Where best to find beta readers?

[Mouse]

I agree with that, springs, everybody who's helped with TBM at the mo, at whatever stage, has been brilliant. I'm pretty sure it'd be super crap without you and amw. I'm quite scared the new betas are gonna hate it though!

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Sounds like you need a spreadheet.

shhh, don't tell everyone. I can't see me ever begging as many reads as I did with the first book, but it did start from a very low base...

edit: @Mouse, I'd be very surprised if they did. It's very, very good, and really easy to read. Speaking of which, am I due an installment?

 

[Mouse]

edit: @Mouse, I'd be very surprised if they did. It's very, very good, and really easy to read. Speaking of which, am I due an installment?

Um yeah, if that's ok? It's close to the end but the pace is about to drop off for a wee bit for chapter 50, so thoughts would be handy.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

cool as.

 

[allmywires]

My ears are burning...

I will chime in here and add that everybody who's helped me over the last 6 or so months has changed my view on writing irreversibly (for good!). Now I can be confident that one day...after many pickings-apart on the chrons...I may finally be able to produce a half-decent, ok-ish, book.

 

[Glen]

The good news, Glen, is that the target is only 300 posts

Hurrah! I don't think I'm too far off, but it will probably take a while anyway as I don't often post to the threads. Only when a pearl of wisdom, or a gag, occurs to me. Which isn't often.

for those planning a tidal wave of posts

No worries on the tsunami/assassin front from me. See above.
:0)

 

[alchemist]

Despite all my positive experiences, it should be pointed out that things can go wrong. I critted a rather large book and when it came time for reciprocation, the other person disappeared (just in case anyone is worried, this person no longer hangs around here). I'm mildly annoyed but I learned a valuable lesson. Unless you really know the person well, swap at the same time.

You also need to be sure the person you swap with is a good fit. There's no point sending your gory military sci-fi to a person who writes about fairydust (and vice versa) unless you can be sure they will park their own likes and can tell their own tastes from from what could be an objective writing issue.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Yes, i have had a couple of negative experiences. Both, interestingly, were with non specific genre readers. In one case, i was knocked very badly, which made me think about going and painting unending bridges instead. On the other hand the kick up the proverbial probably gve me the determination to crack it and learn, and caused about a thousand of my ridiculous mount of posts.

 

[Warren_Paul]

I've had my experience with terrible beta readers as well. One in particular had no interest in giving constructive criticism and instead decided to bash my writing to such an extreme that it left me depressed for several days afterwards. The comments were so excessively negative and worded so bad that they became offensive.

I've done a few swaps in the past and would be happy to do more in the future. After all, I'm working on a new piece that will need some critiquing done before long. Although honestly, I do worry that I might not be good enough at the critiquing side of things, but I try.

 

[Hex]

I guess that's where the informal side of things falls down -- we have no way of knowing who reciprocates and who vanishes. It's a risk :|

I'm a bit hopeless but I haven't vanished completely on someone who's read my stuff (yet). Sorry about the fairydust, though.

 

[Peter Graham]

Only when a pearl of wisdom, or a gag, occurs to me. Which isn't often.

My kind of chap. Well done.

Let's not worry too much about the difference between alpha and betas (not that anyone was). Both are jargon-y, imprecise terms which simply refer to People Who Offer Help With Your Unfinished Book at One Point or Another. The problem with this sort of in-group jargon is that it makes folk think that a) this stuff actually means something important and b) they must get a stable of alpha, beta, gamma and delta readers eftsoones and right speedily.

What you really need is the assistance - at whatever stage - of someone whose views you trust, who can be relied upon to be honest, who can string a grammatically coherent sentence together and who actually knows something about books and writing. If you are very lucky, you might have a pal who works in publishing or who is a literary agent. You might know a published writer, be that a writer of novels, poems or articles for Extreme Knitwear. You might know a bookseller, or a critic. You are possibly more likely to know an English teacher, or someone with a degree in English literature. You are more likely still to know a keen fan of your particular genre, who is sufficiently intelligent, well read and of sound enough mind to be a barometer of what might sell. In an ideal world, these are the people to call upon.

