So I've somehow become someone's beta...

Politely decline (or say you've made a mistake) with a short explanation of why.

Being a useful beta reader is hard enough without not wanting to do it.

Go to the SYW section and check out the crits done there, Some are good some are bad, but I wonder at giving a read to a best friend. They may just be looking for you to ooohoo and aaahaaa over it, even if they say be brutal I can take it. Esp if it is their first novel.

Check out this site; http://www.writingforward.com/polished-writing/critiques-2/how-to-provide-helpful-critiques-to-other-writers

Then, first, the two of you should be clear on what's expected. Does he just want an overall opinion of the work, or a detailed critique.

If he's a good friend, you should have no problem talking to him (could be done a little less smoothly vis e-mail)

Sit down over a beer or something, tell him what you are thinking, and explain your dilemna. Constructive offerings on what you DO know about should be readily accepted as long as you don't try to handle them as if you ARE THE EXPERT.

The conversation should naturally flow into what will help you both improve the book.

How about read it and let him know what you think to the best of your ability, while suggesting he get other input as well.

One of my two betas is not even a writer type, and only a casual reader, but she offers me great insight. I don't even always have to agree with ehr!

Start by reading it. Then just be totally honest about what you thought of it. If you are a regular reader then you should be able to offer some useful insight. I find that there are little indicators where something is going wrong. If you have to stop reading because something is confusing. Perhaps you have to go back and re-read a page or two. Why has that happened? Do you find yourself longing for a chapter break because you are finding it boring? Where does that happen, start middle, end? Without being an expert, I bet you can provide some useful feedback.

First, make sure you're both clear on what his expectations are. Then offer to critique one or two chapters, as a trial.

Be prepared for the possibility that he won't be able to handle criticism from you. And better to find that out after just a couple of chapters than by critiquing his entire, beloved manuscript.

To prepare yourself, read some good books on writing, which should help alert you to what to look for. Renni Browne and Dave King's Self-Editing for Fiction Writers is a good place to start. It discusses characterization, POV, dialogue, exposition, voice, and so forth.

Finally, encourage your friend to seek out a good online critique group, so that your opinion isn't the only one he hears. This is particularly important for any negative criticism. It's one thing to hear about a problem just from you; quite another when five other people make the same observation.

If you must....
If you don't read the type of thing you're about to beta, read a few books that are vaguely similar. Ask your friend what kind of crit they want. Check out syw...

You could invite him to join the site

Part of being a beta reader is being a reader. You don't necessarily need to have any expertise in 'what makes a good story' or 'what is likely to get published' other than what you have as a normal, everyday reader of that sort of work.

The depth of crit also depends on what the writer asks for and what stage in the writing process he is at. If he is givnig you a first draft to look over you are better off not going into detail on technical stuff like grammar and spelling (because the chances are the structure of the work will change in future drafts). Stick purely to the character and story - do they work for you? Does the plot make sense? Do you feel the tension and suspense you are supposed to feel at appropriate points? Does any of it bore you? These are relatively quick and easy points to make on a first pass through any piece of work.

If you want to do it, then try it. You might be surprised by how helpful you can be. Find out what your friend is looking for specifically, and go from there. Or just start reading and jot down anything that jumps out at you, whether it's grammar mistakes, scenes that don't make sense, etc. Give yourself a chance!

I'd be extremely wary. You're an inexperienced critiquer, and your friend doesn't have any other writer friends, so it sounds like he's never been critiqued before. Be prepared for him to take it badly.

You could be open to him, since he's a great friend, and let him know that you can read it simply from an interest's perspective. For example: I am a Beta reader for someone right now simply from a "do I think this story could take off?" standpoint.

You know, the best advice I can give is to listen to your gut and offer responsive critique. Unless I specifically ask for prescriptive critique, I don't want it. I don't want someone saying, "you should do X, Y and Z instead." If they simply point out an issue, that's enough for me.

Mark places that you know aren't working (even if you don't know why).

RESPOND, both in positive ways and negative ways.

Wow, this description here rocks!

This description feels "off" to me.

Don't feel like you have to name everything that's tripping you up. When people point to a paragraph and say, "this just feels weird to me, I don't know why," 9 times out of 10, I already sensed it might be wonky and someone pointing it out confirms what I might have suspected which is always good.

I wouldn't bother with grammar except to say, "hey, here's a run-on sentence, watch those throughout." I usually point to a grammatical mistake only once. Otherwise, you can get bogged down in correcting grammar all the way through.

Go micro and macro.

Micro: syntax, word choice, too much N/PN+V repetition, too many adverbs, etc.

Macro: plot, setting, voice, etc.

The best way to learn how to critique is to do it . . . a lot. I had no idea how to critique until I entered into workshops and learned how others did it, learned how to read like a writer.

Sounds fun, though! I'm beta for a few folks and I always love doing it.

Oh yes, always be positive as well as negative. Be constructive, in fact. I did write a blog post about this but I can't remember where I sent it...

Constructive means balance the good with the bad and, where possible, suggest a fix for any problems (or at least admit you can't think of a solution).

