Seeking Beta Readers — Adult First-Contact Science Fiction — RIGHT BESIDE US — 107k > Likes and Comments

I’m seeking 1–2 beta readers for RIGHT BESIDE US, a complete ~107,000-word adult science-fiction / first-contact thriller.

Physicist Mara Calder is supposed to be shutting down the experiment that has consumed years of her career. Instead, its final run detects structured motion inside a sealed, empty chamber.

What begins as an anomaly becomes evidence of an intelligent civilization occupying the same Earth, at the same coordinates, separated from humanity by a physical phase neither side understood could become mutually observable.

They aren't visitors arriving from somewhere else. They have been here all along.

As observation becomes mutual, scientific discovery turns into a crisis of privacy, sovereignty, family, and control.

I’m primarily looking for candid reader-level feedback on:

• pacing / where interest drops
• character engagement
• scientific clarity
• repetition or over-explanation
• whether the major reveals feel earned
• whether the final act pays off
• whether Book One feels complete
• whether you would genuinely want to read Book Two

This is beta reading rather than proofreading.

Preferred turnaround is approximately four weeks.

The complete manuscript is read privately through BetaShelf. Applicants agree to confidentiality terms before access is granted.

If interested, please reply here or message me and tell me what adult science fiction, speculative fiction, or thrillers you normally enjoy.

Beta-reader application:
https://www.betashelf.com/apply/LQQRP...

M.E. wrote: "I’m seeking 1–2 beta readers for RIGHT BESIDE US, a complete ~107,000-word adult science-fiction / first-contact thriller.

Physicist Mara Calder is supposed to be shutting down the experiment that..."

Hi M.E., I’m currently preparing to launch a small fiction beta-reading/developmental feedback practice, and before doing so I’m completing a very limited pilot with a few authors. What I’d be offering here is a focused opening diagnostic alongside your larger beta round, not a replacement for a complete beta read.

If useful, I’d be happy to read roughly the first 8,000–12,000 words completely free and put together detailed feedback on the areas you mentioned, particularly pacing, character engagement, scientific clarity, repetition or over-explanation, and whether the early discoveries and questions are generating the intended curiosity.

There’s no paid continuation or obligation afterward. I’m genuinely using these few projects to test and refine the process before formally launching it. Once you’ve received the feedback, the only thing I may ask is whether you’d be comfortable giving me a short, honest testimonial about your experience.

Science fiction is also the area where I have the strongest background as both a reader and writer, so this feels particularly up my alley.

If a focused opening critique would be useful alongside the full beta readers you’re seeking, I’d be happy to talk more. Just shoot me an email at djshipps07@gmail.com.