6 Tips For Being A Good Beta Reader

One of the things I've learned in the past year from working with editors and beta readers is how important a role these folks play in the creative success of any published product. Now there are good editors and bad editors, good beta readers and bad beta readers. I've been lucky with my editors so far but had a few beta readers who left things to be desired. (Actually my current crop are fantastic but took a while to find them.)

What you need to understand as a beta reader is that the author needs your focus and honesty to make a good book or story. In fact, without you, the story can't be all it can be, so you're actually participating in the creative process and can have huge influence over the final product. If it's good--and even better because of your thoughtful attention--you can proudly brag about that, and I'm sure the author will credit you in the Acknowledgements as well.

So what does it take to be a good beta reader? Here's Six Tips:

1. Pay Attention. You need to read with focused care. Note everything that engenders a response in you. You don't necessarily have to report them all in your notes, but pay attention, nonetheless, and analyze how that works as you assess the story. Because the author needs to know what works, what doesn't, etc. This requires you to read with more effort and thought than you might be used to. So it may challenge you. But it will also enrich your reading life in later efforts by teaching you to look at things more deeply in ways you hadn't imagined.

2. Ask Questions And Seek Answers. If you have unanswered questions or are confused, those are the first notes the author needs. Often we're so wrapped up in our story with all its details, we don't realize we've underexplained things or done so in a convoluted way. We desperately need you to point it out to us. And we're thankful when you do. Sometimes what seems perfectly clear to us won't be to you. This has happened many times editing my novel, and I'm always grateful for those chances to make it better.

3. If You Get Annoyed, Let Me Know. If I over explain or over foreshadow and ruin the surprise, I need to know. I need to know what bores or annoys you. You're smart enough to realize when it was unintentional, so tell me, because I need to know.

4. Offer Me A Little Praise Too. I'm nervous and excited to put my work out into the world. I need to know the bad stuff, yes. But it's also helpful to know what you liked. What made you laugh or smile? What surprised you in a good way? What made you want to shout and read it to someone else? Those things matter, and hey, the process is so long, I need the encouragement to keep going. Please let me know.

5. Don't Be Afraid Of Hurting My Feelings. If I ask you to beta, I am giving you carte blanche to be honest. I need it to make my work all it can be. If I asked, you're probably someone I trust or at least whose opinion I value enough to believe you can help. And although some of your notes may frustrate me, I won't take it personally or hold it against you because I need your help. And in the long run, my writing will be better for it not just with this project, but every project to follow.

6. Take good notes. Either on the manuscript itself or via comments in Microsoft Word or on paper. Whatever the case note page and paragraph numbers and be as detailed as you can. The more you give the author, the more helpful your notes will be and the more impressed and grateful the author will be for your time and effort.

Well those are my six. No list is perfect. But if you take my advice, you'll have good success as a beta reader and probably get lots of chances to read stuff before anyone else. How cool is that?

For what it's worth...

Call For Beta Readers: The Returning

After learning from other novelists about how they do beta reading, I've decided to try and recruit beta readers to read as I write. The novel in question is the sequel to my forthcoming first novel, "The Worker Prince." This book, titled "The Returning" is a space opera epic with a touch of thriller, murder mystery and political intrigue.

The basic premise is that after the workers (Vertullians) achieve citizenship and freedom from years of slavery, someone is killing them off, one at a time and stirring up questions amongst both workers and their former enemies, the Borali Alliance about whether they can all live together in peace. Our hero, Davi Rhii, former Borali prince, now a Captain in the Borali military, is sent to investigate the murders and report back to the Council of Lords. In the meantime, he faces a personal challenge in his developing relationship with Tela as their parents pressure them to marry and Tela resists his attempts to keep her safe. Aron, the first ex-worker to serve on the Council of Lords, has proposed making the worker religious holiday, The Returning, an official Alliance holiday to encourage a sense of unity, but now that plan is stirring up controversy. Meanwhile, Davi's exhiled Uncle Xalivar is content on regaining his power as High Lord Councilor of the Borali Alliance.

Beta readers will recieve a chapter at a time. I am using the system developed by AJ Hartley at www.magicalwords.net. Readers will read the chapter on either Word file or paper and mark passages using the following system:

A=Awesome. Something about this just blew me away. Excellent.

B=Bored now.

C=Confused. He said what? The people of Anth believed in what? He can get out of the rabbit burrow because…? Huh?

D=Don’t care. Ten pages on minor character’s lineage? So what? Yeah, I’m sure it’s really clever and all but… I’ve got QVC to watch.

You only need to mark the passages which evoke one of the four responses listed. Total honesty is requested. Don't worry about offending me. It's first draft--a lot of work will be needed before it ever sees a publisher's desk. And detailed explanations won't be demanded, although they can be helpful when offered. This allows me to get a sense of how you respond to the manuscript. I prefer people who have not read book 1 because I need a sense of how well I am trickling out the back story. Is it too much, too little?

I am writing about a chapter a week (22 pages on average). I would hope you could read each chapter within 2-3 weeks and get back to me. I can't pay you except to say I will acknowledge you in the book when it's published and I can offer you a free copy. 

If anyone's willing, please get in touch. My beta readers on the first book said it captured the feel of "Star Wars: A New Hope" and really liked it. I hope you'll enjoy this as well. You'll be helping me write a better book and I'll also throw in a free e-copy of book 1 when you're done if you want.

Thanks for taking time to consider it and for your support of my work and this blog!