Helping out

I've decided to be a good neighbor and do some beta reading for other authors on Goodreads. Beta reading is a very useful service for feedback, and many people do it for free but commitment levels vary. For those of you who aren't in the know, a beta reader reads the book before it is released to give the feedback to the author, like those people who pre-screen movies. They are not editors - they point out technical errors if they spot them, but it isn't their job. They mostly look at plot, characters, pacing, etc and can point out issues in things like character development, plot holes, etc. Beta readers were very useful for me, though you probably want more than one because opinion vary and with more readers you can look for problems that are consistent with multiple viewpoints. Just be sure to accept some criticism, though - one complaint of beta readers/editors is that some authors don't take criticism well!