The feedback you need
before the rejections
you don't.
Omega Reader is a panel of six expert readers — alpha, beta, developmental, line, copy, and sensitivity — who read your book the way a publishing house would. Specific, line-by-line feedback and the honest reactions friends won't give you. Ready before your next query letter.
First chapter free · No card · Your manuscript stays yours
The morning she finally left, Mara forgot the kettle on — a small, deliberate kind of arson she would not admit to for years. The window over the sink held the kind of grey London light that flattered nothing, and the kettle screamed at her like a dependent.
She did not turn it off. She picked up the suitcase she had packed three Tuesdays ago and walked.
It would be unfair to say she had no plan. She had a plan the way a child has a religion — inherited, fervent, and full of holes.
Mara's mother had taught her to lock a door three times: latch, deadbolt, suspicion. So she locked it three times.
"'A small, deliberate kind of arson' — keep. 'screamed at her like a dependent' — try: 'like something she owed money to.' Sharper claim."
Six readers.
One panel. Your manuscript.
Each reader is a specialist agent with its own prompt scaffolding, reference library, and tone. They read in sequence — the way a publishing house actually works — so notes compound instead of contradict.
Alpha Reader
Gut reaction
Your impatient first reader. Reacts in real time as it goes — boredom, confusion, the moment they wanted to text a friend a line.
Beta Reader
Whole-book pass
Reads the whole book end-to-end before forming an opinion. Tracks promises, plants, payoffs, and which characters they forgot existed.
Developmental Editor
Structure & arc
Three-act, beat sheet, save-the-cat, lester dent — whichever scaffold fits your genre. Returns a structural memo, not just notes.
Line Editor
Sentence by sentence
Trims, tightens, and asks if you meant exactly that word. Trained on the difference between voice and verbosity.
Copy Editor
Grammar & continuity
Style-sheet enforcement, continuity, comma policy. Speaks fluent Chicago, AP, New Hart's, and 'whatever Penguin uses this season'.
Sensitivity Reader
Lived experience
Reads with care for lived experience. Flags assumptions and offers, where useful, alternatives — never demands.
Upload
DOCX, PDF, or paste. We split chapters automatically and never train on your text.
Brief
Tell the readers your genre, comps, audience, and the kind of honesty you want. Brutal is an option.
Read
The panel reads in sequence. Watch margin notes appear live, or close the laptop and come back.
Revise
Accept notes inline, ask a reader to defend itself, or request a second pass on a single chapter.
Paste a sentence.
Get real feedback.
See it work before you sign up for anything. Pick a reader, drop in a line of your own, and get real feedback in seconds.
"She had loved him the way one loves a country one has never visited, with a precision that wore the name of devotion."
I'd been sitting on chapter four for nine months. The developmental memo named the thing I couldn't — the protagonist had no want yet. Three weeks later I was on submission.
I write romantasy and I am tired. Omega's beta gave me a 22-page reader report by morning. My critique partners are wonderful and they are also asleep.
The line editor disagreed with itself when I pushed back. Then it apologised, then it held its ground on one cut. I learned more in that exchange than in my MFA workshop.
Free during beta.
Honest about what's next.
The base panel is open to everyone right now. The Pro Critics are unlocked with a beta code. Paid plans arrive when saved projects and manuscript upload ship — until then, drafts live in your browser and nothing is stored on our servers.
Open Reading
Anyone can use it. No card, no signup required.
- —Six base readers — Alpha, Beta, Developmental, Line, Copy, Sensitivity
- —Up to eight notes per read
- —Honesty dial — Gentle, Level, Brutal
- —Inline revision loop
- —One-line consensus across the panel
- —Drafts auto-saved in your browser
Pro Critics
Add the original NYT-track Craft Critic plus eight other expert critics.
- —Everything in Open Reading
- —The Craft Critic — NYT senior editor + print critic
- —The Acquiring Editor — Big Five P&L
- —The Fiction Craft Critic — MFA-trained
- —The Memoir Editor, Business Skeptic, Self-Help Pragmatist
- —The Structural and Senior Line Editors
Working Writer
When the saved-projects, manuscript-upload, and longer reads ship.
- —Everything in Pro Critics
- —Saved manuscripts with revision history
- —DOCX / PDF upload with chapter splitting
- —Whole-book developmental memo
- —Comp-title matching
- —Priority queue — under 60s for full panel
The ones we'd want answered, too.
Anything else, our concierge editor — a real human, hello — answers within a working day.
Finish the book.
The readers are awake.
One free chapter, no card. The feedback shows up before your coffee finishes brewing.