Two things happened recently that got me thinking about beta readers.
First, I opened up a manuscript to edit, and saw that every single sentence of dialogue was punctuated incorrectly. There were other blatant grammatical errors, mostly things that could have been easily corrected before that person sent the book to me to edit, on paid time.
Then, a few days later, I saw a thread on a message board asking how much editors charge for a beta read. And after some investigating, I learned that yes, this part of the book process that I always thought was performed for free is a paid service for some. So I decided to write my thoughts on why beta readers should be free, why they’re important, and how to get the most out of the process.
The Beta Reader Explained
You might be asking yourself, what exactly is a beta reader? Unless you’re a part of a writer’s group or in the publishing industry, there’s a good chance you’ve never heard of the term. A beta reader is someone who reads your manuscript early on in the process. They’re the people you rely on to give you advice on character development, find plot holes, and yes, even point out punctuation and grammatical errors.
In my opinion, a beta reader should be someone who does the work for free. After all, you’re not asking them to actually proofread or do a deep edit of your book. You’re just wanting some feedback to help you start the revision process and improve the overall quality. However, that doesn’t mean their work should go unrewarded. It’s nice to present your beta readers with a gift of some sort, as a thank you for taking the time to read your book. It can be something as some homemade cookies or a gift card to their favorite restaurant.
Finding the Right Beta Readers
It’s not a great idea to ask just anybody to be your beta reader. I heard the advice a long time ago not to ask your mom to be a beta reader, because she’ll just gush about how good your book is and you won’t get any constructive criticism. This is one of the truest things I’ve ever heard.
So if you can’t ask your parents, who can you ask? It’s definitely okay to ask a few friends to serve as beta readers. But be a little choosy in who you hand this responsibility over to. You definitely want to ask friends that are readers themselves. And taking that a step further, ask people who like to read the type of book you’ve written. Romance novels should have a beta read by a person who likes reading romances, so they’ll come to it with an understanding of the genre.
If you’re a member of a writer’s group, you have a wealth of people to turn to for beta reads, because they’ll more than likely need the service at some point and you can return the favor. For non-fiction writers you might find qualified beta readers among your work colleagues.
The Key to a Good Beta Read: Clear Instructions
The whole reason you’re baring your soul to your friends and letting them see your manuscript at this early stage of the process is to get some valuable feedback and point you in the right direction with revisions. Nothing is more frustrating than handing over your book to someone and patiently waiting two weeks, only to get back and email saying, “This was great, I loved it!” At that point, you might as well have asked your mom to read it.
It’s likely that you’re reaching out to people who don’t have much experience with doing what you’re asking them to do as a beta reader. I’ve found the best way to ensure you receive at least some quality feedback is to provide some direction when you send the manuscript out. Here are a few questions to ask your beta readers:
- What character did you relate to most and why?
- Were there any characters that you didn’t like?
- As you were reading, at the end of each chapter were you excited to keep going? Were there points where you lost interest? Where were those?
- For books written from different points of view, were you able to keep track of who was the focus?
- For non-fiction, especially books trying to teach or explain something, ask your beta readers if they were able to understand it clearly.
Who Should Get a Beta Reader?
The answer to this question is: Everyone. Whether you’re planning to self-publish or search for an agent, if you’ve written a children’s book or memoir, if you’re on your first book or your fifth, it’s always smart to get feedback from a few beta readers. It can help you save money when you go to hire a professional editor, because they won’t spend so much time correcting grammar and punctuation (as in my earlier example). And they can help you catch early on some plot holes or lapses in character development.
Using beta readers doesn’t take the place of a professional editor. But it can go a long way toward getting your book in good shape before staring the querying process.
