Testimonials
This past month, Sue helped me parse my 145k Fantasy novel. The book is a massive project, but she paid close attention to details and asked insightful questions about character motivation, magical consistency, and plot logic. I was able to see where I needed to be clearer to ensure the reader kept track of many moving elements. In addition, Sue was kind, quick with her turnaround, and accommodating when it came to questions I had about her commentary. I can’t recommend her work enough. Thanks Sue!
Elijah
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Sue is everything I look for in an editor. I worked with her on my blurb for an upcoming novel and, though the blurb was short, she put a great deal of thought into her feedback. I can very much tell that Sue cares greatly about her work and desires to make your writing the best it can be for you--rather than turn it into somebody else's.
I would 100% recommend her if you're looking for a copyeditor, and I'll definitely be pursuing her services again in the future.
HG Birde
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Sue is an absolute pleasure to work with! I used her beta reading services for my upcoming dark fantasy novel, and it was a great experience. She is meticulous, thorough, and highly professional--she'll highlight what is working as well as what needs more work, and she's not disparaging with her comments. I never got the sense that she wanted to turn my story into something else but rather help it become the best version of itself.
On top of this, from our conversations, I could tell that she is passionate about her work and genuinely enjoys reading critically and working with her clients. I've already booked her a prequel story and would absolutely love to do so again for future projects. If your project is a fit, I would definitely recommend her to anyone looking for an experienced beta reader who will give you in-depth feedback.
HG Birde
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Working with Sue has been a very positive experience. From our first interaction Sue was responsive and professional, always clear about timelines and deliverables. At the end of her assessment she provided feedback that was constructive and actionable.
Sue has a sharp eye for details and inconsistencies that may pass overlooked by the average reader. She will normally bring attention to these points by asking a question which suddenly uncovers a disconnect in the elements of the setting or the way the characters interact. Other times she will highlight the specific parts of the manuscript that require a reassessment.
Beyond Sue’s ability to identify errors and improvement opportunities, I found Sue particularly good at describing the things that did work for her as a reader. Often betas focus too much on the development points, leaving the writer clueless about which elements of the story (or which specific parts of the manuscript) helped in building a connection with the characters or maintaining the tension and flow.
Overall it has been a pleasure working with Sue and I would recommend her to anyone looking for an experienced beta reader.
Jaime
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I contracted with Sue McKerns with both beta and proofreading for my first-in-series space opera, Half Human. She delivered with meticulous professional integrity! McKerns' services are the best value I've found my entire writing career. She goes above and beyond. I plan to use Otterville Overhaul for all my future proofreading needs.
John Hundley
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Sue started beta reading for me last year before she started her business and was fantastic. I was happy to hear she was going to go pro and I have continued to support her on her journey. She is a great communicator which is very important to me. This last book I published, she beta read then, right before I was ready to publish and had made some changes, some of which she had suggested, I sent it in for her to proofread. She did a fantastic job and it gave me the confidence to publish the book once I made the proper edits. I believe she is passionate about what she does and I appreciate her working with me.
Helen G Huntley www.authorhelenhuntley.com
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I just finished working with Sue for the first time, and it won't be the last! She went above and beyond with her insightful comments in the draft I sent her, and her summary was spot on. Scheduling was easy and the turn-around was quick. There was good, timely communication throughout the process. I highly recommend her services!
John Hundley
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After making significant changes to my first chapter, I needed another set of eyes to read it over with a fresh perspective (someone other than a critique partner who has read countless versions). Sue's comments were not only insightful, but she also helped me spot something that I hadn't thought of. She left comments in the MS itself and also wrote up a detailed reader report, which identified plot holes & logic, flow/tension, POV, continuity/consistency, main character, and MORE. There were about 5+ other categories she made notes on! I found this super helpful and while other betas have broken down their reports in similar ways, from my experience at least, I really preferred this breakdown because it highlighted many of my main concerns as a writer. Thank you, Sue!
