I use words, so I say, slowly and carefully, “I want to stay here.”

“I know, but you’ve been here for over fifteen minutes and you can’t miss a whole lesson or you won’t know the words for Friday’s quiz.”

I’m tired. It’s been a long day. I peek over her shoulder and all the other kids are looking at me. Their eyes feel like lasers. I want to go home. And suddenly I’m angry, because it’s not fair. It’s not fair that I’m supposed to do as well as everyone else even though the world hurts me and not them. It’s not fair that people still talk to me like I’m in kindergarten. And it’s not fair that they always look at me like I’m a puzzle or a slug and not a person.

I hate being angry. My anger is red and liquid and fills me up until it overflows. I scream without meaning to. I want to scream “I hate you” but the words are stuck in my throat, and that makes me even more angry. I know better than to throw things, but all I want is to do what I’m not supposed to. I want Ms. Luna to hurt like I do.

[deepwaterwritingprompts]

Hi! I'm interested in betaing Borderline, but I was wanting to know before I apply what the reading and commenting would be through. Would it be via Google Docs, Microsoft Word, or something else? Could I read and comment on mobile, or would I have to do that solely on a computer?

Hi! I use the application BetaBooks, information on which can be found here.

While you do need internet to access the manuscript through this site, I have no reason to believe you could not access it on mobile.

I have used BetaBooks before to great results. Readers do need to make an account, but this is completely free. BetaBooks offers an easy way to add your comments to each chapter, as well as in chapter highlighting and note taking capabilities.

Thank you for the question!

- L

[words-after-midnight]

Life in Black and White v4.0a 🌙✨BETA READER SIGNUP✨

I'm a day late; my apologies! Below, for those interested, you'll find the signup form to be a beta reader for the final pre-query version of my main long-term writing project, Life in Black and White, a dark psychological crime drama almost fifteen years in the making.

Signup form here (deadline: March 14th, 11:59p.m.), important details under the cut.

About the novel:

WIP intro post (includes summary and features) Intended audience: Adult (18+) Narration: First person present Genres: Contemporary, psychological drama, crime fiction Goal word count: 109-110K Central themes: Mental illness and recovery, stigma, obsession, control and choices, loss and grief, the butterfly effect, the perfect storm. Primary features: LGBTQ+/queer central characters, unreliable narrator, introspective narrative, ending-centered, mental illness and recovery, morally gray characters. Important note about content warnings: This is a very dark story that comes with multiple content warnings. I've linked a full list in the description of the signup sheet, so please ensure you read them before signing up. Please also feel free to reach out to me via DM if you have specific questions about any of the warnings. Generally speaking, this might not be the manuscript for you if you don't usually enjoy stories that explore dark themes.

Important details about the beta cycle, which you can also find in the description of the form itself:

Projected length for this version: Between 110-120K Start date for readers: On or around April 1, 2023 Deadline for feedback: May 15, 2023 (please do not sign up if you can't commit to reading & providing feedback within the time frame of April 1st-May 15th). Platform: Either betabooks or Google Docs, though I'm leaning toward betabooks right now. Feedback needed: Answers to specific questions (~15-20 total) that I'll provide at various points in the manuscript itself. More specific details about this will be provided to chosen readers. General feedback, while always appreciated, isn't absolutely required at this stage. Available slots: ~7 total

Note: For this version, I am looking for specific feedback, which is why readers with specific backgrounds and experiences will be prioritized. If I don't select you, please don't take it personally!

If I've already confirmed you as a beta reader/book swap, there's no need to sign up using this form.

Tagging everyone who interacted with my initial interest call post (obviously no obligation to sign up):

@catchingbigfish, @kjscottwrites, @authoralexharvey, @calicojackofficial, @artsietango, @writinglittlebeasts, @joeys-piano, @ddbirb, @ananarchie (still tagging you even tho you've already read the thing, you're welcome). Finally: If this manuscript isn't your thing, if you're already a confirmed beta reader, and/or if you can't commit to the time frame, I still appreciate all reblogs/boosts! <3 Thanks all!!

[umberpath]

Coffee is really helping us feel functional and relaxed today! I played some Ultrakill with May and I'm procrastinating doing some writing by watching animations, haha. But I'll get there!

Also: the preview/demo document for our story has been formatted! 🎉 Kell spoke about this on their blog already but Betabooks turned out to be extremely limited (on the free version) when it comes to reader invitations. Hopefully a pdf will be easier to access and enjoy, lol.

I hope everyone else has a lovely day 🤎🍂

[sleepvines]

okay I'm considering trying something a little more accessible than betabooks: what if I compiled the first handful of chapters of Alderhill into a pdf and put it up on kofi for free? it would definitely still be a first draft and all the messiness that entails, and it would only be a set amount of chapters, but it could be read by more than only two people.

honestly? maybe that would be better for my work ethic, not having to stress about staying on top of updates. Plus it's easy to miss updates on tumblr.

at the end of the day I'm hoping for some motivation and feedback to keep me going with it