After one year and two weeks, I’ve FINALLY finished the first draft of my novel.
*insert appropriate noises connoting excitement and nervousness here*
I’ve been editing and polishing as I go – which is one reason I’ve only written the last scene this weekend. It’s 343 pages (96,500 glorious words) but there are around 250 pages that only God and I have seen. They need work. Probably a lot of work. But I’ve stuck with this story when I was tired, stressed, and frustrated, so I’m not giving up now.
So here’s the deal. I’m looking for people who’d love to read it and give me feedback. Ideally, I’m looking for people who like somewhat dark, emotional contemporary single title romance. I’d love it if you could give me your feedback by mid-to-late February so I can digest it and rework anything I need to.
I’d like pretty high-level feedback (what works, what’s confusing, what’s unrealistic and makes me sound like I’m pulling things out of my butt, etc), though, if you’re inclined to point out awkward sentences then by all means please do so.
If you’re a writer, I’m happy to do an exchange with you (because of this, I will probably only take a few beta readers, as I don’t want to make promises I can’t keep).
Feel free to leave a comment below (even if you don’t want to beta read for me) or email me at romancingkatrina [at] gmail [dot] com. Thanks for celebrating with me!
Hello Katrina, I’m Kaldresh online, Victoria offline. I’m not a professional writer but I do write, and perhaps will be working on short stories where I could use a good critique, although I won’t promise it. However, I’d love to help you out. I always enjoy a good romance, and while not an editor or professional writer, I’ve read enough of them that I know the difference between a good one and one not so good, and have as well, I believe, the ability to articulate why. So. If you think that would work for you – bring it on. 🙂 If not, that’s ok too, and best of luck with your book.
Hi Kaldresh/Victoria. Thanks so much for your interest! I’m just about to go to bed, but can I email you tomorrow? Have a great evening!
Hi Katrina! First, congratulations on finishing your novel! I just finished my first back in September and then went through a major revision. Now working on a new project. I also post on AbsoluteWrite.com and the Share Your Work forum is a GREAT place for feedback and to find beta readers. Best of luck to you!
Thanks for letting me know about those resources, Tina! I appreciate it.