Beta Readers
Alpha-readers are those to whom you have shown your manuscript—in part or whole—while still a work-in-progress. You ask your spouse, “How does this scene look?” You present the first chapter to a friend, “Do you want to keep reading?” Or the perennial, “Does the sex sound real?”
The job of the Beta Reader is not to be an editor, but to provide feedback about the story, the plot, the characters, and the ease and enjoyment of the read as if they had purchased the book.
Proofreading—finding errors in spelling, punctuation, capitalization, consistency of tense, etc.— is one of the functions of professional editors. Alpha readers may be asked to weed out spelling and grammatical errors and make suggestions regarding any aspect of your writing, but they are not editors.
Beta-readers should not see unedited versions of your work. They should not have been alpha-readers or have any greater insight into the book than they’d glean from the cover blurb.
Beta-Readers should not be paid. Anyone who reads your book for money should be an editor, not a beta-reader. Coaxing someone to read your book for cash will not elicit a quality response.
Beta-readers should not know you personally enough to unconsciously read your book in your voice. How often has someone relayed a conversation they’ve had with your spouse, sibling, or a mutual friend, and you’ve laughed and responded, “That sounds like her.” It did. We each have a mode of speech, use of words, phraseology, and meter that is characteristic, and we imbue our writing with a dimension of that pattern. When a spouse reads your manuscript, they read it with your voice in their head; it distracts from the work.
Beta-readers should not be anyone you know, or are beholden to someone you know, so that their criticism might be softened with compassion, preventing them from giving the most brutally honest assessment of your work. Your spouse, siblings, parents, relatives of any distance, coworkers, and friends, therefore, do not qualify.
Sometimes we write poorly. If someone doesn’t tell us, we’ll waste irretrievable time on a dead-end project when we should be onto our next work.
You may have the most elegantly edited manuscript, but the story is tedious, trite, too derivative, or some combination thereof. Perhaps the plot is convoluted and impossible to follow. If the work is your first, some of the prime directives may not have been adhered to: you told instead of shown, used generalities rather than specific details, didn’t allow characters to grow, or employed a hackneyed story line, not that experience writers don’t fall into those traps, too.
Unless you anticipate impending end-of-life, you have time to write another. If you do anticipate impending end-of-life, that’s likely a better story than the one you’ve written.
Finding Beta-Readers
Friends of friends and friends of family, not friends and family, are the best and easiest readers to approach.
Solicit friends and family to invite others to read your book. No two people who are more than casual acquaintances in a friend’s or family member’s circle should be invited; you don’t want them discussing your work and feeding off each other. Again, they must not know you.
Advise your inviters that the most important qualifier for invitees is they should be readers who enjoy at least one book a month.
How many Beta-Readers? This is the first round. Three would be great, but even one avid reader can make a significant contribution.
Provide Beta-Reader Agreements to those who will ask others to read your book. It is not something they sign, but provides an explanation of what readers should expect and what you hope for.
Working Title
by Author A. Author
How many times have your read a book and wished you could have offered suggestions to the author? Here’s your opportunity.
My book is a [375 page espionage novel set in cold-war Europe]. I understand that you are an avid reader who enjoys one or two novels each month. I offer you a thrilling story in exchange for your valuable feedback.
However, quite candidly, if you choose to read the work, I would like your commitment to:
- Finish reading it within 30 days.
- Notify me when you’re done so we may discuss by phone or in person your impression of the book.
- Be brutally honest regarding your opinion of the story, how it is told, and how you would rate the presentation relative to other books you’ve read. Whether you find it wonderful or terrible, I need to know the truth.
- While there is no obligation, circling typographical errors or marking passages where the reading becomes difficult would be appreciated. However, I don’t want to distract you from the reading and the enjoyment of the story, so this is entirely optional.
- Contact me if you choose not to complete reading the book.
- Return the book when done.
Below is the proposed blurb for the jacket cover.
Thank you for your time in considering my book. Please contact me directly if you choose to participate so I may send or deliver the book to you.
Author A. Author
Phone, email
Preparing the Manuscript for Beta-Readers
Most readers will want a printed copy:
- Print on 8-1/2″ x 11″ white paper. Inexpensive copy paper is acceptable.
- Margins may vary, but 1″ all around is optimum.
- 12 pt, Times New Roman font.
