Beta Readers and How to Work With Them

If you spend time in online writing communities, as most of us do, you will no doubt hear discussions about beta readers. You may have seen authors having conversations about beta reading, or posting advertisements looking for someone they can bounce their manuscript around with.

But what is a beta reader? And how should you work with one?

Beta readers (sometimes referred to as critique partners) can be a brilliant part of the writing process. They provide a listening ear to match your genre or your goals as a writer, supplying helpful advice on your story and how it reads before you take the plunge into the submissions pool.

But what do beta readers really do? What can you reasonably expect them to provide in the way of feedback? How much can you ask of them, and what’s asking a little too much?

Whether you’re working on a quid-pro-quo basis with another writer by providing feedback on their writing in return, or you’re the only one receiving the critique, it’s important to know the ins and outs of the beta reading process.

In this article, acclaimed author and writing coach Gina Sorell explains the concept of beta readers and the ways in which this kind of working partnership can benefit both writer and reader, along with her best advice from her own experience with the beta reader process.

Showing your work

You did it!

You’ve reached the end of many self-imposed writing deadlines, enjoyed the highs of bringing your great idea to life, and the lows of battling the chorus of naysayers in your head who doubted you along the way. Through sheer will and joy, you’ve taken an idea and built a whole world around it. Your characters are alive and breathing on the page (they feel like friends!), their world is vivid (you’d swear it was real!), their stakes are high (finally!), their dialogue sparkles (it still makes you laugh!), and their trials and tribulations are heartbreaking (you are brought to tears every time!).

At last, you’ve reached the end of your first draft. You’re elated, exhausted, triumphant, and eager to talk to someone other than yourself and the voices in your head about your writing. After living with your pages for so long, you’re ready for a beta reader.

What exactly is a beta reader?

They are not your partner, spouse, parent, assorted family members, or any other person who has your back and champions everything you do because they love you. Don’t get me wrong, we need those people. They are invaluable supporters, crucial morale-boosters, and passionate cheerleaders. They should be cherished—but they should not be relied on for constructive feedback on our writing.

So, let’s take a moment to discuss exactly what a beta reader is and how best to use them.

• A beta reader is  a helpful reader.
• A beta reader is not  a professional editor.

Often, beta readers are avid readers or fellow writers who have a deep appreciation for books. Some may even be published or have worked in publishing, but they are not professional editors. They are not reading your work to offer a comprehensive critique, and they are not developmental editors or line editors. They also cannot be expected to act as sensitivity readers, which—like the other types of editing just mentioned—is an important service provided by a paid professional who is qualified in their specific field.

Your beta reader is reading your work to give you helpful, focused feedback. Any other kind of feedback at this stage could be very damaging to where you are in your writing process. Therefore, knowing exactly what you need from a beta reading relationship is essential to its success.

How to find beta readers

Finding the right beta reader can take some time, but there are lots of places you can look. You can find readers in workshops, critique groups, Facebook groups where you hang out with other writers, book clubs, or online writing courses. Fellow writers you meet at book events can often be ideal readers; it doesn’t hurt to ask.

Subjective friends who are avid readers with similar tastes can be another good place to start. If you’re in a local writing group or online critique group, you might consider approaching someone whose work you admire to consider being your beta reader. New author meet-ups can also be a great way to find beta readers and expand your community of writer friends.

Here at The Novelry, we have a wonderful online community of fellow writers, and people are free to post on The Novelry Live if they are looking for a beta reader or offer to be one for someone else.

Five ways to establish a successful beta reading relationship

Use these five tips as a guide to help you establish a successful relationship with your beta reader.

1. Frame the feedback
2. Avoid general questions
3. Focus on a section
4. Get specific
5. Stick to the script

Frame the feedback

Knowing what you are looking for from your beta reader is important. Getting general feedback on your writing is not enough; you want to frame it. To start, focus on a few craft issues you are curious about, such as pacing, character development, plot, or setting, and have your reader stick to those parameters.

Avoid general questions

Try not to ask things like:

• What do you think?
• Did you like it?
• Is there anything that you’d change?

General questions like these may sound useful, but they open the door to generic answers and lots of personal opinions. Fiction is subjective; while everyone is entitled to their opinion as much as the next average reader, an overall opinion is not what you’re looking for. An open-ended question invites an open-ended response like, ‘Well, what I would have done is...’ or ‘It would be better if you did it like this…’

No! That is not what you need at this stage. Your novel is still a work-in-progress; any feedback you receive should support that progress. You need actionable feedback from beta readers, not feelings.

