Thank you for being here and for taking part in this closed alpha reading of Comedy, or The Faustine Parable. It means a lot.
Below you’ll find a guide on how to participate and access the novel. Please read it before diving in.
You may have heard of beta reading: that’s when a manuscript has already been through the hands of a publishing house’s editorial team, and you send the polished result out to people who read for a living, hoping their reviews will inspire your editor to finance a good marketing campaign.
Alpha reading is something different. It happens before you’ve even sent your manuscript to a literary agent, and its purpose is to (hopefully!) gather some sound feedback to incorporate into the final draft you’ll eventually submit.
Which is to say: this draft is still subject to change. What I’m asking for isn’t necessarily a list of flaws; it’s your honest experience as a reader.
When you’re done reading, you can submit your thoughts through the feedback pages linked below (there are short surveys to guide you). That said, what I value most is a real conversation, so if we can find the time to just talk about your experience, I’d love that more than any form.
While reading, I’d encourage you to highlight passages you particularly like, and to note or comment on anything that didn’t work for you: a scene that lost you, a line that felt off, a moment where you put the book down. The things I’m most curious about are: your overall impression of the story; whether the pacing felt right, or if there are parts that dragged or felt rushed; what you made of the characters, who you liked, who you didn’t, and what you thought of the protagonist specifically; and which part of the book held your attention most, and why. Themes are worth reflecting on too, though I’m less interested in whether you decoded them and more in whether they landed.
