Beta reader conundrum

It’s the same old story. You finish your manuscript, you’ve edited it to the best of your ability, and now you need to get eyeballs on it from your peers. Maybe you’re not sure if the story flows, or if a particular character adds anything to the story. You’re not sure the ending is convincing, or if the first paragraph has a good hook. You might be lucky enough to have friends or family members who offer to read your work, but sometimes it helps to have an unbiased set of eyes. For this we turn to our beta readers.

If you’ve been writing for a thousand years like me, you already know what beta readers are, but if you’re here reading this and new to the industry and wondering what the heck a beta reader is, allow me to explain. In short, they are persons who read your story and let you know if it kept their interest or made them nod. That’s an oversimplification, but essentially true. Typically they have a set of questions that you, the author have prepared for them, and after reading will answer. They aren’t editors, just early readers. Now, some are paid, but the majority are volunteer.

So where do we find them? Our friend social media. There are dedicated Facebook pages for beta readers, Reedsy, insert social media site here. All places where people post inquiries for beta readers and people will respond. Now for the conundrum. Sometimes you have awesome luck with trusted beta readers. They read your work, answer your questions, and get back to you in a timely manner and it was a wonderful experience all around. But sometimes, they are scamming you in some way. Well in what ways? That’s the question right? In my recent experience it’s been by them reaching out to say they are interested and then either immediately trying to sell me something, or by being a BOT. So I’ve had to learn even when a person’s profile looks to be legit, going the extra step to really research the person is a must.

All of this to say, beta readers are important to the journey, but finding the right ones comes with a great amount of frustration. So from one writer to the next, I encourage you to really make sure to ask questions and research profiles before sending your manuscript to a beta reader, maybe ask other authors in the community for readers they’ve had great success with. And if you have a weird feeling in the pit of your tummy about one, trust that feeling, kindly say PASS and move on.