Hello everyone and thanks for stopping by! Recently, I’ve been beta-reading and forgotten how much I LOVE doing it! So today, I thought I’d share my 5 ways to be a great beta! If you are currently beta-reading, do you find yourself doing the same things I do? Let me know!
ANNOTATE
If you are given a digital or hard copy of the authors book, mark it up. Don’t keep the thought to yourself. If you see something you love, nice sentence structure or poor dialogue, physically mark it down on the page. It will be extremely helpful to the author when they review the document to see exact places where you loved things or questioned things. It also allows the author to compare and see if other beta’s marked the same areas of the manuscript.
WORK WITH THE AUTHOR
When you sign up to beta read for someone, remember what you are doing for them is something very important for their book and creative process. If the author wants you to read the book in a month, work with their timeline. If they want you to read certain sections every week, work within those restraints. If you find yourself unable to make deadlines, provide thought provoking comments or show passion for the authors novel, be open with your issues and let the author let someone else take your place. Lots of authors want genuine feedback and want the process to go as smoothly as possible. By working within their guidelines and providing quality comments and critiques will make the beta reading process a walk in the park.
HONESTY
Authors seek betas for feedback about their novel. When reading, make sure you are being honest with the author about your comments. If a character is too shallow or the POV constantly changing, be sure to tell the author your thoughts, even if they aren’t the most positive. If you refrain from honestly telling the writer what is or isn’t working in their novel, the problem won’t be resolved and great moments won’t be polished. Authors are seeking honest feedback, whether it be about character development, sentence structure or plot holes, so be open and honest about triumphs and faults within their wip. At the end of the day, they’ll be thankful you pointed things out.
BE SPECIFIC
Along with annotating, the best type of critique is specific critique. If an author provides a questionnaire about each chapter or the book as a whole, try to be as specific as possible. Point out certain moments, dialogue sections, page numbers, paragraphs or character interactions, being specific will help the author understand how readers interpreted their work. Don’t be vague and short. Refrain from ‘i liked that character, he was cool’ or ‘yeah that chapter was sad,’- if anything, be long winded. Ramble about scenes you love, characters you hate and chapters that moved you: all these little details will help the author in bettering their novel.
BE KIND
Lastly, be kind. No matter how tough your feedback may be, remember to word it kindly for the author. It isn’t easy sharing your novel with friends or twitter strangers, and getting harsh critiques cna ruin the authors experience of working with beta-readers. Remember to word things kindly, review with good intentions and remember that the writer put their heart and soul into this book.
Thanks so much for stopping by! Feel free to check out my other posts or check out my social media platforms!
Twitter: @LydsWriting Instagram:@LydsWriting GoodReads: Lydia
Lydia 