Advice for dealing with him:

Tell him--before you start reading--that you will likely be saying negative things about his writing, because that's what a critique is supposed to do--show the writer his/her blind spots. Then ask your friend if he can handle that.

If he sounds worried, you can offer to only tell him about the things you think he's really good at and omit the negative criticism.

He'll probably say he wants to know more than that. So next (this is a negotiation) ask him if he'd like you to keep your advice general and avoid criticizing specific things in the writing, to spare his feelings.

Again, stay attuned to his reaction. He might ask for you to be brutal and not worry about his feelings. He might say yes, keep it general and kind. He might seem scared of even that much criticism and start back-pedalling.

The point is to figure out how much negative criticism he can handle and give him only that much.

The danger is he thinks his work is perfect and awesome and if you say otherwise, his wounded ego will displace the blame from himself onto you. That can ruin friendships, so warn him that you plan to be negative, then hound him until you know how much negative criticism he can take and give him what he's ready for.

Writers learn to accept negative criticism, but it's a process. Find out where--along that road--he currently is.

Advice for you:

Use the sandwich method for criticism. Say what he did well and what you liked. Then tell him what you think doesn't work and, if at all possible, suggest specific tactics he could use to strengthen the work. Then, finish up with more praise.

A demoralized student does not turn in their best work (there are many studies that show this.) Thus, praise is as important as criticism, and people are more receptive to criticism if you've already praised their efforts and given them hope to go on.

The other piece of advice I'd offer is to keep in mind that there are many, many ways to write commercially viable fiction. Keep an open mind about what he's trying to create.

For example, if his prose seems pedestrian and a little cheesy, that may work great as long as he's successfully pulling off the gripping plot of a commercial thriller. If his prose is gorgeous but his plot is difficult to tease out, that may be perfect if he's writing literary fiction that successfully explores complex human emotional experiences.

Give your best advice, but keep in mind that what you would do (and what you consider good writing) is not necessarily what he should do (or what his target audience would consider good writing.)

Best of luck with it!

I second the "sandwich" method.

If someone refuses (at least some) positive critique, I don't use them again. It's not that I need my ego stroked (as nice as that feels), it's that I need to know what IS working and where people are jamming through and really clicking with my writing. Then I can try to recreate that experience.

I have likened it to using a shock collar on a dog. A dog goes one way and ZAP. A dog goes another way and ZAP! ZAP ZAP ZAP until the dog hopes they have found that one, small gap, that narrow pathway that they are supposed to take, and even then . . . who can be sure?

I think that's why I love my writing group. We know one another, know what we want from one another and we give it. Sounds kinky, right?

People who refuse positive critique either (imho) don't know how and don't care, don't know how and want to learn, are lazy, or enjoy riding the negativity on your work for whatever psychologically dysfunctional reasons.

My best friend reads my attempts at fiction and gives good criticisms, always with positive overtones. I however would have preferred him to be more "critical". Being too nice might slow your friend's progress, if that's what he is seeking.

But being too harsh can result in the writer saying yeah what do you know, and then they don't learn anything.

Overmuzed said:

My best friend reads my attempts at fiction and gives good criticisms, always with positive overtones. I however would have preferred him to be more "critical". Being too nice might slow your friend's progress, if that's what he is seeking.

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I agree that if it's all sunshine and kittens, you'll learn little. There should be a balance, imho, unless the writer only asks for the negatives.

I used to think that I wasn't a good beta reader, because the first two times I beta-read for people, it didn't turn out well. The first time was for a close friend, and she didn't take my criticism well. In fact, she didn't speak to me for several years. The next time I offered to beta-read for an acquaintance, she got offended that I'd suggested any changes at all. When I read the finished story, she hadn't made a single adjustment based on my critiques. We're talking basic grammar, here, not stylistic elements that are open to interpretation. And she never spoke to me again, to boot. Anyway, I refused to beta-read for anyone after that because I figured I was just too critical of a judge. I was tired of my advice hurting people's feelings.

When I joined up here, I realized that in order to get my novel beta-read, I'd have to critique someone else's novel in exchange. Much to my surprise, I didn't hurt anyone's feelings. I guess the difference is, the folks here are serious about writing. They've reached the point where they know that in order to improve, they need honest, in-depth feedback. It might sting a little to have your novel critiqued, but anything that makes your story better is worth it.

I guess what I'm saying is, don't despair if your friend doesn't accept your critique of his novel well. It doesn't mean you're a bad beta-reader, it just means he hasn't reached the point where he's ready to accept honest feedback. Try not to let it affect your friendship.

You can mitigate harshness by giving advice on how to fix it. For example: 'You repeat this word too many times. You could delete some of them and for the rest use a thesaurus to find an alternative'. Or, 'I feel this plot is a little thin for a novel, maybe try to beef it up with a sub plot. How about... [insert suggestions]'

I find this works for me both ways - giving and recieving.

MamaStrong said:

You could invite him to join the site

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That's what I was going to say. If you are enjoying/getting a lot out of this site, you should have him join.