Hello, I'm Jerry Martin and I've been writing for over 13 years now. Writing has been my main hobby for quite a while and I believe that it's one of the greatest pleasures out there. I encourage almost everyone I meet to write as a hobby, forsaking all literary rules until they get a hang of it and to write for no one but themselves. However, publishing your work is a different story altogether and I believe that there are guidelines that must be met before doing so. That's where I come in.

Strange as it sounds, when I read a story, I read it as both a reader and a writer. What I mean by that is while reading your story, I look for a good plot, unique characters that stand out, that sort of thing. I'll be pretending I'm Joe Anybody, looking for a good story I can show my friends and family. On the flip side, I'll also be reading it as Jerry Martin, the writer who's looking for plot holes, inconsistencies, spelling and grammar mistakes, the like. Of course, I'll be pointing out these things to you after I'm finished reading as well as ways to improve them. However, as always, it's up to you whether or not to take this advice before you publish your story.

If you submit your story to me to read, I'll be expecting that it is the final version of the story or a chapter of your story. That is to say, if you're submitting your story to me, I expect it to be the exact chapter you would go and publish if you were to forsake the beta reading services. However, that's not to say I won't revise your story should you realize a mistake or take my advice and change a passage. I expect the story to be legible, no "leetspeak" unless it's one of your character's traits and try to properly format it. I'd rather not read 15 pages of one sentence. Naturally, I expect it to comply with the Fiction Press Terms of Service.

Also, please remember, I'm not condemning your work when I point out flaws. Rather, I'm trying to make it the best it can be. I'll never tell you flat out "this section sucks, scrap it" and although I've been told I can be harsh at times, I'll always tell you why something needs changing rather than flat out telling you to change it.

I hope to work with you soon on your story!

My strengths as a writer lie within the English language. I'm very perceptive when it comes to spelling and grammar and usually notice mistakes quickly. I'm pretty good at offering different ways of saying the same thing as to eliminate redundancy.

I usually don't pay attention to details within stories. I remember in my early years as a writer, I would jump from scenario to scenario, usually ignoring details and filler and getting "straight to the action". I've been working to overcome that flaw, but it's still there somewhat. So although I can put details into stories or point out where details would be needed, I'm not as good as some of the other writers out there.

Also, it's been a good five years since I studied poetry so if you're looking to me to critique details or styles of poetry, alas, I'm a bit rusty and may not be the best person to turn to.

I love pretty much every kind of story out there. However, my favorites would have to be comedy, adventure, romance and drama. If you happen to be a writer of one of these genres, please send me your story. However, that's not to say I would turn down a story of another genre.

Anything where the amount of swearing and dirty material outweigh the normal material. For example, if the whole plot is to meet a girl so you could "bang her", breaking the world record for uses of the F word please find someone else to review your story. However, everything else is fair game.

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