Every Author Needs A Beta Reader: Here’s How To Find Yours

You may like your book…but will anyone else?

Let’s say you’re busy writing your book and making many edits. And you start to wonder…is this any good? Will my readers like this?

It all looks good to you. You, in fact, think you’re on to something pretty awesome. But dread fills you as you think about the possible 1-star reviews on Amazon. 

There’ll always be haters…but what if everyone hates it? 

How do you avoid this horrible scenario?

By asking your readers up front if this story is working for them or not – before you even publish it. 

These types of readers are called beta readers. If you’re interested in improving your story and connecting with your target reader, they’re a must-have!

Don’t miss out on this essential process in your book-writing journey. Read everything you need to know about beta readers below.

What is a Beta Reader? 

If you’ve ever heard the term beta before in technology development fields, you’ll know it’s about catching bugs and defects. 

It’s the same for writers!

A beta reader is someone you send your manuscript to so they can help you see what elements of your story are working, and which parts aren’t. 

But they’re not professional editors. In fact, in the publishing process, they come just before editors and right after alpha readers.

What Does a Beta Reader Do? 

A beta reader can do the following:

• Read your manuscript with your target reader in mind.
• Offer critical feedback on story, character, plot, pacing, and dialogue.
• Check continuity and plot holes.
• Give feedback on how plot twists have landed.

Top Tip #1: Beta Readers can also be sensitivity readers. They’ll review how you navigate tricky topics like culture, trauma, race, illnesses, sexuality, etc.

Alpha Reader vs Beta Reader 

You may have also heard of alpha readers. Just so you don’t get confused, here are the differences:

Alpha Reader	Beta Reader
Jumps in as early as the first draft of your manuscript.	Reads your manuscript after you’ve made substantial edits to your first few drafts.
Provides feedback for overall plot and direction.	Provides feedback that goes into more detail about story beats, grammar, consistencies, character development, etc.
Is usually family or friends who know you and your writing process well enough to give you tips on moving forward.	Can be someone you know or a stranger you met online.
Understands this is not a polished story.	Expects a relatively polished story.

The Purpose of Beta Reading

You may be thinking, “Well, I am my own target reader – I’m writing this for myself! I’ll be able to tell if something is missing in my manuscript.”

Hold on there, buddy. 

We totally get where you’re coming from! While we love it when authors write for themselves, your readers should still be considered. 

Beta readers serve to help you bridge the gap between your story and your ideal reader. They do this by spotting inconsistencies and identifying weaknesses and errors in your story that you’ve missed. 

Being able to edit your own work is a vital skill for any author, but you have to accept that you’ll never be able to spot everything. Hence, having beta readers.

Beta readers also help you polish your manuscript before submitting it to an editor. Your editor will have much less to deal with and correct, saving you a pretty penny in the end.

How To Choose A Beta Reader

Choosing your beta reader can be as easy as asking a friend or family member, or as difficult as vetting readers from subreddits and other forums.

Many writers will advise you against using friends and family. Why?

“They can’t give you honest feedback – they’re scared of hurting your feelings!”

“They’re not your target reader, they don’t have the type of feedback you need to improve your story.”

“They know you too well so they can’t be objective.”

Or for those with brutally honest friends and family:

“Their comments will be too harsh. Rather get your feelings hurt by a stranger than someone you speak to every day.”

Yeah…we may have experience with that last one.

In our opinion, you can definitely ask the people closest to you to be your beta readers! While they may not be your direct target reader, they’re in your corner.

If the people in your life understand you and what you aim to convey with your story (and they love reading!) they could be the perfect beta readers. If you know they have your best interests at heart and want to see you succeed above anything – there’ll be no better beta reader.

But those aren’t the only markers of a great beta reader. And since everyone isn’t as lucky to have people in their circle who will suit beta reading, you may have to scour the internet for someone who fits the bill.

Use the below benchmarks to identify if that reader is the beta reader for you.

