If you’re a writer (in any genre), you already know how hard it is to get anyone to read your work. And yet, most writers inevitably find themselves at that stage in the process when they could really benefit from outside feedback on their work. 

If you’re like me, the idea of letting people read your book (or short story) before it’s finished and then asking what they liked and disliked about the manuscript is terrifying. Lucky for you, I’ve been through this process twice already, and I’ve converted my existential terror into a set of tips, tricks and hacks that will make it easier for you to find and work with beta readers!

Why I recommend beta reading

Real talk here—the final editing process can be brutal. After all, final edits are the “good to great” stage, the last 20% effort to push your book or short story over the finish line; this is also the stage when it becomes difficult for a writer to see their own work with the clarity they need. In my experience, clear, specific feedback from readers is the best way to streamline and focus those final weeks of editing work. 

For independent writers, it can be understandably tempting to skip the beta-reading stage altogether. Don’t do it! Fresh eyes and an external perspective helps to direct your energy and attention to just the right places so you don’t pull the whole plot apart out of anxiety or frustration—and most writers have been there! Even if you don’t plan to edit your work yourself, beta reader comments are still incredibly valuable; reader feedback is a great tool to confirm that any larger revisions recommended by your editor are on the right track.

The right time to look for readers

My experience is that beta-reading is most useful at the 80% stage. You should have a nearly-finished piece of writing that can be read through from start to finish, but still needs one final editing pass prior to publication. The plot and character arcs should be set, but specific scenes can be strengthened, opaque motivations can be made clearer, pacing can be slowed or tightened; any remaining darlings can (and should) be slaughtered.

Another way to think about it—you want your work to be complete enough that a reader with no prior knowledge of the world or characters can identify and communicate the major strengths and weaknesses of the story.

3 tips for finding great beta readers

How on earth does a writer find these mysterious, elusive creatures known as beta readers? And how can you tell if a friend or internet stranger would make a good reader? Here are my top 3 tips for finding great beta readers, based on my experience publishing my debut novel Death-Bringer.

1. Internet friends and strangers make far better beta readers than close friends or family—so start your search with your social media following or online book club. You want balanced, constructive comments, and you’re more likely to get that when your readers have distance from the details of your personal life. I’ve had real success with posting an open call for readers via Twitter—it’s also far better to give people the ability to “opt-in” versus asking them directly and creating a potentially uncomfortable “opt-out” situation.

2. For the beta reading process, I prefer readers to fellow writers; the exception is if I know them well enough to be sure they won’t try to play editor along the way. A beta reader’s job is to help you identify the strengths and weaknesses of your work—NOT to give you advice on how to correct or adapt your manuscript. If you do want to ask a fellow writer for feedback, I’ve found it best to ask someone who writes in a different genre than your own; e.g., asking a poet for feedback on a novel.

3. You want beta readers who genuinely enjoy the genre that you write in. For example, a history buff or romance fan might not be the best fit for your dystopian sci-fi novel. If a reader doesn’t love your work’s genre, you run the risk of them not finishing (or even not starting) your book—and I can tell you from personal experience what a confidence blow that can be!

An alternative: manuscript critiques

If you’re not comfortable asking internet friends to read your work—or if you’ve tried that route without success—you can also hire a professional to provide what’s called a “manuscript critique.” The goal here is the same as beta reading: to identify those final changes that will strengthen the manuscript in the last editing stage before publication. Manuscript critiques are offered both by individuals (typically freelance editors) and by companies that offer a range of editing/publishing/marketing services. For both options, an online search for “manuscript critique + editor + your genre” is a solid place to start. 

Manuscript critiques provide professional, highly detailed feedback that tends to focus more on a book’s weaknesses and often leans more technical or “structural” in nature. A professional critique will typically be clear, specific and comprehensive, with detailed, actionable comments and recommendations. If the critique is generally positive, feedback from an impartial expert can provide a huge confidence boost to help push you through the tough final weeks of the editing process!

On the flip side, this option can be costly and time-consuming; feedback timelines can range from 4-8 weeks and pricing for a 100,000 word novel typically starts at 500 USD. Critique providers also tend to try to upsell writers on additional editing and publishing support services. 

I’ve put my work through both a manuscript critique and a traditional beta reading process, and I personally found the feedback I received directly from “real” readers to be more motivating, more actionable, and more fun to work with. Compared to a formal critique, working with beta readers felt more like having an actual conversation about the story, which made it easier for me to go back and ask more questions about the scenes/chapters that seemed to need the most work. 

5 things your beta readers need

Once beta readers say yes to your book, here are 5 ways you can make it as easy on them as possible!

1. Be transparent with your readers about your needs and expectations. This includes letting them know if you have a hard deadline for feedback, or if there are any other interdependencies in your writing/editing process.

2. Give your readers a time estimate—how many pages/hours of reading you’re asking for. A quick rule of thumb: the average adult reads fiction at a rate of 15,000 words per hour, which puts a 100,000 word novel at about 6 to 7 hours of reading time.

3. Ask your readers how they like to read and which device they plan to use to read your book. With a free tool like Calibre, it takes only minutes to convert a Word or PDF document into an EPUB or MOBI file that your beta readers can add to a Kindle, iPad or Android e-reader. 

4. I always give my beta readers a short list of questions in advance, before they start reading—see below. This helps set expectations and reminds them to look for certain things while they read. Plus, when it’s time to share feedback, it gives readers the option to come back to my list and answer just those questions based on their reading.

5. Most importantly—be sure to thank your readers, early and often! Also, make sure your beta readers get credit for helping you with your writing and editing process. There are a variety of ways to do this: include their names on your Acknowledgments page; send author copies of your work once it’s published; airdrop special editions or artwork. For Death-Bringer, I asked permission to use my beta readers’ comments as early reviews and then printed their names and feedback on the back cover of my novel.

The 6 questions I ask my beta readers

_Are there any chapters or scenes that feel hollow or incomplete or somehow unsatisfying?

_Are there any chapters or scenes where the motivations of a character are unclear or don't make sense (especially if this isn't resolved later)?

_Are there any places where the pacing feels “off”—either too fast or too slow?

_Are there any plot threads that feel unresolved by the end of the novel?

_Are there any chapters or scenes that you especially liked or disliked?

_Do you feel like the story gets brought to a satisfying close by the end of this book?

Take courage, writer friends!

We writers have fragile egos, and it takes both humility and courage to let a reader into the world of an unfinished novel or short story, before the work is “perfected”. But, as American novelist and poet Katherine Anne Porter reminds us: “Courage is the first essential.” 

To publish a piece of writing is to let it go, to give it permission to begin its own life out in the wide world. I have found the process of working with beta readers to be a kind of “dress rehearsal” for that final step of letting my books go—which was always the real goal, from the very beginning.

Thank you for reading!

This article is the first installment in Business of Books—a new series where I demystify the writing and publishing process, with a unique focus on web3.

Subscribe to the “Business of Books” series via msbourland.substack.com.

Collect the “All About Beta Readers” NFT via Fx(text).

Learn more about my debut novel Death-Bringer at shadowsbook.xyz.

Follow me on Twitter @msbourland for daily thoughts on web3 writing & publishing (& lots of photos of my greyhound!)