- Double spaced
- Paragraph indent 0.2″. It is not necessary to bother with other print formatting.
- Title page with the title, a by-line, your phone and email address, and your copyright. It is not necessary to copyright every page.
- Because you will be retrieving the manuscripts and the reader may have written comments on the pages, include a “Prepared for:” line on the title page for reader-specific follow up. Also include, “Please return before:” so there is no confusion about when it should be returned or that it must be returned.
- Number the pages.
- Do not bind.
- If you have the facility to print 2-sided pages, that will reduce the cost of printing and shipping to and from the reader.
Provide a self-addressed, stamped envelope with which the reader will return the manuscript if pick-up is not possible. This may cost a few dollars, but it’s part of the process.
Keep a record of distributed manuscripts. Enter Beta Reader phone numbers with Reader-John Doe in your phone so should they call, you don’t dismiss the call as spam.
Electronic manuscripts
Some readers may prefer to read on their computers or e-readers. Unless you have the expertise to prepare e-reader format—or the services of someone who does—a .PDF file is the best option.
MSWord can Save as a .PDF and it is presumed other word processors and writing applications do as well.
Do Not Re-Read Your Work
until ALL Beta-Reader manuscripts are returned.
This is another rest period.
Interviewing Beta-Readers
Interview Betas as soon after each has read the manuscript so that their impressions are fresh.
Do not perform a group interview. Debrief readers individually.
Because readers have no experience critiquing a manuscript, they won’t have focus. Therefore, it’s important that you structure the interview. Have a list of questions and a pad to note their impressions. A pad and pencil is also an excellent prop showing keen interest in what they have to say and evoking higher quality responses.
I suggest against recording the interview. Decency—and in some places, the law—demands you advise your reader that you are doing so, and even with someone who’s cooperative, it could change the dynamics of the interaction by making them self-conscious.
While this list of topics and direct questions is comprehensive, it is only for guidance. Not every reader need be badgered by every one of these details.
- Whether by phone or in person, begin with a warm greeting, thank them for their participation, and ensure them that they are contributing to something important.
- Engaging the reader in conversation is essential. Don’t interrupt. Don’t correct if they use the wrong term. Don’t finish their sentences; allow them to gather their thoughts if they go silent for a moment.
- Practice active listening. Don’t allow your mind to wander. Gold is panned from mud.
- Do NOT use writer jargon. For example: “What did you think of the story arc?” is not clear to the uninitiated. The same question: “How did you feel about the way the story flowed?” is better. Refer to it as a book, not a manuscript. Main character not protagonist… unless they use the term first. In short, speak to them as if you were a normal person.
- Discuss generalities first, then drill down to specifics.
- Ask the title and author of the most recent book they’ve read before yours, whether they enjoyed it, and if it’s not obvious, what kind (not genre) of book it was. That’s your base line.
- Inform them you’d like to begin with an overall impression. Assure them that they can be honest and forthright. “On a scale of 1 to 5, did you enjoy the book? 5 is loved it, 1 is hated it, 3 is, ‘it was just a book’, 2 and 4 in between.”
- Regardless of their answer, the more important question is why? Can they articulate why they loved, hated, or were indifferent to it?
- Had they spent $18.95, would they be satisfied with their purchase or write it off as a disappointment?
- Questions about format:
- Where the chapters too long or too short and choppy?
- Overall sentence length? If they didn’t notice, that’s good.
- Use of language? Too simple, too sophisticated, or Goldilocks
- If their overall impression is good:
- “Who was your favorite character? Did you identify with them?”
- “Compared to other books you’ve enjoyed, was the writing—the use of language—comparable?”
- “Did you like the ending?”
- “Would you read a sequel?”
If their overall impression was mediocre:
- “Did you find the characters unsympathetic?”
- “Were there times you found yourself skimming rather than reading? Do you remember during which scenes?”
- “What could have been done to make the book more satisfying?”
These are suggestions. You must steer the conversation corresponding to earlier responses.
Perhaps you have your own uncertainties about a character, scene, or a stretch of dialogue. Be prepared to ask details:
- Do you remember Roscoe? What did you think of him?
- Did you get what Angela was implying to Sheila in their conversation on the beach on page 56? If necessary and appropriate, ask the reader to open the manuscript and review the exchange.
