I’m pleased to announce that Book 1: The Circlet of Mara is currently with beta readers.
The beta-reading stage is meant to give a high-level view of how a story feels. It is not about finding typos, or literary flourishes. Instead it is designed to identify areas that cause confusion to the reader, to highlight slower sections, emotional highs, and the moments that make the reader unable to put the book down.
It is a nerve-wracking, but crucially important, stage of the writing process for any author and it is critical that beta readers are chosen wisely. There is a tendency for people who read an author’s early draft to hand it back and say “that was really good”. While that is always nice to hear, an early draft of any author’s work is very rarely perfect, and the aspects that hold the story back need to be made clear to the author.
That is not to say the author must take every piece of feedback to heart and action it. It may be that the author does not agree with the feedback or already has a plan in place to address it. But if two or mote beta readers issue the same piece of constructive criticism, chances are the author should take note.
I am hoping to have received all feedback by the end of 2026 and can move forward with copyediting, proofreading, and publication early next year. In the mean time, I shall continue to pen the first draft of Book 2.
Matt
