Beta Readers
Are you a metaphor master? How about a punctuation paladin? Do you enjoy correcting spelling errors in the emails from your friends? Then, you should be a beta reader for Brian. It's easy to do. Just fill out the form at the bottom of this page. Be sure to check the box that you want to receive my reviewer newsletter. Then, when we have something that's ready to be beta read, you'll get an email to let you know. All you have to do then is rip it apart to whatever degree your heart desires, and then drop us a line so Brian knows what needs to be fixed.What's in it for you?
- you get a sneak peak at the books before everyone else
- you will have helped make the world's literature better
- you'll have Brian's undying gratitude
- Brian will include the names of those whose feedback helped make the book better in the acknowledgments
- After it's released at Smashwords, Brian will send a coupon for a free copy of the final ebook to those providing helpful feedback
Sound good? Then sign up below.
Disclaimer
The material on this site is made available on the understanding that the site is not engaged in rendering professional advice.
Before relying on the material in any important matter, users should carefully evaluate its accuracy, currency, completeness, and relevance for their purposes, and should obtain any appropriate professional advice relevant to their particular circumstances.
In some cases the material may incorporate or summarize views, guidelines, or recommendations of third parties. Such material is assembled in good faith, but does not necessarily reflect the considered views of the site, or indicate a commitment to a particular course of action.
Links to other websites are inserted for convenience and do not constitute endorsement of material at those sites, or any associated organization, product, or service.
Links
Brian says: I'll never knowingly send you to a link that's "bad." If you find dead links here or links that take you to sites containing immoral, illegal, or malware-infected content, please drop me a line so I can update or remove the offending link(s).Amazon: For links to Amazon, I'll frequently use affiliate links. What that means is that if you follow those links and then purchase something from Amazon, I may receive a small commission for sending you there. This should not affect the price you pay versus just going directly to Amazon's site, but it does help cover the costs of running my sites and getting new books edited, designed, and published. This seems to me like an easy, unobtrusive way to let people help support my work without resorting to more obtrusive (and dare I say, uncouth) things like 3rd party advertising or donate buttons. In fact, if you'd like to help, you can click here to make your Amazon purchases, not pay any more than you would otherwise, and help support me. I say thankya!
Bitly: I use the bitly URL shortening service for many of the links I use on my sites, blogs, social media outlets, email, and newsletters. I don't do anything nefarious with them or with the data I can see through bitly, but you should probably have a look at Bitly's Privacy Policy to make sure you're cool with whatever they're going to do with your data.
Press
Interviewers
If you're interested in conducting an interview, please contact us to discuss. If you're interested in reviewing a book, please see the Reviewers section below.Bloggers
If you'd like to write a guest blog here or would like to interview or have Brian guest blog on your site, please contact us to discuss.Reviews
Brian's Reviews
Brian says: I'm not actively seeking books to review (have a look at my to-read shelf on GoodReads, and I think you'll see why) or blurb. However, if you have something that you think I'll just love AND it's in a genre I actually read AND it's been professionally edited and proofread AND you like my reviewing policy, drop me a line so we can discuss. Please note though that I don't have a great deal of free time to read (and don't read particularly quickly) and I'm not much for deadlines, so if you're under a time crunch, it's probably best to pass me on by.Reviewing Policy
Brian says: Writing a book takes a lot of time and effort. Anyone who undertakes such a task has my admiration. Because of that and because I, as a fellow writer, would hope for the same treatment, I developed the following reviewing policy for myself.For books that I like, I will try to give an accurate, honest review, in the format and locations of my choosing. Typically, that'll be on GoodReads, sometimes on Amazon.
If I can't give a book at least 4 stars, then I take a closer look at why. If it's because of bad grammar, spelling, formatting, etc., chances are I won't even finish the book, and it'll wind up unrated on my unfinished shelf (although don't take inclusion there to be indicative of that or some other problem; sometimes I don't finish a book for other reasons). I know some errors will slip through, but when they're pervasive, I just can't go on. They're like nails on a chalkboard to me.
If the story was dull or the writing was bad or it's less than good for some other reason but I still managed to struggle through to the end, I'll take a look at the author. Are they dead? No problem, I'll give a full review, then (provided I feel like it; it's not like the author cares). Are they alive, but a big famous author whose pocketbook isn't going to be influenced in the least by what I think of the book? I'll give them a rating, but I probably won't publish a review. Are they alive and one of my struggling, possibly self-published, peers? I'm probably just going to quietly shuffle their book off to my read shelf with neither a review nor a rating (again, though, just because I finished a book but didn't rate it or review it, it doesn't necessarily mean I didn't like it; I may just have forgotten about it or not gotten around to it). If I know them, I may send them some private feedback. If not, I'm confident that other readers will have no problem letting them know that their work is subpar.
Reviewers
If you're a book reviewer/critic interested in receiving an electronic copy one of Brian's books for free to review, please fill out the form below. Your submission will be reviewed as soon as possible. Paper books are not provided through this program. If you'd like to automatically receive new ebooks to review, be sure to check the box to sign up for Brian's reviewer newsletter.Ebooks provided through this program may be non-finalized, Advance Review Copies (ARCs). Such ebooks will be clearly marked as such and may differ from the release version.
*By filling out and submitting this form, you agree to obtain the requested ebook(s) for the purposes of reviewing and/or beta reading said ebook(s) and that all information provided is truthful and complete to the best of your knowledge. We request that beta readers provide timely, constructive feedback sent to us privately. We request that reviewers provide honest, thoughtful, and accurate reviews, either published or sent to us privately. You agree to allow Brian or his designee(s) to repost or reuse your review(s) online and in print and to include them in marketing, promotional, and future works and editions of existing works with proper attribution.