- Expect some comments to be petty and picky. They may focus on what you consider, the smallest and most inconsequential details. “You know that part where he drives off the cliff? Wouldn’t there be guard rails?” Always thankfully acknowledge; never argue or explain. “You know, maybe I should throw in a line like, ‘A dangerous curve, the guard rails had been demolished in previous accidents.'” That provides positive feedback, establishes that they are contributing, and fosters greater cooperation.
- A reader may have missed the point, not understanding the deep philosophical message subtly camouflaged in the dialog. The symbolism of your character names and settings may have remained undetected.
- You may have a dullard among your readers, but more likely…
- Your allusions may be obtuse. Consider that it may be your fault, not theirs.
- Don’t overstay your welcome, even for a phone interview. Fifteen or twenty minutes is long enough.
- However, should the reader opt to give you a detailed analysis, prolonging the conversation, allow it. Take notes. They may be a spokesperson for others who did not fully express their opinions.
- Or they could be difficult people, but they’ve invested a number of hours with your book, the least you can do is return the favor and spend an extra few minutes with them.
- Express gratitude for their time, and say so: “Thank you for your time. If you’d like, I’ll let your know the status as it approaches publication.” Keep the notes of your conversation with their phone number and email address.
The Dud:
A dud is the reader whose eyes may have moved over every word, but they weren’t paying attention. Their opinions are indecisive and they have little to contribute. Be grateful and courteous and conclude the interview quickly.
Post-Interview
Review your notes. Take time to play back the interviews in your mind.
- If in-person interviews were performed, did you notice body-language that contradicted a reader’s words?
- How did the tone and inflection of the reader’s voice correlate to what you were being told?
- Were there any remarks common to more than one reader?
- Were specific areas—characters, scenes, settings—noted negatively that might be altered, rewritten, or deleted?
- Were there confusing passages?
- Are there any typos highlighted or other comments written in the retrieved manuscripts?
Do not arbitrarily dismiss any comment. Think long and hard about them. If two of five readers focused on the same chapter or scene as leaving them uneasy, though neither could articular why, that’s 40%. Consider a rewrite even if you just don’t see it.
If anyone didn’t like your book, learn as much about why as you can. It may be fixable, or they may be too far from their genre-of-choice to ever have enjoyed it. To Kill a Mockingbird, Gone With the Wind, and For Whom the Bell Tolls were not universally acclaimed when published. It took a few days.
The Rewrite
Correct typos, spelling, and grammatical errors readers have highlighted in their manuscripts.
Take everything you’ve heard from your Beta-Readers seriously and consider their input. They are your audience.
- Some sentences, perhaps paragraphs, may require restructuring for clarity.
- If no one remembers Roscoe, was he necessary?
- An isolated scene that was too sexual or graphic may need revision or excision.
- One or more chapters may be too long.
If you feel more feedback is necessary, get new blood and run another round of Beta-Readers.
Unless in response to reader suggestions, do not add or expand scenes. Do not enter into another round of creativity. To do so requires starting from the beginning, editing your new work, and ensuring it doesn’t duplicate in language or function other scenes.
Armageddon
- The story may be too politically, religiously, or socially controversial, though it may have a niche market. Another round of Beta-Reading by those within the community you address might be productive.
- Over-the-top scenes depicting the abuse of women, children, other acts of torture, or radical sexuality in which descriptions are intensely graphic may turn people off for the entire work. Some may be reticent to voice that view simply because to recall it would be to relive their revulsion. Ask them if there were any particular scenes they hated. They may allude to those: “Oh, there was that thing in the basement.” Those scenes may need to be softened or deleted.
- What was the consensus? Ask if it was the story or the writing.
- If the writing, it can be improved if you wish to invest the time.
If readers find it difficult to pinpoint why they didn’t enjoy the book and comments fall into the “I just couldn’t get into it,” category, the story may be uninspiring or unconvincing.
Perhaps a reader says, “It was kinda like Gone With the Wind set in Vietnam.” The story may be too derivative.
Prominent writers have had dead-end works discovered by descendants years after their death. They’re ultimately published entirely for their historical value, but would have had frosty receptions at the time of the writing.
Save the file, print a clean copy and put it on your shelf, chalk it up to practice and experience, and move on to your next project. Times may change, your perspective on the story may evolve, and your expertise will certainly mature. A few years from now, it may be worth looking at again.