The Beta and ARC reader Dilemma

[Kieran Song]

Hey everyone...sorry, it's been a while since my last post. I've been burning the midnight oil finishing up my new novel along with a prequel novella.

Anyhoo, I thought I'd throw the question out there: For authors just getting into the game, how does one go about finding the right "beta reader" and the right "ARC reader"?

Thus far in my mailing list, I have 67 names, all which subscribed to some free short stories I've been giving out. However I don't know any of these 67 people...perhaps they're just individuals who collect free stuff like mass hoarders? Or perhaps they're individuals that might care to assist me in making my story the best it can be?

How do you folks go about choosing the best Beta and ARC readers possible?

Cheers

-Kieran

 

[Brian G Turner]

how does one go about finding the right "beta reader" and the right "ARC reader"?

I choose people from the chrons forums, on the basis of that their reading tastes covered similar ground and I knew they were not afraid to be critical.

My wife is my best beta-reader, though.

 

[The Judge]

If you're looking for help getting the novel right on a technical level before it's published -- ie an extension of a writing group, so someone who will point out spelling errors and plot holes -- you need people who understand writing and preferably the genre of your novel. There's no point asking for technical help from people who wouldn't know POV or character arc if it ambushed them in a dark alley. So your best bet is to ask for help on sites like this one, though to maximise your chances of getting beta-readers you would need to put some unpublished work up in Critiques first, so that people can see if they like your plot and style enough to commit to reading upwards of 80,000 words, and you'd also have to be prepared to reciprocate.

If you're wanting just general feedback from ordinary readers and/or pre-launch reviews on Amazon and the like, then there's nothing to lose contacting those 67 people and asking them if they would like to help. Quite how informed or helpful their views would be, who knows, but at least they've shown some interest in your work already.

 

[Brian W. Foster]

If you have the budget for it, paid beta readers work well for me. Generally, these are fellow authors who have a pretty good knowledge of writing. Advantages include: expertise and, since you're paying them, they work to your schedule. I generally pay $.001/word per beta reader. Right now, I have two that I send every manuscript to, and I generally send out to a third chosen from Upwork or Fiverr.

 

[Nick B]

My beta readers were from this forum, and a good job they did. ARC's you need to ask as many people as possible among book reviewers, bloggers and so on,plus a bunch of readers of the genre you are writing in. Expect quite a low % of the people you ask to actually do it, and not all of them will actualy get round to it, and some may take some time depending on their tbr lists and how busy they are.

 

[Nick B]

And one major thing to watch out for - stay away from the situation where your beta's are people who want to please you, not make you write the best novel possible.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

My beta readers were from here and tend to be my writing group now, with one or two others who I swap with.

My ARC readers tend to be people who liked my earlier stuff. They're my first reviewers - it's important they actually like my style.

 

[Kieran Song]

Sweet, thanks for all the advice! So should I start posting snippets of my work then on the forum and see if peeps enjoy (will stomach) my work? It seems like this forum is fantastic for building that "let's get better" community.

 

[The Judge]

That's what I'd suggest. I don't think you've been over in Critiques before, so just read through the rules and guidelines before you start, then give, say, 500 to 800 words of your opening, and see what reaction you get. If there are issues with it that members pick up, then you have the option of taking the advice and applying it to the rest of your work before you ask for beta readers -- you want the work to be the best it can be before sending it out to them, so they can concentrate on the bigger matters.