Top Tip #2: Before you go sending your entire manuscript to a random reader you met online, send a sample of about 3 chapters to gauge if the relationship will work out. 

Target audience

Beta readers should be people who enjoy and understand your genre and the tropes that come with it.

If you’ve written a fantasy book, choosing a romance-only beta reader may not be the right move unless it has a heavy romance trope that is essential to the main story. For example, a romantasy where the love interest is crucial to the main conflict.

But how do you make sure you attract beta readers that will be into your type of story?

A gripping book synopsis!

Before you hunt for beta readers, you need to sit down and craft a synopsis. Your synopsis should encapsulate the vibe, concept, and themes of your story. 

If your synopsis is off base or not intriguing enough you won’t get your desired target reader. You may not reel in any beta readers at all.

Ever read a book blurb on Amazon or in the bookstore and gotten bored? Avoid that at all costs with your own description!

And even if you do get beta readers with a low-effort synopsis, they may not finish reading your draft since the synopsis didn’t sell them on the story they came for.

Been around the block

You need a beta reader that’s either experienced in beta reading or experienced with your genre and type of story. They need to have instincts when reading so they can single out parts that feel off to them.

An experienced beta reader knows the drill. They can give coherent and honest feedback in a timely manner while considering the perspective of your ideal reader. 

And even if they haven’t done beta reading, you’ll be able to tell if they’ll be valuable feedback givers after you send them some sample chapters to show you what they got.

Top Tip #3: Don’t expect your beta readers to have pro editing skills, and therefore proofreading skills. They can point out grammar issues but they’re not your editor. Plus proofreading usually takes place after editing and just before you’re ready to publish. Keep this process in mind!

Killer critiques

We don’t want any Plain Jane responses. We want honest, direct, helpful feedback.

None of that “I liked this” or “This was funny” type of comments.

Beta readers need to either send cut-to-the-bone critiques or encouraging comments. Unlike those vague comments that mean nothing of value. 

But “I liked this” is an encouraging comment, right? 

Yes, but it doesn’t tell you why the scene they’re referring to deserves to make the final cut. A scene can be perfectly fine, but does it need to be in the story?

Your beta reader should let you know why it worked so you have enough feedback to work with when deciding what makes it into your next draft.

And before we forget: A word on negative comments or criticisms. Put on a brave face and take the punches as they come! 

Although they may hurt your ego and soul, it’s important to see the weaknesses so they can be tweaked. Writing is a craft that always has room for improvement.

Top Tip #4: It’s important to take the punches, but you also need to take these comments with a grain of salt. You don’t have to agree with every suggestion or critique made. Evaluate the direction of your story use what’s valuable, and get rid of the rest.

Balanced responses

As we said, you’ll receive both good and bad comments. But when finding a beta reader, you need to assess that they don’t lean more one way than the other.

Just like you don’t want a Positive Polly that only gives you praise and can’t find fault, you don’t want a Negative Nancy that rains on every parade and can’t find a redeeming quality in your manuscript.

A good beta reader will strike the balance, giving you good feedback to work with and cheering you on in scenes you’ve aced.

Top Tip #5: Your beta reader should also provide these comments in a neat format that you both agreed on to make compiling all the comments easier – you’ll have a lot to sift through when all the feedback has been received!

They’re not pirates

We’re not talking about those sea thieves. 

We know that piracy is a serious concern for any artist. It’s your work and should remain your work.

So, how do you make sure they’re not going to try to sell your manuscript as their own or post it online?

You don’t.

But it’s hard to write and publish a bestseller, publishers will tell you that themselves! You can rest assured that you won’t see your exact story ranking the charts.

As Tim O’Reilly put it: “Obscurity is a far greater threat to authors and creative artists than piracy.”

We know that doesn’t ease the nausea swirling in your stomach, but we do have a tip to help make sure your beta readers aren’t pirates in disguise:

Vet their profiles as best you can. 

That means checking out their online presence, who they interact with in the book stratosphere and their track record with other beta reading jobs. 

