When I first started writing this was one of the words that made me nervous. Why? Well, you hear a lot of things about people taking credit for other’s stories. You feel like people are dipping themselves into your privates. You… you…
The truth is I was wrong on this. Even though it is true that there has been theft it is a very small percentage among the writing community. So Beta readers. Who are they? What do they want? Are they humans? A beta reader is a test reader of an unreleased literature work, who gives feedback from the point of view of an average reader to the author. A beta reader is not a professional and can therefore provide advice and comments in the opinions of an average reader.
So if Beta Readers is not a professional why send them your work? You can pay professionals their fee to do so. The truth is, there are many people who crave stories and feel satisfaction to go through your raw manuscript and give you their opinion. The truth is you are going to need them. Set up how you want to manage your Beta Readers. Sign NDAs, critique on the POV, the story, X character, whatever you need or want. Be in the knowledge that they have their own life and maybe they won’t stop everything they are doing to read your unpublished book. These are the kind of things you can ask for before getting one. Another thing, be kind, that way you can maybe have the same kindness brought back to you.
Again why you need them? After writing and editing and writing and editing your eyes become blurry at simple tiny details that might throw audiences away. Depending on the Beta Readers you get they can spot things you may have passed. Punctuations, plotholes, characters that are not defined, polished, confusing phrases, paragraphs.
Didn’t you say they were not professionals? And yet they can represent your audience. They are avid readers that love reading. Maybe you don’t see them as writers, colleagues, but if you are doing something over and over, you read a lot of books, believe me, you can pick up a skill or two on how things should look or read in this case. Don’t underestimate them or your audience. There is a say in the movies that you can’t fight a collective audience, their intelligence multiplies. While one reader overlooked a flaw in your manuscript maybe two or three more Beta readers pointed out. Then you know is time to re-write that scene or scenes.
There is no need to be nervous about it. Is not like the Beta Readers say is the law. Now, you should listen when maybe most of your Beta Readers tell you something is confusing or didn’t get it, because maybe that same thing can happen with your audience.
Ok, I’m on board. I want my manuscript to be good. Where do I find Beta Readers? There are a lot of places where you can pick up Beta Readers. From friends and family that you know are fluent readers to people on the other side of the world through the magic and power of the internet. One advice I can give you is, pick people who will push you. That will critique or point out things in your book. Sounds close to what a critique partner is, but you don’t want a beta reader that tells you everything is alright. If you get all YES people then there will be no place to grow or to polish that book before it goes out to the world.
Right now there are a lot of writing communities. There are Beta Readers groups. Look it on Facebook, Tumbler, ask a fellow writer. You will see there are lots of people willing to read what you are offering. Get your information ready. Synopsis. Genre. Some people do not like to read fantasy. Others love vampire books. When diving to look for Beta Readers you will see that, like you, they have a preference on what to read. That’s why their opinion is important and it alludes to the definition of the Beta Reader. They will be a sample of what your average audience will be like.
To finish this post. If you are nervous someone will steal your work? Before mentioning your manuscript to anyone, register it. That is always the best way to go. Send yourself a mail of everything you got. Go to WGA.org, there are many ways to register your work and keep you protected.