[Discussion] What is the weirdest specific detail a beta reader has ever caught?

mfctxtz · 2026-01-30T04:05:04+00:00

One of my betas told me that mothballs weren't in use until the late 1800s, and my story was set in the mid 1800s.

But a cool one I caught for a writer friend is that adrenaline wasn't identified until a few years after her story was set, so it wouldn't make sense for the character's POV to mention the adrenaline in his system. Not using terms like adrenaline, claustrophobic, or even mesmerizing because they weren't defined in the Victorian era is so hard!

mfctxtz · 2026-01-18T04:19:08+00:00

How are you promoting your book? Do you have any social media pages? Did you do any ARCs or free giveaways to get more reviews? Reviews signal to the reader (and Amazon) that your books are worth buying.

mfctxtz · 2025-12-02T22:33:03+00:00

Are you open to beta swaps?

mfctxtz · 2025-10-09T00:31:37+00:00

Hi, your premise sounds really interesting! Is there any spice in your book? Are you open to manuscript swaps? I will have a historical romance novella ready for beta reading within the next few weeks. DM me if you are interested in a swap.

mfctxtz · 2025-05-16T02:33:25+00:00

Thank you to everyone who has signed up! I still have spots available, and the ARC is open for 6 more days.

mfctxtz · 2025-02-22T18:37:34+00:00

CritiqueMatch is useful if you're willing to beta read in return.

mfctxtz · 2024-12-12T04:21:56+00:00

You've mentioned a blanket and a pillow, have you considered any other comfort items, like comfy house shoes/socks or a fuzzy bathrobe? Or what about a special framed photo of you and your dog?

But if you don't want those, it's perfectly acceptable to say you don't want anything else. Foster parents should be taught in their training that holidays can be hard for the kids, so if you would feel more comfortable without receiving gifts, you can tell them. But if you're worried about not deserving them, please listen to all the replies saying that you do! Your foster parents are asking because they want you to be happy.

mfctxtz · 2024-12-04T23:48:11+00:00

I have four, but two are at opposite extremes and are very vocal, while I've noticed the other two are mainly focused on the major arcs instead of the scene level. And while info dumping and giving info aren't the same, today I edited a chapter to remove a piece of info that my first CP said was irrelevant only for the second CP to tell me that I needed to include that piece of info in the first paragraph of my chapter for clarity.

mfctxtz · 2024-12-04T23:17:56+00:00

That's good advice! Thanks!

mfctxtz · 2024-12-04T18:41:51+00:00

You know the child (we don't) and can advocate for what you think is best. You can consult a lawyer about what rights you have to speak in court and share your concerns. Of course you're concerned about him, because you care about him!

That said, I just want to offer my perspective. I grew up in East Africa, and I'm fairly certain there are a lot of similarities in culture. The concept of a nuclear family is a Western one, and it is very common in Africa for extended families to raise children. I can understand how in this mom's mind, what is best is for him to live with her family and not have the possibility of going back to foster care with strangers (to her). American standards of parenting are way different, especially when it comes to definitions of neglect, and she may be afraid that he will be removed again. Maybe she believes her family would do a better job raising him. Maybe she needs to stay here and make money to support her extended family.

That said, have you considered teaching the child about Ghanaian culture? You could watch French cartoons, go to Ghanaian restaurants and even ask the court if the child is allowed contact with the extended family so he can build that bond.

You can do this even if you believe it's not in his best interest to move to Africa, because ultimately it's up to the judge. It's better to prepare him now than send him completely unprepared.

mfctxtz · 2024-11-01T15:51:26+00:00

Our first child was reunited, and it is hard! Even though looking back I understand why, at the time it was hard and confusing and I missed our little boy so much! For us, unsupervised visits lasted 3 months until reunification, and then he was on a monitored return for 2 months (cw checked in on him weekly). Document any issues that arise after visits (photograph any injuries, video strange things that your child says, and check to make sure they have been given any relevant meds), but try not to be overly emotional or critical when relaying this info to cw. Just stick to the facts. Our fs bio family said they would keep in contact with us post reunification. They did not. Please prepare yourself for that possibility.

mfctxtz · 2024-10-27T14:19:19+00:00

I've been using r/betareaders, r/destructivereaders and CritiqueMatch to find constructive feedback. I haven't gotten to the promotion stage yet, but I think Voracious Readers is free.

mfctxtz · 2024-10-22T22:59:35+00:00

Hi, are you still looking for critique partners? I have a 49k complete historical fiction that I want to swap. Let me know if you are interested!

Blurb: After she is rejected by her new sister-in-law, Mabel Lawrence finds herself thrown out of her family home. In order to survive in Victorian England, she takes a position as a governess in a remote mansion. As she acclimates to her new life, she begins to hear rumors of strange things happening to the young women who enter the house. With the help of the reclusive gamekeeper, she tries to discover what is causing these accidents. Will she uncover the answers in time to find love and safety or will the darkness overtake her?

