In case none of that made sense, or you just want more details, here you go:
- I have a "finished" manuscript for a science fiction novel that I have written.
- It's "finished" in the sense that *I* can no longer find any problems with it.
- I need a new set of eyes looking at it. That's where YOU come in.
- I need people to read it, on a one-time basis (not required, mind you!), who will look for:
- Bad spelling. Since LibreOffice has a fine spellchecker, you're not looking for misspelled words, you're looking for times I said "their" when I meant "they're" and stupid stuff like that. "Steel" when I meant "steal". Etc.
- Plot holes. Find where I dropped the ball on stuff in the plot. When you finish the entire story, any questions you feel were unanswered, ask them.
- Clunky sentences/too much narrative/slow narrative. Self-explanatory. This is editing for style.
- Bad dialog. Bonus points if you sit a few people down and read through it, but I don't expect that to work. I've read aloud most of the dialog already. But when/if you catch bad dialog, make a note.
- Any other mistakes you notice. Even if you're not sure it's a mistake, make a note so I can look into it. I'd rather have people report mistakes that I don't agree with than have mistakes go un-addressed. Remember, I intend to publish this with my name all over it!
- I need this done within about three weeks. So there is a deadline. When I said you only have to read it once, well, if you have both the time and the desire to read it more than once in the three weeks, I'd probably like having feedback from a second read, so long as I got the feedback from the first read. Remember, I've read this thing like 10 times, and I'm no longer capable of finding obvious flaws in it.
- The tricky bit: I'll send you a PDF. You can make notes in any open format you wish (meaning, if it's supported by an app in Linux, fine). If you live pretty close (USA, same continent, whatever), you could print it/get it printed and write on the pages and ship it back to me. If you're overseas (and I'm particularly interested in English-as-a-second-language folks), then you'll probably need to make an electronic version of your notes. You could simply make a text file noting chapter and page number (you need both, trust me) for any feedback you have to give me.
- You MUST offer feedback. If you just want a quick free read through an almost-finished novel, then you should wait until it's published. The whole point is for me to get feedback I will use through an editing cycle (I probably have 2-3 more editing cycles left, of which one involves incorporating feedback from at least one pre-reader).
So, who wants to help me out here? It's not a paid position (and will never be!). You get to read potentially crap sci-fi, but you might really enjoy it, and you get to be a part of the publishing process.
Respond to this post with your interest level, but you need to give me an email address to receive the PDF. That means a PM.
Also, if you really want to read for me, respond with the PM and the comment here. Be aware that I am filtering based on people I know (I don't have to like you, mind you), but I'm not taking Just Anyone As A Reader. But don't let that discourage you. If you respond here and also with a PM, I will at least engage you in PM. I'm open to people I don't know, otherwise I wouldn't post here (I'd have sent a group PM to all the people I think would be interested). So if you know I don't know you, or think I hate you, but you're interested in doing this little chore, feel free to respond. We can hammer out details.