How to use beta readers effectively
Beta readers provide feedback on an early draft of your story. Often they read your manuscript once you’ve completed your own revisions and before you hire a professional editor. It can be daunting to share your work with anyone, especially when you’re asking for feedback, but beta readers are incredibly valuable. They offer a fresh perspective — from the reader’s point of view — on everything from character arcs and plot to dialogue and writing style.
To get the most from your beta readers, make sure you follow these steps.
Choose your beta readers carefully.
You can find beta readers in many places. Some are freelancers who provide their services for a low fee — you can usually rely on them to be professional, objective, and experienced. If you’re not ready to pay for betas, try asking on social media or check with your reader and writer friends.
The best beta readers will meet the following criteria:
They are familiar with your genre. They know what to expect, what does and doesn’t work, and what is innovative or overdone.
They won’t rewrite your story. Fellow authors can be great beta readers or critique partners, especially when it comes to brainstorming new ideas, but make sure they aren’t trying to edit your book based on their own writing style.
They will be honest with their feedback. Friends and family members may soften their feedback because they don’t want to hurt your feelings. They have good intentions, but it won’t help you improve your story.
Be clear with your expectations.
Sending your manuscript to beta readers without any further instructions can be risky and difficult — for you and your readers. Give your beta readers clear instructions about how to shape their feedback, what to focus on, and what timeline they need to follow. Let them know if you’d prefer comments throughout the document or a single survey at the end.
Be reasonable with your expectations and deadlines, especially if your beta readers are working for free! Consider the length and complexity of your manuscript, and the other commitments that your beta readers may have. Don’t demand pages and pages of feedback on every chapter.
Remember to check in regularly. Don’t hover — your beta readers need time and space to read your story and collect their thoughts — but don’t be afraid to send them the occasional message. Asking for updates is a good way to make sure that your betas are on track and haven’t run into any problems.
Prepare your questions in advance.
You can make it easier on your beta readers by sharing questions to guide their feedback. Every author approaches this differently, so choose the method that feels most helpful for you and your story. You can send a list of questions along with the manuscript at the beginning, include questions after each chapter, or direct your readers to a survey at the end.
Focus your questions on the areas that concern you. Does that scene end too abruptly? Is this character’s arc too drastic? See what your readers think!
Here are some common questions to ask your beta readers:
What did you like most about the story?
At what points did you lose interest or put the book away?
Were you confused at any point?
Did the characters’ actions make sense?
Did you find the main character interesting?
Which character did you like the most? The least?
Did the opening scene make you want to read on?
Was the ending satisfying?
If you had to cut one chapter, which one would it be?
You can also use questions that are specific to your story’s genre. If you’re writing horror, you might want to know if that chapter was scary enough. If you’re writing fantasy, you might wonder if the magic system made sense.
Organize their feedback before you use it.
It’s overwhelming to receive pages of feedback from four or five different readers at once, so be prepared to organize it in a way that makes sense to you.
Think about your revision plan. It’s easiest to divide the feedback by reader, since this is how you receive it, but would it be more effective to sort it by chapter? Character? Question? Craft element?
Read their feedback carefully, highlight the points that stand out, and cross out the ones that aren’t helpful or relevant. Make notes about anything you want to discuss with your readers.
You don’t need to take everyone’s advice, but think about each piece of feedback and why it does or doesn’t apply. Focus on the areas that attracted a lot of similar feedback. If everyone said, yes, the opening scene was riveting, you don’t need to worry too much about it. But if they all said, meh, it was okay, you’ll want to address that in your revisions.