You basically want to make sure you’re not falling for a fake account or someone who doesn’t seem genuine. 

How Many Beta Readers Do I Need? 

You want to gain as much feedback as you can. Having more than one beta reader allows you to gain insight from different perspectives.

For example, you can have a set of beta readers for one draft and another set for the next draft. This is so that the new set doesn’t have a memory of what the story was.

To start off, we recommend looking for at least 3 beta readers.

An ideal number would be between 3-5 beta readers. You could do even more than 5! But you don’t want to be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of feedback.

Some writers even go all out and form larger groups of beta readers. But we’d recommend starting smaller and getting a feel for it. Expand out if you feel it’s needed.

In the end, how many beta readers you use is up to you! The correct number will be what you find manageable and helpful to your process.

How To Find Beta Readers 

When looking for your ideal beta readers, they need to be readers you can bounce ideas off of. But you may not find them immediately. So, here are some places you can start searching in.

Ask a fellow writer

Wouldn’t it be nice to get advice from someone who knows what it’s like to write a book?

If you already know writers with a similar style to yours or just want to support you in your endeavors, pop them a message and see if they’re up for some beta reading!

If you don’t know any, you can join writer groups on Facebook, Reddit, and Discord servers. Or you can meet them at workshops, festivals, fairs, conventions, conferences, book signings, and even at the library or bookstore – just ask them if your town has a writing group that meets there!

Your community

If you have an online community, reach out! They’re already your target audience and can provide feedback that’s perfect for your book.

Do this by posting an announcement that you’re looking for beta readers on your website and social media. 

You can also send a newsletter to your email list to find beta readers.

Beta Reader Template

Here’s a rough template for you to post on social media, your website, or in your newsletter:

Hey (fanbase name)

Finally think my book is ready for my fans…well some of them. I’m looking for beta readers to help me improve the latest draft of my sci-fi novel set in (time period). Here are the details!

[Book Title]

[Genre and Subgenres]

[Deadline]

[Tagline]

[Synopsis or link to Synopsis]

[Let them know what type of feedback you may be looking for. Make it clear what a beta reader is and what you expect from them.]

Fill in the form if you’re interested [link form].

Facebook Groups

If you’re doing ads on Facebook, you’ll already know the benefits of tapping into Facebook’s user base.

Because there’s such a wide variety, you’re sure to find some groups to search for your beta readers.

There are many writing communities, some of which are Fiction Writers, Your Write Dream, and Writers Helping Writers. 

Get chatting and see who matches your vibe. When the time is right, pop the question!

Will you be my beta reader <3?

Goodreads

Goodreads is a place where readers unite. Why not use this active community of readers to find beta reader groups? 

Reddit

Is there a topic Reddit doesn’t have a subreddit for?

The answer is probably no. 

You betcha, there’s a beta readers group. 

Observe some of the posts, see how writers and readers interact then craft the perfect post.

Online beta communities

Below is a list with links to the beta reader online groups we recommend in no particular order: 

• Absolute Write Water Cooler Beta Readers and Critique 
• Nathan’s Bransford Forum
• KidLit 411
• Lit Reactor
• BetaBooks
• Writing.com

Questions for Beta Readers 

You need a beta reader that communicates effectively to understand why parts of your story may need to change. And communication is a two-way street. So, let them know what you need from them.

Here are some questions you can ask for fiction:

• How did you feel about the characters’ development? What did you feel about their arcs from beginning to end?
• When did the story feel like it kicked off and started to pull you in?
• Did you skim-read any scenes? If so, which ones and why?
• Which part of the story was your favorite, and why?
• How did you feel about the main character?
• Which character was your favorite and why?
• Do you have a least favorite character? If so, why?
• Is the setting and atmosphere realistic for the story? Is it consistent? 
• Is the dialogue natural and authentic?
• How did you feel about the prose and chapter lengths?
• What did you take away from the story in terms of the theme and message conveyed?
• What did you think of the story overall?
• Did you feel any plot points were too predictable? 
• How did you feel about the ending?

