Kings and Witches - it's complete!

[AlexS]

My fantasy novel, Kings and Witches, is complete at 97,000 words!
Intended as part 1 of the Mistress of the Wastes trilogy, it's a story of personal rivalries and friendships against the backdrop of kingdom conflics and the threat of ancient cataclysm stirring anew.

It's a complex multi-POV narrative combining coming of age, small-town drama, war and courtly intrigue. The setting is fantastic, the people and emotions are real.

I'm currently looking for beta readers. Let me know if you're interested!

 

[Prince of Spires]

congrats on getting it finished! That's an amazing achievement!

Small note, if you're looking for beta readers, this topic should probably be moved to Critique Requests. Though it doesn't matter too much to me, since I never know which subforum I'm at anyway... Unfortunately I don't have much time to beta read for you at the moment. Too much stuff going on.

 

[Genly]

I am happy to give it a beta read. But this will take some weeks, as I have a few things on at present. Hope that is OK.

 

[AlexS]

I am happy to give it a beta read. But this will take some weeks, as I have a few things on at present. Hope that is OK.

Great! Let me know when you're ready to begin, I'll drop you a Google Drive link (I can send PDF or Doc if that's your preference)

 

[queen silvia]

Congratulations on completing a 97,000-word novel that’s a huge achievement, especially for a first installment in a trilogy.

The blend of personal relationships with large-scale political and mythic conflict sounds compelling, and multi-POV stories tend to build strong reader investment when handled well. When you move toward promotion later, that emotional core you mentioned can become a powerful hook for attracting the right audience.

Are you hoping your beta readers focus more on pacing and clarity, or on character arcs and emotional continuity across POVs?

 

[AlexS]

Congratulations on completing a 97,000-word novel that’s a huge achievement, especially for a first installment in a trilogy.

The blend of personal relationships with large-scale political and mythic conflict sounds compelling, and multi-POV stories tend to build strong reader investment when handled well. When you move toward promotion later, that emotional core you mentioned can become a powerful hook for attracting the right audience.

Are you hoping your beta readers focus more on pacing and clarity, or on character arcs and emotional continuity across POVs?

First, I want to know the multiple storylines coexist in harmony and their combination is enjoyable, rather than confusing. Because if that doesn't work, then nothing else matter.
Second, character arcs and emotional continuity and making sure the major emotional beats land as intended.

 

[queen silvia]

First, I want to know the multiple storylines coexist in harmony and their combination is enjoyable, rather than confusing. Because if that doesn't work, then nothing else matter.
Second, character arcs and emotional continuity and making sure the major emotional beats land as intended.

That makes a lot of sense and honestly, those are exactly the right priorities to start with.

If the multiple storylines don’t feel cohesive, everything else becomes much harder to evaluate fairly. Making sure the threads complement each other rather than compete is what allows readers to relax into the story instead of trying to mentally “track” it. When that balance works, the complexity becomes a strength rather than a distraction.


Focusing next on character arcs and emotional continuity is a really solid follow-through. Those emotional beats are what make readers forgive slower sections or dense worldbuilding if they land as intended, the story tends to stay with people even after they finish it.

When you’re working with beta readers, giving them that kind of guidance can actually lead to much more useful feedback, because they know what you’re specifically trying to test rather than commenting at random.

Do you already have a sense of which POVs you’re most uncertain about, or are you mainly looking to see how the whole structure feels to someone coming in fresh?

 

[AlexS]

Do you already have a sense of which POVs you’re most uncertain about, or are you mainly looking to see how the whole structure feels to someone coming in fresh?

The whole structure. And we're going to assume the reader knows nothing except for the 150-word blurb

 

[queen silvia]

The whole structure. And we're going to assume the reader knows nothing except for the 150-word blurb

That’s actually a very strong way to frame it assuming the reader knows nothing beyond the blurb puts you much closer to a real first-time reading experience.

Looking at the whole structure from that angle helps surface things we often can’t see once we’ve lived in the story for so long: where orientation happens too late, where emotional context is assumed, or where a POV appears before the reader understands why it matters. It’s less about whether each thread works on its own, and more about whether the transitions feel intuitive and the momentum carries across perspectives.


If your beta readers are approaching it with only those 150 words in mind, their confusion or lack of it becomes extremely valuable data. You’ll quickly see whether the narrative is inviting them forward or asking them to do too much interpretive work early on.

That kind of feedback is especially useful for multi-POV novels, because it reveals whether the structure is guiding the reader… or quietly testing them.

Are you planning to give your beta readers any specific prompts to respond to as they read, or are you hoping their reactions stay as instinctive as possible?

 

[AlexS]

Are you planning to give your beta readers any specific prompts to respond to as they read, or are you hoping their reactions stay as instinctive as possible?

There are going to be questionaires at certain checkpoints. This is of course not a fass/fail test for the reader, but info-gathering for me - was it understandable that X and Y are connected, did Z affect the reader they way I expected it to, etc.

 

[queen silvia]

There are going to be questionaires at certain checkpoints. This is of course not a fass/fail test for the reader, but info-gathering for me - was it understandable that X and Y are connected, did Z affect the reader they way I expected it to, etc.

That sounds like a really thoughtful way to handle it and I like that you’re clear it’s information gathering, not testing the reader.


Checkpoint questionnaires can be incredibly revealing when they’re framed around experience rather than correctness. Questions like the ones you mentioned whether connections felt clear, or whether an emotional moment landed as intended tend to show you not just what worked, but when the story is asking too much of the reader too soon.

It also gives you something very concrete to compare across readers. If several people stumble at the same point, you know it’s structural rather than subjective. And if reactions vary widely, that can tell you the moment may need clearer emotional grounding rather than more explanation.


What I especially like about your approach is that it respects the reader’s instincts. You’re not interrupting the story constantly, just pausing at natural points to capture their immediate impression which is often the most honest feedback you’ll get.

Are you planning those checkpoints around major POV shifts, or around emotional turning points in the story?

 

[AlexS]

Are you planning those checkpoints around major POV shifts, or around emotional turning points in the story?

Let's say, around points where a subplot has been naturally exhausted and another begins.

 

[queen silvia]

Let's say, around points where a subplot has been naturally exhausted and another begins.

That’s a very natural place to pause, actually and probably one of the most revealing ones.

When a subplot winds down and another takes over, that’s often where readers either feel a smooth handoff… or a quiet sense of disorientation they can’t quite name. Checking in at those moments should tell you whether the transition feels earned, or whether the reader is still emotionally anchored to what just ended.

Those points also tend to expose pacing issues more clearly than chapter-by-chapter feedback. If a reader feels relief, curiosity, or forward pull, the structure is doing its job. If they feel loss of momentum or mild confusion, it usually means the story hasn’t fully prepared them for the shift yet.


What’s smart about using those exhaustion points is that you’re testing flow, not memory whether the narrative current is carrying them onward without resistance.

When you imagine those handoffs, are you aiming for a sense of closure before moving on, or a deliberate unease that keeps tension simmering underneath?

 

[AlexS]

When you imagine those handoffs, are you aiming for a sense of closure before moving on, or a deliberate unease that keeps tension simmering underneath?

It varies. At some points, the reader is expected to feel "ok this is done and we're not coming back to it" and at others "I wonder if we ever come back to it"