Beta readers.
We authors love them. We fear them. We NEED them.
But what is it actually like to work with them?
I'm going to let you in on the best and worst parts of the process based on my first experience having people on the internet read and hurl critiques at my book baby.
What is a beta reader?
They're someone who's offering you their valuable time to help make the project you worked hard on shine, often by highlighting the parts of it that reek of filth. (Though the best beta readers are those who not only point out your flaws but show you your strengths as well - that way you know how to play up your strengths to cover up your flaws. It's all smoke and mirrors, boys and girls. If your eye bags are seeping through your foundation, just cake on some more concealer. You look gorgeous now. Muah!)
Moving on.
Do you need one? Yes, you do. Scratch that. You need MORE THAN ONE. I recommend at least two people who are giving you useful, solid advice, but preferably three. That way if there's conflicting advice, #3 can sway things one way or another. But two is important that way you can spot patterns that are uniformly agreed upon.
I ended up with two valuable betas, though there were four people reading my book.
Where Do You Find Beta Readers?
I'm lucky enough to have built up a bit of a platform in the writing community through my fanfictions on Wattpad. Because of the connections I've made down through the years of being active on that site, I was lucky enough to have met someone that instantly came to my mind as an ideal beta when I sat down and thought of who I could ask. I knew she was close to my age, had graduated from college with a degree in Creative Writing and I wasn't very close to her, therefore I trusted she wouldn't be biased and sugar coat things.
Like I said, that was just me getting lucky though. Chances are you could scour Wattpad for weeks and only stumble across teenage fangirls. I wouldn't necessarily recommend Wattpad as a good place to find a beta reader, since the majority of the users aren't skilled writers or avid readers. There's a HUGE difference between someone who reads only fanfictions and someone who reads REAL, published books. That difference is that one reader is experienced in high quality writing and the other is just reading rookie smut written by a middle schooler who should really have been in bed hours ago.
Goodreads, on the other hand, is a community of readers. Readers of books that have been published and edited thoroughly so that you get your $10 worth outta that paperback. The way I found my most valuable beta reader was through this platform.
On Goodreads, there are groups. If you search those groups, you will find groups that are dedicated to writers searching for beta readers and readers looking to help a bitch out by beta-ing for free... and some who are looking to get paid. Now, I don't know about you, but if you're here reading this, I'd say there's a good chance you're an unpublished author such as myself. Therefore, you probably don't have the expendable funds to PAY someone to read and critique a book that you have made $0 from. If you do, maybe you want to look into that. Maybe a paid beta reader will guarantee you results. But I'm broke as a cup with no bottom. I can only tell you about my experience with FREE BETAS.
Anywho, I joined two of those groups, posted that I was in need of a beta and had someone contact me promising to get to my book within a few weeks. Now that's what I'm talking about.
How Did It Feel To Be Critiqued?
Yeah, that good.
But honestly, only at first.
For the first few days - okay, maybe the first week - I was anxious, sad, disheartened, gassy, even a little angry as the comments trickled in. Mainly anxious though. But that's common with any writer. You worked hard for weeks, months, hopefully not years on this book. Now you have to set it free and watch as people bully the baby that you gave birth to. Any mother would want to put up a fight and defend her child. But Little Timmy isn't perfect and neither is your book - no matter how long or how hard you worked on it. There WILL be things that you missed and they WILL be blatantly obvious to the beta reader and they (hopefully) will NOT let you get away with it.
So until you get used to the feeling of feeling like a shit writer for making so many stupid mistakes (don't worry, you're not; you're just human) you're going to dread diving into the comments on each chapter.
But then something will happen and your epiphany moment will come. The beta will offer you a piece of feedback that - EUREKA! - will make you trust that they can help. Things will start to click into place as better, more efficient ways, to make your story sparkle fall into your head thanks to the things that people said about your book.
So, What was the best part?
Another great part is when the beta actually ENJOYS what you wrote. When they laugh at a funny part, compliment a metaphor, get invested in your characters. That's needed validation that you didn't just waste a billion hours typing away at your computer.
And the worst part?
However, you do need to make sure the beta reader is being respectful of YOUR time as well. Before agreeing to let someone help you with your book, as scary as it may seem, you really do need to set a time frame that you both can agree upon. I think three weeks to a month is plenty of time for them to finish while not taking too long so that it holds up your progress.
I made the mistake of being - how do you say...? ... desperate - and didn't impose any sorta time limits on my betas. As a result, I'm still waiting on someone whose had access to the book for 2 months now and only made it to chapter 7. It's safe to say I ain't really waiting on them anymore. I learned from that how important it is to not be - how do you say...? ... desperate. Confidence will get you a long way. Demand respect or have fun waiting a year for someone to read something that took you two months to write.
What is a BAD beta reader?
For me it came about in the shape of an old friend from the past. They reached out to me, volunteering to read my book and help shape it into something that's not better off being used as toilet paper. I thought it was perfect. I knew they read my genre. I knew we had similar taste in books. I knew their Hogwarts house.
But then...
Follow that up with them sending you a personal message saying:
"Kiwi, I hate your book. It's weird."
And you've found yourself a bad beta reader.
While I'm not saying that you need a beta reader who loves your book and praises it to the high heavens, someone who is only there to tear it apart and focus on the negatives without even being able to back up valid reasons as to why something is bad or how it can be improved will only HURT you as a writer. (It would probably also help if they understood how words work, but I digress...)
My word of advice to you here is that your beta reader should never be someone you know personally. I haven't felt like talking to that particular friend since. lol You also should feel confident that the person reading your book knows how to help and what you need from them.
But if a bad beta does come along, don't worry. You do NOT have to take their advice. (I was even told at one point by this particular beta reader to rewrite something so that it was grammatically incorrect. Thankfully my best beta reader was right there to tell her to shush.)
If one of your beta readers is making comments that you find yourself consistently disagreeing with, you are under no obligation to listen to them. Depending on how bad their advice is, feel free to ignore everything they have to say because, at the end of the day, this is YOUR book. You can make it however you want... even if that means it's weird and people hate it. lol
Finding a good beta reader can be as hard as finding a good boyfriend. But keep searching. I'm a little over a week into editing another draft of my book, this time using my beta's feedback, and I can already tell it's shaping up into something better. Whether you're looking to self publish or try your hand at the traditional route, I believe a good round of beta reading is something that truly cannot be skipped.