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At the end of this tour (which has been amazingly fun, by the way) I am giving away an interesting sort of prize. I’m giving away the opportunity to be a beta reader of the next book in the series, tentatively titled, The Vampire Relationship Guide, Volume 2: Vacations and Transformations.

But what does a beta reader do, exactly? And how is beta reading different than just getting an advanced copy of the book before it’s published? It’s different because as a beta reader, you have the opportunity to change things in the book.

Okay, maybe I overstated that a little. You have the opportunity to tell me what you would change and that input might make me change it—there, that’s better.  Now, this isn’t a Paul Sheldon and Annie Wilkes situation. If I decide to kill one of the characters off (I haven’t), you can’t break my legs and force me into your remote, mountaintop cabin to rewrite it—no matter how much you may want to.

But you can tell me what pulls you out of the story as a reader, what inconsistencies you find, what activities and reactions seem out of character, and what, if anything, screams, “WRONG” to you while you are reading it.

When you are a beta reader, it’s important to know the difference between what is actually wrong with a book and what you simply don’t like. Because creating a story isn’t always just about writing happy stories about ponies who wear flower petals in their hair and kiss each other under the moon. It’s also about struggle, strife, and sometimes—death.

But not my book. It’s just funny. I promise.

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Evelyn Lafont is an author and freelance writer with an addiction to Xanax and a predilection for snark. Her debut novella, is available on , Barnes and Noble and Smashwords.

Make sure to follow all of Evelyn's tour!  Tomorrow she'll be guesting at Romance Book Junkies!