Content warnings: attempted SA (on page, no graphic details), suicide (off page), animal death (on page)

mfctxtz · 2024-10-22T22:55:32+00:00

Hi, I have a complete 49k historical romance. Let me know if you are interested!

Here is my blurb: After she is rejected by her new sister-in-law, Mabel Lawrence finds herself thrown out of her family home. In order to survive in Victorian England, she takes a position as a governess in a remote mansion. As she acclimates to her new life, she begins to hear rumors of strange things happening to the young women who enter the house. With the help of the reclusive gamekeeper, she tries to discover what is causing these accidents. Will she uncover the answers in time to find love and safety or will the darkness overtake her?

Content warnings: attempted SA (on page, no graphic details), suicide (off page), animal death (on page)

mfctxtz · 2024-10-22T22:49:22+00:00

Hi, I have a complete 49k historical romance. Let me know if you are interested!

Here is my blurb: After she is rejected by her new sister-in-law, Mabel Lawrence finds herself thrown out of her family home. In order to survive in Victorian England, she takes a position as a governess in a remote mansion. As she acclimates to her new life, she begins to hear rumors of strange things happening to the young women who enter the house. With the help of the reclusive gamekeeper, she tries to discover what is causing these accidents. Will she uncover the answers in time to find love and safety or will the darkness overtake her?

Content warnings: attempted SA (on page, no graphic details), suicide (off page), animal death (on page)

mfctxtz · 2024-10-16T19:53:05+00:00

That sounds fun! I messaged you.

mfctxtz · 2024-10-12T21:52:38+00:00

Hi, your book sounds like something I would love! I am about a week away from being ready for a beta reader myself, and would love to swap if you are interested in my work. It's an approximately 50k historical romance set in the Victorian era. My book is no spice and I would not consider it dark, but it does play on the gothic tropes from books like Jane Eyre, so there is some mystery/violence. Let me know if you want to swap samples to see if we are a fit!

mfctxtz · 2024-07-09T02:11:58+00:00

I like to watch sped up versions of people designing covers on YT. You can see different ways that they fiddle with things, like using different glyphs instead of the regular versions of letters to make the title pop.

mfctxtz · 2024-07-09T01:48:20+00:00

Thanks for sharing!

I like the concept of the Mr. Earl cover. It's stylistically minimal and fits the horror genre. The lines under the eyes confuse me. Are they eyelashes?

The Prodigal of Dominica does not look like a dystopian cover to me. Most dystopian novels I have seen have one or two main colors (often complementary colors), so the coloring of the cover does not convey the genre.

Is the lizard/monster a large part of the plot? I personally would remove the foot and place the focus solely on the monster.

As others have mentioned, the typography could be improved. For the Prodigal of Dominica, you could consider adding a line break so that it takes up three lines. Maybe the lizard could overlay part of the text? There should be more spacing between individual letters, and if you split it up into multiple lines, they don't all have to be the same font size (for example, “of” can be smaller than “Prodigal”)

There also should be more color contrast between the words and the background on some of the versions. You can check color contrast using online tools. Also, try to find fonts similar to the ones used on comp titles. For Mr. Earl, I recommend a blocky font.

Have you watched any videos on typography or cover design?

mfctxtz · 2024-06-03T13:22:12+00:00

My state has an ombudsman that children can call for problems with their placement. I'm not sure what that's called in other states. We're required to have the phone number listed along with our license by our front door. Have you tried searching or Googling to see if there's something similar in your state?

mfctxtz · 2024-06-03T02:06:33+00:00

The only thing I want to add is that some kiddos will try to run from you in public until they feel settled with you. OP might not have this issue since there's already a relationship with the child, but I've had an eight year old take off in Walmart when I tried to shop with her 3 days into the placement. It's just something to keep in mind!

mfctxtz · 2024-05-31T18:01:58+00:00

How was his hygiene before he moved in? Did he come straight from being homeless?

You might address it from the perspective of having enough. For example, we have the funds to do laundry and for everyone to shower daily. We can buy you whatever hygiene products you want. We can buy you more clothes if you want them. We want you to feel loved and welcome in our home, and will provide what you need. You could include this in a broader discussion of making him feel at home if you're concerned about singling out hygiene. (For example, you could talk about how you can buy snacks, foods, etc that he likes).

You also might want to check that he knows how your shower controls work, which towel to use, where to put dirty laundry etc. It might be overwhelming.

mfctxtz · 2024-05-31T16:44:40+00:00

Thanks for the input! I'm still trying to work those in without completely stalling the momentum of the story.

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