Role Description
The TYWI Beta Reading program pairs young and emerging writers who have completed an early but cohesive draft of a full-length manuscript (including fiction, poetry, and non-fiction) with a group of volunteer beta readers. Young writers aged 12-28 can request beta readers for free by submitting our request form, which is open for a couple weeks every quarter (three months).
The Beta Reading External Director helps bring awareness to our volunteer services, maintain the beta reader request form, work with authors to collect information about their manuscript including content warnings and eligibility, and organize a list of projects every quarter for volunteers to select from. They also stay engaged with these young writers throughout the process, ensuring they maintain a safe and productive experience. The External director works closely with the Beta Reading Internal Director, who organizes the matching process between volunteers and the projects. They also work closely with our creative and marketing team to help find potential young authors looking for beta readers, and any partner organizations that want to support our initiative.
Responsibilities
Time commitment: Low season is 1 hour, median is 3 hours, busy period is 7 hours a week. Busy periods are at the start and end of a quarter (once every 3 months).
Before the quarter begins (3-4 hours a week):
- Work with marketing to advertise our beta reading services, communicating the application open and close windows early, devising strategies for outreach to ensure a steady inbound of project requests.
- Reach out to partner organizations to evangelize our services to groups of writers who may not be aware, including TYWI’s Chapter programs.
- Manage the project intake form, including responding within 1 week of an author submitting a request. Communicate expectations and timelines clearly to the young author.
- Collecting and compiling information from the author, including their blurb, a couple chapters of their manuscript, content warnings, their feedback form, and link to the full piece with edit access. Directors do not need to read every manuscript, but should read the first chapter.
Beginning of quarter (5 hours for quarter launch week, 1 hour for every week in the quarter)
- Work with the Internal Director to translate the author’s request into a format suitable for volunteer matching
- Connect the author with their group beta readers and expected timelines. Communicate with the authors if the timeline slips.
- Receive feedback, if any, from authors, and work with the beta reading directors and external directors to communicate that
End of quarter (5 hours for end of quarter week, .5 hour for every week after):
- Work with Internal Director to ensure all authors have received feedback from their readers, and wrap up the project.
- Collect author feedback and a testimonial for every author, including some public that can be used in marketing
- Add the author to a TYWI alumni newsletter that goes out once a quarter, working with Alumni lead to maintain. Maintain a form where authors can submit themselves for spotlights and provide updates on the status of the manuscript so we can celebrate their progress or success.
Benefits
- Certified volunteer hours
- Gain leadership experience at a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization
- Collaborate closely with the TYWI internal board, inheriting a writing and reading community
- TYWI Internal team benefits, including early access to applications, free passes to paid events, and exclusive events and services. Access to TYWI community discord server, only for volunteers and board members.
