Advance copy readers are amazingly valuable in the book world. They - we, I guess - help authors get the word out about brilliant books that they have published or are about to publish and where to find them. It can be a wonderful resource for many new or relatively unknown authors. Not to mention - ARC readers can get books into the hands of readers who will love them!
But I don’t want to talk about that. I want to talk about the unsung (and more often than not unheard of) heroes - beta readers.
What is a beta reader, you may ask? Beta readers help an author change up their writing and read it for everything from grammar and spelling (“I think you mean pond here not pound.”) to tone (“Isn’t he a grown man - why does he say friggin’ so much? Is this a particular choice?”) to characterization (“So she looks like a Disney princess but swears like a sailor? I like it. But here she doesn’t fit that?”) and everything in between. A good beta can read through a story half as an editor and half as a cheerleader and help the author bring out the best in their story.
Some betas go back for multiple readings after an author has changed things up and needs another glance. They have ongoing conversations with the author about what their vision for the story actually is. (This is actually my favorite part of the process.) I am currently beta reading the fourth - maybe fifth? - book for an author. We talk about her stories and what she wants her characters to do and now that I know her style - I can help her be true to her voice and not lose her sexy bearded hero when he goes wandering off.
I adore being a beta reader. I get to talk to authors about their ideas and what they actually meant by that sentence that isn’t quite as smooth as they wished or even helping them realign with a plot line they dropped four chapters back. Beta readers are a valuable resource as should be seen as such.
Because I am also an ARC reader. And I have been burned. Badly. By books that are not ready to be in my hands. By books that needed one more editor’s eyes. And it is painful to write a bad review for an author and a story that had so much potential but it gets wasted when the story is nearly unreadable.
Being a third party beta allows a level of objectivity that having your best friend or sibling read the baby draft of a novel might not. They don’t want to hurt your feelings after watching you put blood, sweat and tears into it. I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings either - but I can tell you that the choice you made on page four would make me put the book down and not pick it back up.
I will freely admit I am no expert in writing or publishing - but I also know what I would be willing to pay money for. We - betas - can see simple mistakes that can set a plot on shaky ground. We can help you make sure you don’t forget to mention condoms as they are hot and heavy on the kitchen counter. We can even make sure you aren’t head jumping between characters and leaving your readers in the dark.
Paid betas are not out to make a living but it isn’t an easy part time side hustle either. Understand that when we are trying to ask for a small amount of money - we are just trying to value our own work. It helps us to be an appreciated part of your process. So please - understand that betas are worth a buck.
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