Beta readers are readers that receive an early (pre-publication) copy of a book to read and provide feedback to the author. The term “beta” is taken from the software world where early versions of software (still with bugs and not feature-complete) are termed “beta” releases and are put out to receive feedback from a select group of advance users.
What Does a Beta Reader Do?
The author provides a copy of the book (usually in digital form but sometimes printed also) to the beta reader and sets a deadline for when feedback must be received. The beta reader reads the book and may make notes or annotations along the way about their reactions to the story, what they liked, what they disliked, where they got confused, and any parts that might need to be improved.
“The number one goal of a beta reader should be to provide feedback that will help make the book better.”
What Can a Beta Reader Expect?
The book beta readers are given is not a print-ready version. There will most likely be issues like grammar, punctuation, and sentence wording. Authors usually provide their book to beta readers when they feel that the major story issues are worked out and the book is getting close to being ready for publication.
Ways to be an Effective Beta Reader
Don’t focus too much on grammar, punctuation, or sentence structure. The author will most likely have professional editing services provide a final copy-edit on the book before publication. Feel free to give feedback on any obvious grammar / punctuation / sentence structure issues but try to focus most of your efforts on the story itself.
As you read, here are a tips:
1) Confusing or unclear parts – look for any passages that confused you or where you were pulled out of the story. Places that are unclear or you had to read multiple times to understand are important to note.
2) Satisfying ending – did the ending fit with the story? Was it satisfying?
3) Out of character – did a character do or say something that didn’t seem to fit the character that had been established?
4) Overused phrases – are there words that seem overused or a phrase that seemed to be improperly used?
5) Boring parts – were there any places where you were tempted to skip ahead? Any parts of the story that seemed boring?
6) Underdeveloped scenes – were there any scenes that you had trouble visualizing? Was there a part where you had trouble picturing a setting or what the characters looked like?
7) Realism – Do the characters seem real? Do their motivations make sense?
8) Plot holes – was there a part where the character should have done something obvious but didn’t and it frustrated you?
Remember that the most important thing you can do as a beta reader is to provide honest, constructive feedback that can help make the book better.