We’ve all heard the horror stories or had a bad experience with beta reading ourselves. It is simultaneously the most nerve wracking, yet most important tool a writer has. It’s also a tremendous responsibility that gives you front row access to some of the most amazing stories yet to be seen by the public, but requires a respectful hand. I will share my experiences with both sides of beta reading in hopes to make the process more rewarding and less daunting for all your work and reads in the future.

The Basics Explained

I’m not an industry professional (but I play one on TV), and I’m never paid to read, but as a serial beta reader who has voluntarily read and given my thoughts on over a hundred or more unpublished books for agented and self-published authors alike, I’ve learned a few things along the way, and found some tips and tricks that make the relationship a little less scary and a lot more productive. As a writer, I’ve also asked many friends and strangers alike to read for me. There are two very different sides to this process and I think we should talk about them both.

These suggestion are derived from my own personal experience and are in no way a “one size fits all” method of working together. Like I always tell the people I read for, use what advice makes sense and leave the rest behind. (I literally always say that) Enjoying what you read is entirely subjective, but once you commit to read, your feedback is essential for the author and should be done respectfully and thoughtfully.

What is Beta Reading?

Is this book any good?

That’s a question most writers ask themselves as they’re pouring their heart and soul into a piece of work. While most writers will always have self-doubt, if we want to put our work out there, there comes a time after writing “The End” that we need to know if it’s where it needs to be for public scrutiny.

Enter the Beta reader.

Before an author sends their book to be published, sends it to their agent, or sends out submission materials in query form while on the hunt for an agent, it’s always a best practice to have the book read by at least a few non-biased third parties for feedback. (My mom reads for me every single time, but she definitely isn’t unbiased so I can never take her “I love it” at face value. Sorry, Mom.) While many professionals have some hard and fast numbers on how many people should read a book first, the number of beta readers you choose is entirely up to you. Personally, I almost always use at least 6-8 opinions to start.

These third parties can help us identify plot holes, mistakes, find spelling errors and give general overall feedback on whether the characters are flushed out, the world building is solid and if material has been fine tuned enough for it to be reviewed by agents, readers and editors. For the best chance at success (and I’m guessing most of us want our work to be successful or respected) it is critical to put the best, most honed version of your work out there in final format, and the more eyes on it the better.

For clarification, reviews of first drafts are usual called “Alpha Reads”. When a few more editing passes are done, it’s usually called “Beta Reads”. A is before B, follow the alphabet on this one. 🙂

How Is a Critique Partner Different?

Whereas an alpha or beta reader is enlisted to read someone’s work, a critique partner or a CP, is someone you agree to swap work with either on a one time or an ongoing basis. You read for each other, hence the “partner”. Usually it’s someone you have vetted ahead of time that is in the same stage of their writing career as you, writes in the same genre, or you have developed a mutual respect for. This is usually more of a critique “partnership” than a transaction read, but many of the suggestions I have apply to finding a CP and getting/giving feedback as well.

What is a Sensitivity Reader?

Sensitivity readers are a critical part of editing and are separate from beta reading. They are typically used for subject material or characters that may not be in your personal wheelhouse like gender identity, sexual orientation, race, and religion among many other topics. If your material has the potential to offend one or more people, portray someone or a group of someones in a bad light, or give inaccurate information (even if that isn’t your intention), a sensitivity reader is a critical piece of the puzzle. It is a responsible practice to seek this advice. Sensitivity readers are most often paid for their services. They can be found by publicly asking for that specific help, or there are several resources in the writing community where you can find one that specializes in the subject matter of your book. I will try to post a list of resources at the end of these tips.

How Can I Find a Beta Reader?

For the sake of this blog, I’m going to call all readers “beta” readers, whether they are the first or the eight person to read your draft, and regardless of how many of your books they’ve read. We’ll refer to everyone as a beta reader because it makes more sense in my head, it’s easier, it’s my blog, and the critique police don’t know I exist. (not yet anyway)

As a fellow writer, I cannot stress enough the importance of finding a writing community. Not only are we a lot of fun at parties and introverted social gatherings where we all assemble in private at home (yes, that’s a joke, not really), but it’s also the best way to learn about the craft, commiserate with others on how hard it is to write a synopsis, and gain valuable information on the industry and its processes and players. Simply put, you can learn so much from your peers.

There are many places to find writing communities, and I recommend you partake in all of them and see where you find the most kinship and feel the most at home. For me, that’s Twitter, now X, which (like the beta reader phrase) I will always call Twitter because I want to.

Just making a screen name and choosing a cool photo doesn’t automatically gain you insight and support, you do have to participate. If it feels safer to stalk the feeds for a while, go for it, but it is my recommendation that you will get so much more out of a writing community when you actively participate in it. If you’re nervous, start out liking things, ask questions, comment on posts and work your way up to expressing your own thoughts, posting memes and recounting what you had for dinner or how many martini’s you just drank. Okay, maybe that’s just me.

Once you find a place where you feel safe and can relate to the topics being discussed, it’s easier to find your readers. In the course of making writing friends, sometimes the offer is made “hey if you ever need a reader message me”. If you don’t have these sorts of closer contacts, don’t fear, there are ways to find total strangers who can help you move your work to the next steps. I’ve used strangers with good and bad results, and I’ll tackle all those topics in subsequent posts.

-Just like there are pitch events on social media sites like Twitter designed to pitch your book to attract agent or editor attention, there are also critique partner events. The premise goes, you pitch the book you’re looking to have critiqued with word count, genre and basic plot, and people that are interested in your story will reply. You are then free to respond to them and forge ahead with the arrangement.

-You can also post on social media that you’re looking for a reader with basic details about the story.

-If you’ve been stalking the social media feeds, chances are you’ve already identified some writers whose posts you enjoy reading and feel are similar in style, humor or temperament. DO NOT direct message anyone and ask them to read unless you’ve already established a relationship. Other people may disagree with me, but I am extremely wary of anyone sliding into my DMs asking favors or other personal things unless I’ve already offered in the past or we have that kind of “friendship”.

Boundaries kids, we have to set our boundaries while respecting others, and unsolicited DMs are boundaries for a lot of people (myself included).

If you’ve gotten this far, congratulations. Hopefully I’m making sense and helping a little along the way. Don’t hesitate to ask questions or share fears. This is an elaborate topic and I’m going to write this in chunks for the sake of ease in reading, and the fact that it’s 1 a.m.. Keep watch, and thanks for tuning in.

Next up on my blog: I’ve found someone to read/ I’ve agreed to read, what now?

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