S.R. Masterson
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Sue provided everything I was looking for out of a beta reader. She wrote me a beta report of all the things that work in the story and could be improved upon, and did something very important, which was separate her own thoughts from what she thought general audiences might enjoy, which gave me great perspective. Additionally, she addressed my specific concerns that I'd asked her to cover, and I could tell she wasn't just 'filling in sections,' rather, her criticisms and advice was genuine and well thought out.
In addition to this report, she also went through my document and added in line comments on particular lines, paragraphs, and chapters. This took me from generality to specific, and helped me see exactly where I could improve, rather than the macro-level concepts that I could do better at. To me, these comments were even more helpful than the beta report.
I'd highly recommend Sue as a beta reader!
-Brad Thomas
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I have worked with Sue on various numbers of books of different genre and she is always honest, professional and friendly. I would highly recommend her ( and I have) to anyone needing a good beta reader who not only cares but knows what she is doing.
Helen G Huntley The Pretense of Control
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Wow! I couldn't be more delighted I found Sue to Beta read my second in the series novel. I handed her a fifty lb sack of words (154,000 of them), and she handed me back a wonderfully concise, very diplomatic "I'll tell you what you need to hear" report in a very timely, ahead of schedule turnaround. It is clear to me she read every word of it. She picked up on even the more subtle references.
Great Beta Reader! I would not hesitate to recommend her services.
Sue is great to work with. She responds quickly and I could tell she took an interest in my novel. Her comments were 'on-point' and I had to laugh out loud at some of them. Her diplomacy nonetheless drove home the points she wanted to get across. It was clear she wanted to help make my work the best it could be.
Thanks so much, Sue
GL Cramb, author
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Sue just proofread my novel for me and she did a fantastic job. She's very professional and is always willing to go the extra mile to make sure she does it right. If you have a question, she'll answer it right away and makes you feel like your manuscript is important to her. It was great working with her and would do it again. Thanks Sue!
Rebecca Twilley
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I had the pleasure of working with Susan on my novel, "Laviro and the Fate of the Universe."
One of the reasons I opted for Susan, was because she mentioned that she wasn't going to tell me what I wanted to hear but what I needed to hear. If anyone aspires to become an accomplished writer, it is imperative to find someone who will tell it like it is.
Although Susan saw some issues in my manuscript that she brought to light, she did it in an appropriate and respectful way. Nothing she said made me feel bad or belittled as a writer.
I could tell Susan read everything with a keen eye. She caught a lot, if not all, of the hints I dropped. I've had betas skim before, and Susan is not one to skim anything.
I had a ton of fun reading her comments. (I definitely giggled some.) I appreciated all of her compliments and, equally, her pointing out my potential plot holes and issues readers may have.
Susan was always quick to respond, answered all of my questions, and gave me lots of valuable feedback.
I highly recommend using her as a Beta Reader and exploring the other services she offers.
I'll definitely be hiring her again in the future! :)
It was great working with you, Sue! I know I'll request your services again! Thank you so much for all the time, thought, and effort you put into Beta Reading for me! It was a wonderful experience! :)
Nicole Bible
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I have not used a beta reader that I didn't know previously, but Sue made it a very enjoyable experience! They gave me feedback well before the deadline in a short, professional report and answered the questions I had posed in my instructions. Not only were the comments helpful, but Sue also gave plenty of praise in addition to the suggestions. I would definitely work with Sue again if given the opportunity.
Aveda Vice avedavice.com
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I asked Sue for a review of a short story (5K words) that I was looking to submit quickly. She provided my story back with notes in the margins, noting questions and feedback, and a professional report that gave me all the immediate information I needed to polish my work for my submittal. The report was timely (the turnaround was completely WAY before she said she'd get it back to me even), contained great insight about how she connected to the story and the characters, and was exactly what I needed.
I highly recommend Sue as a Beta reader to get you clear, honest, feedback on your work.
Jocelyn Montana
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Sue was wonderful to work with. She was very efficient and detailed. I received a thorough report back from her that helped me improve my story greatly. I would enjoy working with her again.