Focus on a section

As this is the first time you’ve shared your work with someone, go slow. (If it is not the first time, and you’ve shared your writing with someone while still in early or first draft, that person is known as your alpha reader. At The Novelry, we don’t recommend sharing your precious work at first draft. At this stage, you are writing to tell yourself the story, not other people, and feedback at this very early stage can be damaging to your morale. Our blog on when to get feedback on your work explains this in greater detail.)

Try starting with a section of your work, like the first three chapters, and ask your beta reader questions to help you target specific areas you can work on. Having parameters in place supports both writers and beta readers.

Get specific

I am the first to admit that I need reassurance from my beta readers when I share my work. A pat on the back, a gold star, a kind recognition that all those hours spent in front of my keyboard, mainlining coffee and consuming an endless supply of sugar-laden bribes and rewards, were worth it.

Should I need outside validation? No.

Am I human? Yes.

And because I am not a robot devoid of feelings and will never fully recover from good student syndrome, I have a very specific first question:

What did you love about the story?

Asking this helps both the writer and the beta reader. It sets the tone and keeps things positive. It allows us to speak about the story as something separate from ourselves.

If you ask your beta reader what they loved about your story and they respond with ‘Nothing,’ then chances are, they are not the right person to be your beta reader. I’d also argue they are not the most supportive of people, and you should resume your search for a good beta reader who is genuinely interested in helping writers!

Stick to the script

After receiving my much-needed dose of validation, I stick to the questions I have prepared in advance for my beta readers to help fine-tune the feedback. Some of these include:

• Did the first line get your attention?
• Was there anything that threw you out of the story?
• Was there anything that confused you?
• Did you find the characters engaging/relatable?
• Did you find the characters/archetypes clear?
• Was it clear what the characters were doing?
• Was it clear where the characters were?
• Did anything the characters say or do feel out of place?
• Was there anything that you found confusing?
• At which points did you feel an emotional impact?
• Did the pacing work for you?
• Did you buy into the world?
• Was there anything that you wanted to read more about?

Questions like these help to keep the feedback on your story. Remember, this isn’t about you. It’s about the work. The idea isn’t to be everyone’s favorite writer; it’s to ensure that what you set out to accomplish with your story is on the page.

Knowing a good beta reader’s strengths

What you ask your beta reader is as important as who you ask to be one. Ideally, your beta readers will enjoy the kind of books you write, read in your genre, be up to date on recent publications, and make good use of their library card. Or, if they don’t write or read what you do, you’ve chosen them because you think they have good taste, an open mind, an appreciation for the craft, and a talent that can be applied to an aspect of your book that you’re looking to address specifically.

For example, if you’re writing horror, I’m not the reader for you. But if you’re writing horror and struggling with making your dialogue sound natural, I’m your gal as a beta reader, because dialogue is one of my strengths.

One of my beta readers is a very literary writer. He’s extremely intelligent, very serious, and has an elegant, spare style. When I read his work, I know he has deliberated over every word on the page. As much as I admire his prose and precision, he admires my humor and accessibility. I can be assured that he will carefully read my manuscript, and I trust that if something doesn’t come across the way I hoped, it’s because it needs more work.

Get specific about those strengths

Just as a writer won’t be all things to all people, neither can a beta reader. Over time, I’ve come to lean into specific strengths that my beta readers offer. For example, another friend is incredible at writing settings, which I always need to take more time with. If I ask her, ‘Did you know where my characters were in this opening scene?’ she might say, ‘Sure, in a coffee shop, in a small town, somewhere.’

Busted.

Even though I can see exactly where my characters are, here my beta reader is giving feedback that tells me I need to do more work establishing the where and when for the reader. I need to do a better job of setting the scene. I need to go further and ask myself: what kind of coffee shop, in which small town? Maybe the restaurant was the last diner standing at the edge of the Hudson Valley, where the tables, still sticky with maple syrup from the pancake breakfast, are packed so tightly together that on this day, my main character could hear the man on her right chewing his pastrami sandwich and the woman on her left crying softly into her soup?

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Patience is key

When someone offers to read your work, establish how much time they have available so you aren’t refreshing your inbox on the hour, wondering where your feedback is. Your beta reader is generously giving their time, so don’t abuse it—and wait until you are ready.

Fresh eyes are the best eyes, so always ensure you are putting your best work forward. Even the most careful reader will miss something if they are asked to read the same chapter ten times with slight changes in each version.

Finally, remember that finding the right beta readers can take time. It’s like dating; you have to find the right fit, so start looking around. And when you do find that special someone, remember to review these five tips before you begin!

Happy writing!

Write your novel with coaching from Gina Sorell

If you’re writing contemporary or book club fiction, romance, or women’s fiction and you’d love to hear what an acclaimed published author thinks about your idea, look no further. Join The Novelry and you can work on your novel with Gina, a wise and thoughtful writing coach.

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