Beta readers help

Alexaknight

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Hello fellow writers!

What are the best ways to find trustworthy beta readers that genuinely want to read your work from your experiences (i.e., naturally assuming there isn't just one good way)? This is the one area I haven't had any experience and want to go about it in the best way possible, especially since I was warned by multiple people to be careful about who I share my work with. That's the main reason why I feel extremely stuck on how to go about this in the most positive way.
 

Akvranel

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Hello Alexaknight -

I have a friend who I regularly swap MS's with. If you have a writing group in your area, that's a good way to find people who are writing in your genre and may be willing to read and/or swap.
Outside of that, online, writing dedicated forums are another path and the one I use most often to find beta readers.


Once you've gotten to 50 posts you can request a beta reader in SYW. It is considered good form that, prior to requesting a beta reader, you:
  1. Crit other people's excerpts and query letters in SYW (pop over there - you don't need to be experienced to offer a good critique - just stating if you liked it and what you found confusing is of great value to the OP)
  2. Post an excerpt from your story (usually CH1) and/or a query letter. This helps possible beta readers know what your story is about.

I'm curious who was warning you from sharing your work and what negative experience they had? I've had betas for now 3 separate works and all experiences have been positive. I've been ghosted by a few readers (and, admittedly, done the ghosting), but that's to be expected.

I know a lot of people (generally those who haven't used betas) fear their work will get stolen. Ignoring that your work is almost certainly protected by copyright when you share it (keep in mind I'm not a lawyer and no one on AW will give legal advice), whoever you've asked to beta probably is either not a writer or has their own project to worry about.
 
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Hello fellow writers!

What are the best ways to find trustworthy beta readers that genuinely want to read your work from your experiences (i.e., naturally assuming there isn't just one good way)? This is the one area I haven't had any experience and want to go about it in the best way possible, especially since I was warned by multiple people to be careful about who I share my work with. That's the main reason why I feel extremely stuck on how to go about this in the most positive way.
Hello back atcha!

To find beta readers on this forum, you've got a few options.

1. When you have 50 posts, you can put up a request for beta readers in our Beta Readers section.
2. When you have 50 posts, you can put up your opening scene and/or query letter in Share Your Work, ask for critique, and note that you're looking for beta readers. (You can also do a combo of 1 and 2.)
3. You can join Sage's annual beta project -- it's closed now, but there will be a new one at the start of 2026 -- where folks swap critiques and beta reads.

Elsewhere, there are betas for free/for hire on places like Reddit and stuff. But that's outside my experience.

To find trustworthy betas -- that kinda depends on what you mean by trustworthy!

If you're worried they'll steal your work and publish it under their own name, well.....it could happen, but it's unlikely because (a) self publishing a novel takes a lot of time and/or financial investment to create something anyone is going to pay money for, and (b) trying to get a trade press, large or small, to accept and publish a novel takes a lot of time and has a 99.99% failure rate.

If you're worried you'll get crap/useless feedback, or that the beta's response will be cruel and hurtful, then it's a good idea to check the person's track record. Here on AW, you can look at the feedback they've provided to other authors in Share Your Work. If you think their critiques are friendly and helpful and would be of use to you, that's the kind of beta reader you'll want to entice.

But also note that a lot of folks do beta swaps: I read yours, you read mine. Beta reading a novel is a LOT of work; I generally put somewhere between 20 and 200 hours into a beta read. So the beta reader needs to like your story idea, like your writing style/voice, and probably like you as a person! And if you're doing a swap, you'll be making the same commitment and won't want to take on something/someone you don't like. So get to know people, and their writing, before you get too far into it!
 

Maryn

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I'm that person you heard about, whose work was stolen by a reader and sold. (Long ago, and if I ever meet Kim Newton of Chicago, I'm going to slap her silly take my $35 from her wallet.) And I still don't hesitate to seek beta readers. It's that rare.

What I do seek, though, is limit who I'll consider. It's got to be someone I've gotten to know a bit over a period of months if not years, someone whose posts and other input is never problematic, someone who shows common sense and a good heart in posts having nothing to do with offering feedback. It's the same kind of rule as dumping a guy who's a jerk to waiters--he wasn't a jerk to you, but he's telling you he could be.

Because I write erotica, I also won't consider a beta I don't know because I won't provide free stroke material, which some male members (snort!) seem to think they deserve.

So the thing to do is spend time here, get to know some people, especially those who write in your genre. Get a feel for who you like, who you can trust. Give some critique to others. And if you have time, beta read for someone. It doesn't have to be a direct exchange, but is often something people here pay forward.
 

Alexaknight

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I'm that person you heard about, whose work was stolen by a reader and sold. (Long ago, and if I ever meet Kim Newton of Chicago, I'm going to slap her silly take my $35 from her wallet.) And I still don't hesitate to seek beta readers. It's that rare.

