I kind of disagree on a couple things in this. First, if a write is very new or not a strong writer, I think a fellow writer could be most valuable. Poorly flowing sentences, for example, is something experienced writers almost always catch and can say “Hey, this isn’t clear. You can take this sentence to another level and it will do more for you.” On the other hand, those who are editing only to see if something is grammatically correct and readers who are simply looking at the big picture might either not catch it or they might not recognize that it could be better.

Also, on the whole “critique as you want to be critiqued”- I want people to be ruthless. I want to know every single place where they think the story could be improved. That doesn’t mean that we will agree or that I will necessarily change it, but I don’t want someone to give a compliment simply to make me feel better about the writing. If the entire thing is terrible, I want people to tell me! If they love something and would hate for me to change it, I want people to tell me! If the whole thing is fantastic… well, then we would know they were lying! ☺

Overall, though this is a great article on beta readers. Betas don’t get enough attention in writing blogs!

So glad this helped! Good luck on your next steps.

-Martha

Regards,

Paula.

One place where I disagree with you, at least based on my own personal experience, is picking readers within your genre. I am part of a virtual writer workshop and there I met a writer who is all about the supernatural thriller infused with gory/erotic details. We were paired in the same group, so she was getting chapters of my novel, and when the workshop concluded, offered to beta for me when I was done with the novel even though in her own words, she never reads or writes in my genre (literary women’s fiction). I took her up on her offer, and she gave me the most thoughtful and useful feedback to date. She actually said reading my novel helped her realize she could expand beyond her own comfort zone. I love that she got something out of the beta process as much as I did. Sometimes that outside perspective helps because these aren’t filling in the blanks the way someone comfortable in the genre might.

It’s a valuable process but you have to trust your gut and be strong enough to disagree with comments as well. Taking the time to digest feedback is critical. No knee-jerk editing! That’s hard for me! I want to get right to it!

Thanks for this piece. Picking beta readers is an inexact science, but it can be a crucial part of the writing process.

Glad the timing was good for you, Marie! Thanks for your comment.

Your article has perfect timing for me. In January, my manuscript will be fully edited and I am searching for beta readers. After reading your article, I feel more informed about the whole process.

This week, I need to take the time to write down specific questions for their feedback. The questions you listed in your article are the ones I’m going to use along with a few more.

Thank you again.

Marie

Yes, I can see that it would take up a lot of time. Glad the feedback was consistent. A sign that you are on the right track. Hope the book does well … and your next one, too!

Martha,

Thanks, but I think the reviewers agreed largely because I was writing for the first time, and they offered their support and encouragement. I don’t see that as a sustainable option for evey book. First of all, it takes up too much time in correspondence. I also sent a complimentary copy of my book to each reviewer, which probably resulted in lost sales.

I might still follow a step by step approach (reviewers for first two or three chapters –> completed manuscript –> production ready version) with about 7 or 8 reviewers each time.

The reviewers’ feedback was quite consistent- many of them found my novel too verbose (I had to trim it from 100,000 words to 78,000), but fortunately they all liked the plot and the storyline.