1. Nature of beta reading
Beta reading provides one reader’s honest experience of a manuscript. Feedback may address clarity, engagement, pacing, emotional impact, characterization, plot logic, inconsistencies, worldbuilding, expectations, and other areas requested by the author.
Beta reading is not developmental editing, line editing, copyediting, proofreading, fact-checking, sensitivity reading, legal review, or a guarantee that every error or issue will be identified.
2. Request and acceptance
You must provide accurate information about the manuscript, including genre, word count, stage of completion, requested feedback, deadline, series context, and relevant content warnings. I may ask questions or offer a free 15-minute fit call before deciding whether to accept the project.
I may decline a project when it is outside my genre fit, outside my availability, not sufficiently revised, or not suited to the feedback requested. No service agreement exists until I confirm acceptance and payment is completed.
3. Manuscript condition
The manuscript must be complete for the portion purchased and should have gone through several rounds of self-editing. It does not need professional editing first, but it should be as close to publishable as you can reasonably make it on your own.
If the submitted manuscript materially differs from the description, word count, genre, version, or scope that was accepted, I may pause the service and propose a revised price or deadline, or cancel under the Refund Policy.
4. Packages, word count, and scope
The package, maximum word count, price, estimated report length, included follow-up, and deadline are those shown on the website or confirmed in writing at the time of purchase.
For a manuscript over 90,000 words, each additional 10,000 words adds $20 and 3 business days unless another arrangement is confirmed in writing.
Report lengths are approximate. Inline comments are based on meaningful reader reactions and are not promised at a fixed number or frequency.
5. Payment and manuscript access
Payment is due in full before the deadline is reserved and before reading begins. After payment, you must provide the agreed manuscript through Google Docs with commenter access only, unless we agree to another method in writing.
You remain responsible for keeping your own backup. I am not responsible for loss caused by changes, deletion, access removal, file corruption, or problems in a third-party platform outside my reasonable control.
6. Deadline and delays
Turnaround is measured in business days and begins after both full payment and usable manuscript access are received. A delayed or inaccessible manuscript may delay the deadline, require rescheduling, or lead to cancellation.
You must provide access within 48 hours after payment unless we agree otherwise. If access has not been provided within 7 days and you have not made another arrangement, the project may be treated as abandoned and the payment may become nonrefundable as described in the Refund Policy.
Dates may be adjusted for events outside reasonable control, including illness, emergencies, service outages, or inaccessible files. I will communicate a revised expected date when reasonably possible.
7. Deliverables
By the agreed deadline, I will deliver the included inline comments, written beta report, and completed questionnaire when one was provided and included. Follow-up support begins after you have had time to review the feedback.
Every package includes reasonable email follow-up about the delivered feedback. A full-manuscript package also includes one 30-minute follow-up call when scheduled within the period stated in the project communications.
Follow-up is for clarification of delivered feedback. It does not include rereading a revised manuscript, reviewing newly written scenes, providing editing, or creating a new report unless separately purchased or agreed.
8. Reader independence and feedback
Feedback reflects my personal reading experience and professional judgment as a beta reader. You may accept, reject, or adapt any feedback. You remain solely responsible for revisions, publishing decisions, legal compliance, factual accuracy, and the final manuscript.
I do not guarantee publication readiness, commercial success, acceptance by agents or publishers, positive reviews, sales, rankings, or any particular reader response.
9. Author questionnaire
You may provide a reasonable beta-reader questionnaire. It must be supplied before reading begins unless I agree otherwise. Questions added after reading begins may be declined or may require additional time or payment.
10. Confidentiality and ownership
You retain all copyrights and ownership rights in your manuscript. I receive only the limited permission necessary to access, read, comment on, and store the manuscript for the purpose of providing the service and maintaining appropriate business records.
I treat manuscripts as confidential whether or not an NDA is signed. I am willing to review and sign a reasonable author-provided NDA or beta-reader agreement before manuscript access is granted. Conflicting terms must be resolved in writing before the project begins.
11. Human-only reading and AI
I personally read the manuscript. Manuscript text is not uploaded to AI tools for reading, analysis, summarization, evaluation, rewriting, or generation without your prior written permission.
Administrative tools may be used for ordinary business functions that do not require providing manuscript text, such as scheduling, payment processing, email, file access, or correcting punctuation in my own dictated notes.
12. Content, safety, and right to stop
You must provide accurate content warnings for material that could reasonably affect whether I accept the project. I may stop reading if the manuscript contains undisclosed extreme material, unlawful material, plagiarism, threats, harassment, or content that creates a serious safety or ethical concern.
When a paid project is stopped, the refund outcome depends on why work stopped and how much work was completed, as explained in the Refund Policy.
13. Communication and progress updates
Email is the primary method of communication. You are responsible for providing a working email address and checking messages, including spam or promotions folders.
Automatic progress updates are not included. You may ask for a reasonable status update. Feedback is normally delivered together at completion so that ongoing discussion does not influence the reading experience.
14. Revisions and additional work
The service covers the version submitted at the start of the project. Replacing the manuscript, making substantial changes during the read, requesting a second read, or expanding the requested scope may require a new agreement, price, and deadline.
15. Refunds and cancellations
Cancellations, abandoned projects, inability to complete, and partial or full refunds are governed by the separate Refund Policy, which is incorporated into these terms.
16. Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, my total liability arising from a beta-reading project will not exceed the amount you paid for that project. I am not liable for indirect, consequential, special, incidental, exemplary, or punitive damages, including lost profits, lost opportunities, publication delays, reputational harm, or decisions made from the feedback.
Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot legally be limited.
17. Governing law and disputes
These terms are governed by Texas law. The parties will first make a good-faith effort to resolve a dispute through written communication. Any court proceeding must be brought in a court with jurisdiction in Harris County, Texas, unless applicable law requires otherwise.
18. Entire agreement and changes
These terms, the Refund Policy, the accepted request details, the invoice, and any signed written agreement form the agreement for the project. Project-specific written terms control over conflicting general website language.
Changes to an active project must be agreed to in writing.
19. Contact
Questions may be sent to miagaray@miagaray.com.