For The Unsung Beta Readers
Can we do away with the myth of writing being the result of lonely work done in isolation? The fact is it takes a single-minded collective to make a viable work. The writer may need solitude and silence to create, but to make that creation into a book requires a devoted community. We readily sing the praises of agents and editors and cover artists. This short essay is dedicated to those in the background who’ve more than earned a pedestal all their own: our Beta Readers.
Writers float our ideas and drafts past a myriad of minds in the process of creation. We have writers’ groups and friends and family, who will, to varying degrees, level with us about the experience of the read. We count on them for encouragement and acceptance of our work in its early drafts. We anticipate their questions about logic and missing elements or those aspects we might amplify. We brainstorm and bounce ideas off of one another.
These participants in our writing processes are to be cherished. They are not, however, Beta Readers. Simply put, a Beta Reader is one who takes on the book in its (hoped for) final draft, as though they’ve purchased this book and are honoring the writer with a meticulously careful read. Betas offer copious notes, most of which are narrative questions gone unanswered or pinpointing of tics in the language. Engage a group of three to five Betas, and their reads will reveal patterns in terms of problems. Without fail, at least one more draft will arise from their responses.
Simply put, a Beta Reader is one who takes on the book in its (hoped for) final draft, as though they’ve purchased this book and are honoring the writer with a meticulously careful read.
It’s Beta Readers who tell us when we have a finished book. We learn of the parts and characters they love. We learn also where clarity is lacking. That’s one of the reasons it’s beneficial to ask those with no prior knowledge of your book to serve as Betas. It’s also to the writer’s best interest to ask for specific elements in the book they feel warrant closer feedback. Limiting that focus to no more than five points will make the Beta’s work more useful to what is needed in terms of the writing process.
The hallmark of a Beta Reader is truth-telling. We have to be ready to hear what we feel to be finished work may still have some detritus, confusions, and story opportunities too good to leave unexplored. Setting the ego aside and courageous listening to a Beta Reader is to accept that any reading is valid to that reader. Any reader’s response is a measure of what that reader needs from a story and what they found in the one offered. One read gives us an interesting datum. Multiple readings provide actionable data. A writer’s job is not to make her Beta Readers happy. The job is to use Beta feedback to make sure what she has put on the page engages readers’ emotions and generates on-going curiosity as to what happens next.
What a Beta Reading offers us is an irreplaceable gift. It’s also work. For this reason, I make it a practice to reimburse my Beta Readers for their time and skill. Not with a fortune, but what I can manage as a measure of my gratitude for their efforts on my behalf. When choosing my readers, I make it a point to choose at least one who I am certain will not appreciate the book. These “I don’t like this” readings are often the most insightful and instructive in finding out where I can live with a negative reading.
The novel I recently completed took almost a year of revisions based on the notes from my five gifted Beta Readers. Their notes changed the way I see my story—as well the way I see my life. The confidence I feel in the book’s future is founded on their readings. Why do we call them Betas, when they are the gatekeepers in the realms of “finished.” My gratitude to those who have read for me is boundless.
Writing Exercise
Make a list of potential Beta Readers for your project. Different kinds of work may call for different kinds of Betas, so with the list of names also note what they bring to your book that would provide useful feedback. Write a list of questions you have for those readers, the more specific the better. Choose no more that five. Decide what you can offer as acknowledgement of the Beta Reader’s time and attention. What you choose is not as meaningful and the act acknowledgement itself. Your next phase is now in place. When you reach the point in your project where you feel you can do no more without a response to the book as a whole, reach out to three to five Betas from you list and ask if they’re available. This process can take some time. Be patient. The wait is worth it.
Photo by Roger Bradshaw on Unsplash