Spend enough time among fellow aspiring authors and the writer is bound to encounter the term “beta reader.” As unassuming as their title may be, beta readers can fill an indispensable and multifaceted role in an author’s journey to publishing a well-received book.
Beta readers are generally not industry professionals—editors, agents, proofreaders, etc.—nor are they a substitute for them. Rather, they are among the first readers of the nearly finished work who will be sharing a reader’s perspective with the author, which can provide important insight and highlight the potential need for revisions and tweaks.
Ideally, beta readers are selected from the author’s target audience, so they will be familiar with the genre. They are often known personally to the author—friends, colleagues, family, social-media contacts, etc.—and are not traditionally paid to read the manuscript (though an acknowledgment in the published book is a nice gesture). An author may also find eager and capable beta readers by reaching out to fellow writers from online or local writing groups.
A beta reader is enlisted when the author feels their work is polished enough to be read by someone other than themselves and any professionals they’ve worked with during the development of the work.
Beta readers should not be asked to read a rough draft. If the author has not worked with alpha readers or editorial professionals prior to enlisting their beta readers, they should ensure that their manuscript is as error-free as possible so that the beta reader doesn’t trip up on typos, grammatical errors, confusing material, etc.
Beta readers are not proofreaders. Their job is not to make corrections to the manuscript itself. Keep in mind that beta readers are not trained like professional editors and, while they may catch glaring errors, their primary focus should be on providing feedback from a reader’s perspective, not an editor’s perspective. If there’s something that’s confusing because of spelling, punctuation, or grammar issues, the beta reader should, at most, point out to the author that that particular section of text might need some work to make it clearer.
Beta readers are also not sensitivity or authenticity readers hired and paid to review a work to ensure its contents do not misrepresent topics with which the author may not have first-hand experience. They may, however, offer insight into these issues if they do have first-hand experience with regard to these topics. On particularly hot-button issues, however, it may be wise to employ a sensitivity or authenticity reader in addition, particularly if beta readers take issue with the author’s handling of a topic.
Overall, the beta readers’ job is to offer constructive feedback, and it’s the author’s job not to take any criticism they might disagree with personally. Beta readers are usually more subjective than an editor, which can be a plus. When chosen from an author’s intended target audience (which is important when choosing beta readers), beta readers’ subjective tastes will likely reflect the tastes of a future readership, so what they do or do not enjoy with the manuscript is a good indicator of what future readers will or will not enjoy. That said, a good beta reader should be capable of selecting and framing their criticism constructively, not necessarily to make a writer feel wonderful about their work through praise. The author should establish this expectation with their beta readers from the outset and keep it foremost in their mind when requesting and reviewing beta reader feedback.
Composing a standard list of questions for every beta reader to answer can help the author to identify the most constructive criticism, as well as any feedback overlap they should pay particular attention to. General beta reader questions might include the following:
- Was the voice and tone engaging? Why or why not?
- What was your favorite part and why?
- What part did you find the least enjoyable and why?
- What parts, if any, felt too slow? Too fast?
- What elements felt unclear or underdeveloped?
Additional questions for fiction might include:
- Does the plot make sense?
- Did you spot any holes in the plot?
- Did the characters feel three-dimensional?
- Did the dialogue feel natural?
- Are there too many characters to keep track of?
- Are there gaps in the worldbuilding?
- Were there any systems in the world (cultures, histories, rules, etc.) that need clarifying?
For nonfiction, additional questions might include:
- Did the practical advice (if applicable) seem reasonable and accessible?
- Did the chapter titles suit the contents?
- Were there any overused phrases or words that distracted you?
- Did you lose interest in the reading at any point?
- Does it seem well organized?
- To whom would you recommend this book?
Keep this in mind: If a group of beta readers hits a snag when reading a manuscript, that same snag might trip up future readers of the book as well. This is not to say that every piece of beta-reader criticism should be applied to a manuscript, but if several beta readers all raise a similar concern with a manuscript, the author should carefully consider revising to address that concern.
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