Mention Beta reader responses in a query?

jeffschanz

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I looked, and maybe I missed it if its posted anywhere, but I'm curious if anyone should or should not mention their beta reader responses to prospective agents.
I haven't done this yet, and wouldn't plan to without some assurance it wouldn't be detrimental. But since my beta responses thus far have been very positive, I was curious if there's a way to use that to my advantage other than just for my own satisfaction?
It seems like it might seem amateur to an agent, but I figured it would be best to hear the community's opinion on this. Thanks!
 

Bacchus

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It does kind of smack of "My mom really liked it!"

At least your mum read it! Mine won't read anything that isn't by Jeffrey Archer )c:



ETA - and, back on thread, OP, no, I wouldn't do this.
 

DarienW

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Thanks for asking this, jeffschanz. I've had all good ones too, including my mum, Bacchus and frimble, LOL! But it's not exactly a credit. The agent doesn't know who the betas are, or how good they are.

I do think pitches that have gone through betas are better than ones that haven't, but again, probably not worth pointing out.

I'm glad you're getting good feedback though! Best of luck with your story and pitch!

:)
 

FJaneH

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I agree with others, but would argue that even if they are agented or published writers, or even bestselling authors, you should not include them. Same with contest wins, unless it's a huge contest (like over 1000 entries), don't bother including the win on your query. Contests and beta readers are super important to hone your craft, but an agent assumes you've had feedback on your work, so there is no need to tell them about it. I know it sucks, and I am very happy for you that beta readers love your work, but agents see so many queries, it's best to keep out unnecessary info.

Although I have heard of querying writers approaching big-name published ones for blurbs before querying, which is just weird, if you ask me.
 

Hbooks

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That's awesome that your betas think your manuscript is amazing! I agree with the others that probably you should leave it out and let the writing speak for itself.
 

jeffschanz

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Yep. Thanks all. I think you're all dead on.
Sucks, but yep.
Does anybody do anything at all with good responses? Seems a shame to waste them, but besides running around in the streets clanging pots and pans from glee, there doesn't seem to be much use for reviews of something that isn't published yet.
 

Isobel

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I don't do this with Beta comments, but in real life I am a professor, and I keep a folder of kind emails from former students that I read when I've had a rough day. I can imagine cutting and pasting similar comments from Betas into one place might be a pick me up on a tough writing day.
 

FJaneH

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Yep. Thanks all. I think you're all dead on.
Sucks, but yep.
Does anybody do anything at all with good responses? Seems a shame to waste them, but besides running around in the streets clanging pots and pans from glee, there doesn't seem to be much use for reviews of something that isn't published yet.

Wallpaper your walls with them. But seriously, professionally, there is not much use to reviews pre-publication, BUT keep all those good reviews. put them in a binder or something to read when you're getting discouraged.
 

WeaselFire

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... I'm curious if anyone should or should not mention their beta reader responses to prospective agents.

Absolutely. Under one very specific circumstance:

Dear Agent;

An author you represent, Debbie Bestseller, is one of my beta readers and said my novel would be exactly what you're looking for...

Jeff
 

cornflake

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Absolutely. Under one very specific circumstance:

Dear Agent;

An author you represent, Debbie Bestseller, is one of my beta readers and said my novel would be exactly what you're looking for...

Jeff

I would say to never, ever do that, unless the person has given you permission to say that to that specific agent -- and then I think it'd make an agent wonder why it didn't generate a ref.
 

jeffschanz

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Yeah, I figured there's not much else to do. If I was way more experienced at this, I'd probably not be so focused on such a small sample size. But since the experience is new, I'm excited. And since agents ignore me, I'm frustrated. Not a good combo. I'm learning though. I'll get there.
 

Woollybear

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Does anybody do anything at all with good responses? Seems a shame to waste them, but besides running around in the streets clanging pots and pans from glee, there doesn't seem to be much use for reviews of something that isn't published yet.

Some of my readers love my story to the point that they have brought it up within the context of their book club (I did not ask them to do this.)

I think there must be a way to use positive beta reads as part of building a platform? Not sure how. Hard to imagine it would matter in any way shape or form, but that's the only idea I can think of. It has to be good for networking at some level.
 

Thomas Vail

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Not really, beyond what any positive review would do for you, and that only matters after you're published. A million good beta responses and a dime still isn't going to get you a cup of coffee, but if you have that much positive reaction going into publication it should bode well for how many people are going to want to buy your book.
 

Harlequin

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Good beta responses means, you have betas who you can probably get feedback from again. That's valuable in its own right for reasons outside of querying.

Referrals you can use, but those generally aren't done in the same way and there's no guarantee there either.
 

jeffschanz

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Yeah, thanks Harlequin. That was sorta my hope, since those folks might be considered friends now. I'll probably be hitting up the nice folks again whenever I do publish asking if they'd be so kind to repeat the review officially. Until then, I'll just keep it to myself, with the valuable knowledge that I may not suck after all. :)
 

frimble3

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Save the beta responses for when you need encouragement, and, maybe, depending on how many there are, save their names and contact numbers, and ask them to review the finished product?
 

cornflake

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Yeah, I figured there's not much else to do. If I was way more experienced at this, I'd probably not be so focused on such a small sample size. But since the experience is new, I'm excited. And since agents ignore me, I'm frustrated. Not a good combo. I'm learning though. I'll get there.

Have you put your query through QLH?

That it's already published is going to take a lot of agents out of the running, regardless of the query, but QLH could help.
 

jeffschanz

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cornflake, nothing of mine is published yet. Is QLH one of the group/forums here?
I'm working on my synopsis again, since obviously my old one isn't getting any agent love. I've had some good feedback from another online group, so maybe I'm in a good spot. We'll see.
 

BenPanced

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cornflake, nothing of mine is published yet. Is QLH one of the group/forums here?
I'm working on my synopsis again, since obviously my old one isn't getting any agent love. I've had some good feedback from another online group, so maybe I'm in a good spot. We'll see.

It's over in Share Your Work (password: vista).
 

cornflake

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cornflake, nothing of mine is published yet. Is QLH one of the group/forums here?
I'm working on my synopsis again, since obviously my old one isn't getting any agent love. I've had some good feedback from another online group, so maybe I'm in a good spot. We'll see.

The book in your sig is published. It's on your site (and others I'm sure) for download.