Do I REALLY Need a Beta Reader?
Short Answer? Yes. Several.
If you’ve gone through the entire process of writing a novel, and you’re now in the long, arduous process of editing and revising, you’ve probably considered having someone read your book before you start trying to throw it out into the world.
Beta Readers are an absolutely essential part of every author’s team. There’s no author that should ever go without one. Developers beta-test games, movies have pre-screenings and books should always have someone read them before you’re ready to send them off into the world.
If you hire one(or, if you’re lucky, find someone willing to do it for free, bless their souls), there’s a few things to keep in mind.
What sort of feedback do I want?
There’s a few different periods of writing that a beta reader is useful:
When you are preparing to begin the editing process?
Where are you, on this book? Are you totally finished? Do you have most of it done? Being upfront with your reader is going to inform their feedback, and generally give the highest-quality advice about what direction to take your writing.
If you’re hiring a beta reader rather than just finding one, though, I strongly recommend sending only complete manuscripts — you really don’t want to spend money on something that might change later.
What kind of Beta Readers Do I want?
In my opinion you want, at minimum, three types of beta readers:
An Expert
This beta reader will usually be a developmental editor, industry professional, or author author. Someone with a degree or training. They’ll be able to share the conventional wisdom of the industry, and help you with your mechanics. You may have to hire this person, but it’s definitely going to be worth it in the long run.
These people know what makes books live and die, and they’ll be your best bet for ensuring that your book lives. It’s never a bad idea to get a set of professional eyes on your book, especially before you enter the unending realm of the querying trenches.
A Targeted-Audience Member
These are the hardest to find, but they’ll be the most valuable. Someone in your target audience. (How does your YA Sci-Fi novel read to a 17-year-old in high school? Do your children’s books appeal to actual children? It’s important to see if your book even resonates with your audience. If not, you might want to do a bit of re-tooling.
A Layperson
Give your novel to a personal friend. Their feedback will be pretty biased towards you, of course, who will simply give personal thoughts and critiques, seeing how the population at large will respond to your writing.
This is vital, and should probably be done first, since any glaring plot-holes, pacing issues, or inconsistencies will be brought up pretty abruptly, before you start seeking some more-targeted feedback.
How do I find a beta reader?
There’s a few different ways to find a beta reader, each with their own pros and cons, so it’s important to consider your situation before you start the hunt for someone to read your work.
One of the easiest, and frictionless ways to get some high-quality feedback is if you hire a beta reader. This is, of course, not free, and quality tends to directly correlate with price. Professional editors and even professional beta readers are in quite a large supply in online freelance markets, so the task itself can be daunting.
That being said, many freelance editors would love to work with you to give you some valuable feedback on your work. While not quite a full developmental edit, getting a beta reader is almost always significantly cheaper, and will often provide similar — if somewhat less-complete — feedback.
(Shameless plug: I also offer these services, and would love to read your work, so feel free to reach out to me.)
If you’re looking for an option that’s considerably more free, however, there’s always trusted friends and family that could potentially be helpful. However, keep in mind: they’re going going to be far less-likely to give you honest feedback. Finishing a book is hard work, and they probably won’t be as willing to criticize your efforts the way a professional will.
