My suggestion, and this will benefit both the reader and the writer, is to send along a list of questions you hope the reader will answer. If your beta doesn't have specific things to look for, you might receive comments like, "I really liked it!" or, "Just wasn't my cup of tea." Comments such as those are no help whatsoever.
The following are some of the important questions, I as a writer, would like answered. Of course, this assumes the manuscript has already gone through the process of critique and editing so it's readable. Oh, and make sure you give your betas a deadline.
1. How soon were you hooked into the story? Or, if you never felt hooked, do you have any suggestions?
2. Did you feel a connection with the characters? Were they well rounded and interesting? Did any fall flat? (This is especially important to me since I try to write character driven stories)
3. Was there a point in the story where it became dull and you lost interest?
4. Are there any plot holes or questions that never got answered?
5. And the most important question for me is, after you read the last page and set the book down, how did you feel? Did you love it and want to read more? Or was it, "WTF did I just waste my time reading?"
I enjoy my stories whether anyone else does or not, but my goal is to write stories that entertain. While it's nice to get a pat on the back, knowing what might need to be improved is more important at this stage.
Also, a question I see all the time is, "Where do I find beta readers?" My answer to that is join online writer's groups. There are plenty to choose from on every social media platform. Become an active member who comments on posts, encourages others, and occasionally share snippets of your own work. Then, when you are ready, ask for beta readers from the group, and you should get plenty of takers. It seems that 4-6 people is a good number to start with.
I hope this has been some help to those ready to send their baby out into the world.
Thanks for reading!
I read a couple books by an established author in Southeren California. He's a professor in the English department and got his PhD for the time period I wrote my book in.
ReplyDeleteI got a wild hair, and emailed him asking him to beta read it for me. I didn't expect a reply or at least expected a no. He said he would by the end of May.
I did include most of the questions you noted above as a primer, so to speak. I'm sure he knows what a beta reader ought to do, but I wanted to be sure he knew that I knew.
Timely blog, Roland.
That's awesome, Jerry! I can't wait to hear what he has to say. It's not everyday people like that will take the time to read someone else's work. If he likes it and mentions it to other people, that could really help sell your story!
ReplyDeleteI sure learned my lesson with my first efforts at a book. I never felt so frustrated when I got "Yeah, it was good." and other one-sentence comments. GRUNT!
ReplyDeleteThe next book got a questionnaire very like yours. I worked hard at wording the questions so it didn't feel too much like high school homework.
The problem is I feel unable to *demand* anything of these readers. I'd love to impose a hard deadline, but they're volunteers doing me a favour. For that same reason, I didn't slap some of them silly when I only got those one-line summations.
Every now and then I'm shocked at how cynical I must be in dark corners of my mind. I would never send an unpublished manuscript out into the wilds of the interweb for beta-reading. Snippets and pages, sure, but the full-meal deal? Only in the most special instances.
Yeah, comments like that are next to useless and make me wonder if they even bothered to read it. I try not to make it sound like a demand, more like "It would be great if you could get back to me in about a month so I can send it to my editor".
ReplyDeleteI'll only accept new beta readers if I've interacted with them in a group, and have a feeling for how the treat others.
Sometimes you just gotta take a chance.