34 Comments
Apr 22, 2023Liked by Tash Doherty, J.E. Petersen

This is a fabulously valuable and actionable post, Tash. Thank you for sharing the process!

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Apr 22, 2023Liked by Tash Doherty, J.E. Petersen

I've been waiting for an article like this! Thank you so much for taking the time to put this information together, Tash. Can anyone else share how they got their beta readers? Are there groups on Goodreads they go to first, or a standard avenue? I have friends and folks on Substack I can definitely ask, but what if I were green, and wanted to reach out to people I didn't know? Any good suggestions?

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Great resource. It's hard to know what to do when you finish but you know you're not really done!

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Apr 22, 2023Liked by Tash Doherty, J.E. Petersen

I prefer one solid critique partner who is a novelist in my same genre, vs multiple betas.

Other novelists have the benefit of suggesting the solutions to your problems.

But on 2nd novel, I did use paid beta readers, just no longer prefer that.

I prefer reader feedback at the Arc phase and then have them agree to leave reviews in exchange for the advanced copies.

Everyone must find their own way.

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Thanks for writing this up, Tash. Excited to finish the current draft of my novel so I can put this advice to use.

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I like having posts on this subject, gets me thinking. I usually ask for feedback from my writer friends, like on a short story I wrote recently, but I've never had a formal beta reader agreement.

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I started beta reading for other authors last year, and it has been very interesting.

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This is great. I'm close to the point with the edits on my novel and will be looking to do some beta testing soon so perfect timing for me. I've already started the hunt for beta readers. You're post said you used 3-5 beta readers per round - is that typical or is there a reason of line of logic to use more?

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Beta readers are helpful, especially if you can find ones who will offer kind but--and this is crucial--honest feedback. I do think today in general there’s a trend in writing communities which encourages more constant positivity than is genuinely helpful. There’s an art to giving constructive feedback that’s both helpful, kind yet also authentic. The goal isn’t to protect the writer’s feelings at any cost; the goal is to help the writer improve his or her craft. Also, if you have the dough: Hiring a developmental editor can be very helpful, especially if you’re a new writer and you don’t really know what you’re doing.

Michael Mohr

‘Sincere American Writing’

https://michaelmohr.substack.com/

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This is really great advice; thank you.

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I have used beta readers for my screenplays. I don’t use them for short stories. I have found that a beta reader who is passionate and doesn’t have as many fancy credentials has better insight and advice. I have hired expensive beta readers and I could tell that they didn’t even completely read my screenplay and their advice didn’t make sense. I have had beta readers who were free or charged next to nothing give a better critique of my story simply because it wasn’t just a gig. They just have a passionate love for art and stories. Those type of readers are gold.

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Apr 23, 2023Liked by Tash Doherty

Very helpful post, Tash. Thanks!

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This is good advice. Thank you for sharing.

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Since beta reading is inspired partially by tech startups, here’s a video on how tech startups do it: https://youtu.be/z1iF1c8w5Lg

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