What I think folk should avoid is sticking up a general call to arms and just grabbing anyone who rises to the bait. You may well be getting bad advice and where's the sense in that? You need to be selective and there is no harm in targeting folk direct if you have a way in to do so. They can only say no, after all.

Regards,

Peter

 

[alchemist]

Sorry about the fairydust, though.

All it needed was an implanted tactical nuclear weapon to spread the fairydust and a cyborg attack squad to kill the survivors, and it would have been fine, honest.

 

[Tecdavid]

Wow, I kicked off a decent discussion here. First time that's happened, methinks.

It's great to learn how to go about finding trusted readers, and I'm quite surprised to hear that the Chrons has a hidden board found by trekking down a secret passage only a magic number of posts can uncover. My word, this place really is all for fantasy.
It'll be a while before I see it, though. I find myself logging on here far too often only to discover I have nothing to say.

 

[Mouse]

What I think folk should avoid is sticking up a general call to arms and just grabbing anyone who rises to the bait.

Seconded.

 

[C. A. Mitchell]

I've never had beta readers because I'm too scared. There, I said it. And reading this thread, I don't know if my fear has eased or tripled!

After 9000 rejections my hand will likely be forced...

 

[Ray McCarthy]

go north
Command>
look around
"You are in a cavern with lots of books on shelves and a table with a small bottle on it. To the north and east are small doorways only 150mm high. The east door has a keyhole. The south is an open passageway and west has door with keyhole."
Command>
pick up bottle

 

[Ray McCarthy]

Alpha = very First version
Beta = Second, later came to mean pre-release version that might be complete. Depending on feedback, might not be the last version before release.
Originally arithmetic used the letters of the Alef Bet / Alpha Beta for numeric value. So Alpha and Beta versions of something I'm sure predates software development.

I bought a Satellite receiver once with the model name "Beta". Unfortunately appropriate.

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

Just to put my tuppence worth in. A beta reader can't be wrong. (Editors can be since they're often looking for technical correctness.) In my view what you want from a beta reader is their opinion about a book. Did they like it or not? Did they follow the plot? How do they feel about the characters? etc etc. You're asking them mainly for opinion, and opinion is always individual. The value in them - apart from sometimes finding issues - is that they make you re-examine your work from another perspective.

Screw the grammar and spelling etc, beta readers should be telling you things like "well I would have liked the book but the MC really got up my nose and I wanted him to die half way through." That's then your cue as a writer to go back to the book and the character, and ask yourself, does that seem fair? Is that what I wanted from my MC? Should I rewrite him a litte or a lot? Or not at all?

Cheers, Greg.

 

[millymollymo]

I fussed and worried about my lack of 'beta' readers in my whole write - edit process. They let you see your work from a different perspective and help you spot the hicoughs. That in itself won't guarantee you a publishing deal. Editors edit for a reason after all. A beta reader can bring a level of collaboration if they know what your aiming for, they can also bring a great deal of stress. Most people I know with good beta-bonds ( let's make some stuff up while we're at it, eh?) find their readers through friendship, forum or con. Sometimes it's a stab in the dark and the whole feedback has your chasing black holes that aren't there. It's still down to you as the writer of your world to decide if that improves or leads away from where your aiming.

 

[hopewrites]

I've only used friends for beta so far, but that might have to do with how I pick my friends more than how I pick my betas.
I mean, I'm less likely to stay friends with someone who wont tell me in the store that the jeans I'm trying on arent working for me, or that I've got corn stuck in my teeth before the water comes back with a check. So I know I can trust them to tell me that I can spell well enough for them to catch my meaning, or that I've completely glossed over some major plot point because it made sense to me when I wrote it.
I'm also not far enough along in anything I'm working on to do swaps, so I'd be more inclined to read for someone who didnt have time atm to return the favor but wouldnt mind doing it at some future point.

But over all I completely agree with Spring that you want to find the readers that will give you the most helpful advice for the stage you are in.