Become a Beta Reader for My New Novel, Let Me Be Your Ghost

Every chapter of Let Me Be Your Ghost now has a publish date.

The rough draft was done a few weeks ago. Now the first editing pass is finished too, and I’ve scheduled the entire rest of the novel on my Substack (!!!). The whole book, queued up and waiting to find you. It feels completely surreal, and it does every single time I finish a big round of edits. This is the moment a book stops being a private thing between me and my document, and it’s exciting and scary all at once, because it means I finally get to share it with you.

I’m looking for beta readers for my new novel, Let Me Be Your Ghost — a romantic thriller about a memoir ghostwriter, a billionaire with secrets, and a murder mystery. Beta readers get the full draft free, and applications are open now on a rolling basis.

What Is a Beta Reader?

A beta reader is someone who reads a book in draft form, before publication, and tells the author the truth about it. What’s working, what drags in the middle, which character you’d take a bullet for, which twist you saw coming from space. Authors fold all of that into the final rewrite, which means beta readers leave fingerprints on the finished book. Fitting, for a murder mystery.

Beta readers are an important early voice in my books. My nonfiction book Write for Money and Power had 90+ beta readers, and they made it a sharper, better book. (One of my beta readers once dubbed me “Girl Boss Barbie,” which I’ve decided to take as a compliment.) Now it’s this novel’s turn.

If you want the full rundown of how this world works (and how to get free early copies of books from your favorite authors), I wrote a guide on how to become an ARC reader or beta reader.

How Beta Reading Works for This Book

Here’s the deal: I send you the entire draft of Let Me Be Your Ghost, you read it for free, and you tell me what you think. That can mean detailed notes in the Google Doc, or just three things you liked and three things you think could be improved. As much or as little feedback as you want — it’s a pretty low lift.

The one thing I’m asking for is speed. I’m looking for readers who can get through the book in a week or two and send feedback within 30 days, because your notes will feed directly into the rewrite pass I’m working on right now.

As a thank you, beta readers who finish the book get:

• Your name in the acknowledgments of the finished book
• A free copy of the finished ebook when it comes out
• Priority access to my future books — first in line for early reads from here on out

Submissions are rolling and I’m reviewing applications as they come in, so the earlier you apply, the sooner the book lands in your inbox.

The Book I’ve Been Carrying Since Hollywood

I started developing this story back in my TV writer days in Hollywood, and it’s been with me ever since.

Let Me Be Your Ghost is a romantic thriller: a romance novel with thriller elements and a murder mystery to sleuth through. Lola Whitman is a memoir ghostwriter who’s built a career disappearing into other people’s stories. Then she takes on the memoir of Ezekiel Crane, a billionaire tech CEO who’s charming, dangerous, and hiding something.

So is she.

There’s a lot of my real life in Lola’s world (I’m a ghostwriter, I live in San Francisco, and I’ve worked with plenty of tech professionals), so the details are true to life — and wildly fabricated beyond the basic premise. The murders, I promise, are fully invented.

At heart, I’m a romance reader who loves thrillers and murder mysteries, so this book is me checking every one of my own boxes. The romance is the center point, though, and every pass I make on the manuscript is about turning that dial up further. If that’s your kind of book, I’m excited for you to read it.

Read the First Four Chapters Free

Want to meet Lola before you commit? The first four chapters of Let Me Be Your Ghost are free to read on my personal Substack, Sutoscience, where the novel is serializing chapter by chapter. Start with Chapter One: The Ghost, or browse the full series page to catch up on everything released so far.

Serializing this book has been ~ so much fun ~ and watching new readers find Lola and Ezekiel every week is my favorite part. If you missed the original announcement, here’s my post introducing the serial. And if you’re a writer curious about publishing fiction this way, start with my guide to serialized fiction on Substack.

FAQ: Beta Reading for Let Me Be Your Ghost

What is Let Me Be Your Ghost about?

Let Me Be Your Ghost is a romantic thriller about Lola Whitman, a memoir ghostwriter hired by Ezekiel Crane, a billionaire tech CEO with as many secrets as she has. The romance is the center of the book, with a murder mystery to sleuth through alongside it.

Do I need experience to be a beta reader?

No. If you read romance, thrillers, or mysteries and can tell me honestly what you loved and what lost you, you’re qualified. Any level of feedback works, from detailed notes in the Google Doc to a short list of favorites and fixes.

How long do beta readers have to finish the book?

I’m asking beta readers to read the novel in a week or two and send feedback within 30 days of receiving the draft, since notes go straight into my current rewrite. Applications are rolling, so apply whenever you’re ready to commit.

I can’t wait to share this story with you. If you read the perks list and started mentally clearing your week, go apply — the book is ready when you are.

See you in the story. 🌉