Looking for people to give me feedback on my first novel…
I need to find about two or three first readers for my novel. I’m looking for people I already know and trust, and who are willing and able to commit to reading the entire draft before the end of the summer. Just so there are no illusions, this novel is going to be pretty big: I’m estimating at around 450 to 500 pages (double spaced, times new roman, size 12). I’m also not going to have enough time to do a rewrite before I leave for Jordan, so the quality of the draft is not going to be all that good. Also, I’d appreciate it if the first readers would be willing to read the first rewrite and compare the two.
All in all, it’s going to be a big task. That’s why I want to start looking for people now: so that by the time I finish the first draft in about a month and a half, I have people ready to pick it up and help me out.
Once I’ve got the readers, I’ll let you know what I’m looking for–probably send out an article or something on how to read a story and give feedback that’s helpful. Mostly, I’m looking for general reader reactions to the story–what you think about the characters, what’s interesting and what’s boring, whether it keeps your interest, pacing, etc. In those cases, as long as the reader is being honest and isn’t trying to write the story instead of the author, pretty much anything you say is going to be “right.”
If you are willing to commit to this (and are someone I actually know from real life, as opposed to someone who randomly found my blog), please either comment here or email me at onelowerlight at gmail dot com.