Here are some questions for non-fiction books that you can ask beta readers:

• Were the concepts too complicated or too simple?
• Did you understand the motivations and purpose of the book?
• Were any explanations unclear?
• Did any sections need examples to get the point across better?
• Was the order of chapters logical for you?
• How did you feel about the book as a whole?

Top Tip #6: Don’t overwhelm them with questions right off the bat! Some beta readers prefer to have these questions asked after reading the book so that they don’t overanalyze your story.

But if you have any specific requirements, you can let them know what to focus on. Although, remember it’s good to let them form their own opinions about the book first.

How Much Do Beta Readers Get Paid 

Some beta readers get paid and some don’t.

A lot are just helpful volunteers who want to read a book and give feedback – because they like reading that much.

And the ones you pay for can also be found online, at places like Fiver, Upwork, etc. Which way should you go?

The answer is not so simple because it depends on your needs. But we suggest trying out the unpaid options first. 

You may be afraid of your manuscript getting stolen by a reader pirate you met online. To counter that you can have your beta readers sign an NDA. We also suggest putting your draft in PDF format with a watermark to make it harder to sail the seas.

If you end up going the unpaid route and find beta readers who get the job done, you still have to pay them back in some way. It doesn’t mean that they’re in it for their love of books that it’s a thankless job.

Even if some beta readers just read out of the kindness of their hearts, you should still go out of your way to show your appreciation!

Whether you mention them in the acknowledgment section of your book or give them a free copy in the format they prefer, they should be sure to appreciate the gesture. 

You can also thank them with a note, give them a shout-out on social media or if they live nearby, take them out to a cafe for coffee!

Top Tip #7: If you’re going the paid route, consider the hours it takes to read your book then base the rate on that, for example, $5/hr for a 5-hour read time. Also, take a look at the rates other authors charge, as well as your budget.

Tips for Working With Beta Readers

It’s not all roses and rainbows when you finally find beta readers, you have to cultivate the right relationship dynamics for it to work.

To help you figure that out, here are some extra tips for working with beta readers: 

1. Call or email: Ask them how they prefer to communicate to make it as easy as possible for them to provide feedback.
2. Have a respectful deadline: It would be great to have the feedback by next week but readers have lives too! Anything below 60k words may take 4 weeks, anything above could take 5 weeks and more. Inform them accordingly.
3. Respect your beta readers’ opinions: Once you receive their feedback, check to see if any patterns in their opinions emerge and use them to improve what you’ve written.
4. Not all winners: Like we said earlier, not every piece of feedback will fit your story. But since every writer has doubts, compare their perspective to the goal of the story before making changes. 
5. Turn it into a discussion: Once they send you their thoughts, it doesn’t have to be one-and-done. Ask them for more information! You can definitely have an open dialogue to understand their comments.

Top Tip #8: Feedback isn’t as simple as fix A and B. Sometimes what feels off to them in one scene is surfacing now due to a problem earlier in the story. So don’t always take comments at face value!

Wrapping Up The Beta

Feeling excited to share your work and finally find out if your story is actually good?

You should be! 

It’s so important, as writers, to not stay in our bubble but to go out and get feedback – whether it makes your heart warm or hurts your ego. 

And once you’re done…you’re not really done. There’s always something, right?

Writing a book is a long journey of writing, revising, revising, revising…oh, and did we say revising? When you’re finally done revising and editing, and you’re ready to get your book out there, you find out there’s still so much to do! 

You have to promote it, get reviews for it, make ads for it, etc. etc. 

We want to take one item off your plate for you…your author website! We specialize in designing websites that authors feel represent them perfectly. Readers love it too! It’s your online hub that’s up every day without fail. 

You can put your beta reader announcement on it and promote your upcoming releases – the sky is the limit.

If you’re looking to make that next step in your publishing journey, fill in this inquiry form and we’ll see how we can help!