What I do seek, though, is limit who I'll consider. It's got to be someone I've gotten to know a bit over a period of months if not years, someone whose posts and other input is never problematic, someone who shows common sense and a good heart in posts having nothing to do with offering feedback. It's the same kind of rule as dumping a guy who's a jerk to waiters--he wasn't a jerk to you, but he's telling you he could be.

Because I write erotica, I also won't consider a beta I don't know because I won't provide free stroke material, which some male members (snort!) seem to think they deserve.

So the thing to do is spend time here, get to know some people, especially those who write in your genre. Get a feel for who you like, who you can trust. Give some critique to others. And if you have time, beta read for someone. It doesn't have to be a direct exchange, but is often something people here pay forward.
This is great advice! Thank you so much :)
 
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Hello fellow writers!

What are the best ways to find trustworthy beta readers that genuinely want to read your work from your experiences (i.e., naturally assuming there isn't just one good way)? This is the one area I haven't had any experience and want to go about it in the best way possible, especially since I was warned by multiple people to be careful about who I share my work with. That's the main reason why I feel extremely stuck on how to go about this in the most positive way.
Welcome, Alexaknight!

I haven't had to get betas in years, so I'm a little rusty on it (other than running the Beta Project), but back when I submitted things, I used to have no problem finding betas because I was very social and contributory to AW. I wouldn't even need to offer to swap, because folks on here knew that I would pay it forward by offering to beta others' novels that sounded interesting to me, that I would critique over in Share Your Work, and I would contribute across the board in other areas. Because I was active on the board, I had a good idea of who I could trust (I mean, we're all strangers online, but you get a good idea based on who else is contributing here and how they're doing it).

I will probably make my very first post asking for beta in the Beta Readers forum soon. It will take 50 posts before you can request a beta there, but you can offer to beta for other people at any time. Likewise, SYW takes 50 posts to ask for critique, but you can give critiques (and build up goodwill) at any time. Unimportant had some good advice that if anyone does offer to beta, and you're concerned about them, you can check out their track record here on AW.

When it's time to find a beta, if you do offer to swap, you also get a little insurance, right? Someone who trusted you with their novel is not likely to be stealing yours.
 

ShadowsFall

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So I have recently finished a novella and I know the next process is to have multiple beta readers criticize my work (a scary thing to me). I think I'm going to pay multiple people on Fiverr to do so, but I'm unsure if this is a smart way to go.

I am very curious on how people of this board have gone about the whole process.
Where did you find your readers?
Did you let them read the entire manuscript?
Are you ever afraid someone will steal your idea/plot?

Any help would be appreciated.
 

Brigid Barry

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It's fine. šŸ˜Š I've done the same thing on occasion and the mods will either merge threads or lock the new one.
 
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I will attempt my first merge. Hold on to your hats.

ETA: Success! Woohoo!

Carry on as usual.
 

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So I have recently finished a novella and I know the next process is to have multiple beta readers criticize my work (a scary thing to me). I think I'm going to pay multiple people on Fiverr to do so, but I'm unsure if this is a smart way to go.

I am very curious on how people of this board have gone about the whole process.
Where did you find your readers?
Did you let them read the entire manuscript?
Are you ever afraid someone will steal your idea/plot?

Any help would be appreciated.
As the above folks have said, it really depends on what you want in a beta reader. Each will have their strengths, whether it's proofreading, line editing, structural editing, cheerleading, idea-bouncing-off-ing.... You need a beta that can give you what you personally need for this particular book.

Most authors are looking for structural feedback, so that requires getting a beta who reads the whole book.

I've never been afraid anyone would steal my ideas or work, because I'm just plain not that good if a writer. (And, hey, if somebody were able to take my story and published it to great success, I'd immediately write another one just like it and become an even greater success!)

I've found all my readers/critiquers here, or on an earlier forum I was part of, or an even earlier (last century!) online workshop. I married the best one.
 

halloweeencat

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I'm that person you heard about, whose work was stolen by a reader and sold. (Long ago, and if I ever meet Kim Newton of Chicago, I'm going to slap her silly take my $35 from her wallet.) And I still don't hesitate to seek beta readers. It's that rare.
Oof, how absolutely horrible that it happened to you, but glad to hear it's still a rarity.
 

KlausBoldt

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I can't say if it's the best way, but it's a way that worked for me: I have found a beta reader on Fiverr. She had a good track record and also the benefit of acting as a sensitivity reader for me. I was happy to pay her, around 150 EUR for a ~100k word novel, which I found was a reasonable price for somebody who read my work and gave me very detailed and helpful feedback. All in all, I found that to be a very satisfying experience with the added benefit that I supported a writer who actually lives from writing. I went back a second time for the same novel.

I had another experience from the same service where my order was first accepted and then cancelled an hour before it was due. No financial loss and - as far as I can tell - nothing stolen, but I will definitely read the customer reviews carefully.
 
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