Ruby Pine, author
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I was looking for a beta reader for a short story on a deadline, and Sue volunteered to read it. I was impressed by her quick turnaround and the completed detailed worksheet of the breakdown of my work. She provided feedback on the hook, plot holes, and logic, flow, and tension, point of view, continuity and consistency, characters from the main to the secondary, and pinpointed aspects other readers had not picked up on. Sue also provided feedback on believability, info dumps, complex scenes, ending, overused or repeated words, trigger warnings, and of course, she gave her overhaul final thoughts. All in all, I couldn’t have asked for a better beta reader and such short notice. Thanks, Sue!
Roxanna Cross
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Sue was very pleasant to work with, always kept me up-to-date on how things were going and provided me with a detailed report on the promised date. She noticed everything from small details to broader themes and offered helpful suggestions for improvement and fixes. I would be happy to work with Sue again in the future.
Thomas
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Sue my Beta reader was exceptionally professional in her reading, feedback and reports. Her observation and keen eye to detail gave me inspiration and direction towards the changes I wanted to make to improve the story, character’s and plot. I would highly recommend her to any and all writer’s I come across in the future with absolute confidence. She is an asset to any writer who also worked well as part of a team, seamlessly navigating between a UK writer and an American Editor. Sue allowed me to view my manuscript from the reader’s perspective which gave me valuable insight into what I wanted to deliver to the eventual mass reader, I can safely say that we will be working together in the near future.
Author - Sarah.J.Primrose
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I had Susan P. McKerns beta read my new novel. She caught typos, poor word choices and inconsistencies that other readers had missed. She’s fast, enthusiastic and discerning. I highly recommend Susan’s services.
Alex Austin, author of Nakamura Reality, published by The Permanent Press, 2016. Nakamura Reality received a Publishers Weekly starred review which described it as “powerful and moving.”
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I was looking for a beta reader to read my manuscript, gauge response to the themes I was exploring, and provide reaction to my characters and my world about halfway through writing my book. As a new writer to omegaverse (a paranormal romance subgenre) there are specific dynamics in this genre and I wanted to make sure my book was going to meet expectations.
I received all that and much, much more when I worked with Sue. She provided comments in the margins of my manuscript that provided immediate reader reaction (which as a writer is exactly what I wanted to know), questions, and thoughtful feedback. In addition, Sue provides a report on the manuscript with her overall feelings and impressions and specific responses to questions. Her report was detailed and gave me great direction to get to the next step in my book. She told me when she would be able to work on the manuscript and when she would get it back to me and met all the timelines she outlined.
Additionally, I followed up with Sue on some ideas that I had later based on her feedback and she wrote me back promptly and was willing to be a soundboard as I worked through some of the questions she raised. This was invaluable to me as I explored how to develop the book. I highly recommend working with Sue who is professional, expedient, and will be able to help you get your book to the next level!
Jocelyn Montana
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Sue was great at pointing out problems both big and small and was excellent at communicating with me. She was especially helpful with description details and her comments about believability issues, logic and plot holes were great. Overall, she was an amazing beta reader and gave me really good feedback to use in my next draft.
Rebecca Twilley, author of Mate Hunt
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I have nothing but good things to say about Sue. From promptly reading my manuscript, to offering insightful feedback on my synopsis, she is one of the best at what she does.
When she first offered her service to me, she mentioned that she was looking for something different. It gave me pause because I was unsure of what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised. She read my manuscript within the following days and responded with much more information that I had anticipated. She pointed out the discrepancies between characters, differing points of view, and even offered suggestions on how to change it.
She also pointed out that I still needed to have another look at my grammar and spelling, reminding me that no one is perfect at proofreading. That being said, she did so in a very constructive way.
A true professional to work with, I would recommend her above many others, and she would remain my go-to for any help I may need in the future. Anyone looking for criticism, suggestions, or just a quick peruse, would be foolish to overlook the professional guidance of Sue.
K. Forsyth, Author Kf1980NY@gmail.com
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I have used Susan McKerns as a beta reader and was very happy with her work. She is very thorough, honest, and professional. She understands the writing process as well as the perspective of a reader. I would highly recommend her services to anyone who has need of them.
Helen G. Huntley, author www.authorhelenhuntley.com