Let’s Talk About Beta Readers

At some point in every manuscript’s publishing journey, the author should recruit readers in the book’s target audience to read it and give feedback. This gives the author invaluable information about how readers are likely to react to the book in its current state – does the plot make sense? Are the characters engaging? Is the pacing fast enough to hold interest, but not so fast that readers’ heads are spinning? Comments from folks who agree to read a book in an unfinished state and give feedback, aka beta readers, help you polish your book before it gets released, so you can fix any glaring plot holes or twists that don’t land before they’re causing you to get one-star reviews. 

Beta readers can be recruited from a number of places – online groups like Discord, paid sites like Fiverr, writing critique communities, or maybe even an in-person workshop if your locale has one. But time and again, a major issue I see other authors upset about is the apparent “flakeyness” of beta readers. “I recruited ten people to read my book, and all of them ghosted, except for one guy who just said ‘I liked it!’” Maybe this scenario sounds familiar to you?

Now, the prevailing advice from the writing community when someone says something like this is, “Well, if everyone’s ghosting you, there’s your feedback. Your book is bad so people aren’t finishing it.” This certainly can be the case, but it’s not necessarily true, nor does it take into account the number of beta readers who signed up to read the book and never even started it. So today, let’s talk about a few tips that can ensure you don’t set yourself up for failure with your beta readers.

Recruit People Who Don’t Know You

I made a big mistake when I was in the self-edit phase of my first book, and I know plenty of authors who’ve gone through the same scenario. I finished drafting The Case Of The Cheap Suit Plot, told friends and acquaintances about it in my excitement, and got a lot of “You wrote a book? Oh, cool, let me beta read it!” I happily sent off the manuscript to a good 20 people. Only four ever started reading. One person finished the book, and their only feedback was that they liked it. This happens a lot. Whatever you do, do NOT recruit people who know you in real life to be beta readers. Many of them are just happy for you, and want to support you somehow. They may not be readers in your target audience, or even readers in general. Some people who don’t regularly do beta reads are not aware of how much work goes into it, either. If the people you know in real life want to support you being an author, you’re much better off just asking them to buy your book, or asking them to share your work on social media, or signing them up to be an ARC reader on the finished product. That way, you save everyone the awkwardness of getting embroiled in a beta read they don’t want to actually do, followed by radio silence while your friend or acquaintance just hopes you forget the whole thing and don’t confront them about it.

Remember That Betas Have Lives, Too

Whether or not a beta reader knows you off the page, they don’t have the same connection to your book that you do. They have jobs, families, hobbies, commitments, etc. Beta reading for you is probably pretty low on their list of priorities, and that’s just the way it is. This is why it’s so important to make sure you sign up betas who enjoy your genre, so they have interest in sticking with your book, as opposed to someone who feels obligated to do you a favor. Also, remember that beta reading isn’t like reading a finished book for pleasure. Beta readers know the book likely still needs TLC, and have to keep track of their reactions and areas that need improvement. It’s more like a school assignment than breezing through a novel in a few days. In any case, give your beta readers two weeks before checking in on them to see if they’ve made progress, and let them know you’ll be doing so, creating an expectation that they should be checking in with you. If you don’t hear from them at this point, don’t keep pesting them. Accept that they’ve ghosted and move on. This might be because they didn’t like the book, or it could be because life got busy, but badgering beta readers for feedback is never a winning strategy. 

Don’t Overwhelm Your Betas

Along with not bugging them every other day, it’s also a good idea to send your beta readers the manuscript in chunks, rather than tossing the whole thing at them. This is more a psychological tactic than anything – it’s much less daunting to be sent twenty or thirty thousand words in four chunks to read, rather than an entire novel. Not sending the whole book at once makes it look more like an easy task for your betas. Also, by checking in at the 25%, 50%, 75%, and full completion points, it’s more likely your betas remember what they’ve read and have the reader reactions fresh in their minds. It can also be useful to get an authentic thought process about what readers are thinking when they’re in the middle of a book – what are their theories about what will happen without having read to the end? What are their expectations for the book at various points? This isn’t something you can find out from those who’ve read the whole thing and might be hazy about what happened in Chapter Three, because they read that six weeks ago.

Help Guide Your Betas’ Feedback

This isn’t to say that you should ask leading questions or tell beta readers “Positive Vibes Only!” However, many betas aren’t going to be sure what type of feedback you’re looking for, and while some may open a Word document and start typing out their thoughts unprompted, others will be more comfortable answering specific check-in questions. Making sure you get everyone’s opinion on the same important parts of the book will only help you apply stronger feedback and leave you with less guesswork – as well as something more than just “I liked it”. Some good things to get everyone’s feedback on include how the pacing feels, whether there are any aspects of the plot that don’t make sense, and what readers expect in order for the book to have a satisfying conclusion. At the end of the book, it’s a good idea to ask whether readers would pick up the next installment if you’re writing a series. If this is a standalone book or the end of a series, you might ask instead what star rating a reader would give the book currently. Other check-in questions will depend on your specific story. They might be something like “Do you agree with X character’s decision to do Y?” or “How much did you see this twist coming?”

Keep in mind that even if you recruit appropriate beta readers, give them space to read at their own pace, send them your story in easily digestible chunks, and give them specific feedback questions, you’re still going to have some people who flake. It’s inevitable. You can’t please everyone, and you can’t predict when someone’s life may go pear-shaped. Some betas might let you know why they DNFed your book if that’s why they stop reading, but many won’t say anything. As long as only a small percentage of your betas are flaking on you, you can probably write it off as something that comes with the territory. Even if a large number of your betas flake, the last thing you want to do is complain about it publicly. That sort of thing has a way of getting around the writing community, and it could scare away other betas who are genuinely there to help you.