Six Questions to Ask Beta Readers

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by Debbie Burke

@burke_writer

Cover by Brian Hoffman

Whew!

I just typed “The End” on the draft of Fruit of the Poisonous Tree, the ninth book in my Tawny Lindholm Thriller series.

But “The End” doesn’t mean THE END. Far from it.

Now the fun begins.

Print out the manuscript.

Pro Tip: print the hard copy in a different font than the one used onscreen. Errors and typos pop out more visibly.

Grab the red pen and let it bleed all over the pages. Look for inconsistencies, plot holes, chronology problems, dangling subplots, name or description changes (blue eyes to brown, blond hair to auburn), etc.

Oops. I changed one character’s name from “Fram” to “Framson” and hit “replace all.” But I forgot to put a space on either side of the name. Therefore, every time the letters “fram” appeared, it was changed to “Framson.” The same petite frame now read The same petite Framson.

Once you transfer corrections from the hard copy into the digital copy, it’s time to send to beta readers. Their fresh eyes are invaluable because the author is too close to the story and can’t judge it objectively.

How can you help beta readers help you?

  1. Choose beta readers carefully.

They don’t necessarily need to be other writers, but they do need to be avid readers. Their function is to assess your book as if they plucked it off the bookstore shelf.

Find people who read in your genre. You probably shouldn’t choose a fan of blood-and-guts action thrillers to beta read a picture book for young readers.

But don’t eliminate a possible beta simply because they don’t often read your genre. A viewpoint from a different perspective frequently gives additional dimension your story wouldn’t otherwise have.

  1. Find people you can depend on to read in a timely manner. If you have a deadline, let them know it.
  2. Find appropriate experts.

Do your books have legal, medical, law enforcement, professional, technical, and/or historical elements?

Are you writing about a society, nationality, culture, ethnicity, religion, or other group that you’re not familiar with?

If so, ask for an expert’s help to make your depictions authentic.

Experts are often busy professionals in their field and may not have time to read the entire book. You can send them select passages that you’d like them to review.

For instance, in Deep Fake Double Down, I wanted short, understandable descriptions about how to create and detect deep fakes, but not too many details to bog the story down. I sent several short excerpts to the expert (say that three times fast). He made suggestions and corrected out-of-date information. The review only took him an hour (including our phone conversation) and my story had accurate details.

  1. Ask specific questions.

Do character actions seem plausible and realistic?

Is the plot interesting? Can you follow it?

Does the writing flow smoothly?

Were you confused? Please note where.

Did you lose interest in places? Please note where.

Are there dangling threads that need to be wrapped up?

Please note anything that bothered you.

If you are concerned about particular issues, let betas know so they’re on the lookout.

5. Series writers need to consider additional factors when asking for feedback from beta readers.

Are your books a series?  Or are they serials?

Generally, a series (Sherlock Holmes, Sue Grafton’s Alphabet Series) features continuing characters in a common location, during a similar time frame, often with consistent themes. Each book stands alone with a self-contained plot arc of beginning, middle, end. A reader does not necessarily have to read the books in order.

PublishDrive.com defines serials as:

“…literary works published in sequential installments rather than as complete, standalone books. A serial is a continuing narrative that must be read in the proper sequence to understand the plot.”

Serial examples are The Hunger Games trilogy, Harry Potter (seven books), and Breaking Bad on TV.

Serials can be:

Duology (2 books)

Trilogy (3)

Tetralogy (4)

Pentalogy (5)

Hexology (6)

Heptology (7)

Octology (8)

Ennealogy (9)

Decology (10)

For this post, I only talk about series, not serials.

Generally, readers prefer to read series books in order even though that’s not necessary.

With each book, series writers need to establish the ongoing characters and their relationships to each other, the world where the story takes place, and the time frame.

My Tawny Lindholm Thriller series features investigator Tawny Lindholm and attorney Tillman Rosenbaum. All books (except one) take place in Montana. A common theme is justice will be done (although not necessarily in the courtroom!). Each is written as a standalone.

In the first book, Instrument of the Devil, Tawny is a 50-year-old recent widow who unwittingly becomes entangled in a terrorist plot to destroy the electric grid. Tillman is the attorney who keeps her from going to prison, then hires her to be his investigator.

Although their relationship arc changes and evolves through the series, the plot of each book is separate and self-contained.

For series authors, the balancing act is always how much review is needed to orient new readers vs. too much rehashing from past books that bores ongoing readers.

My regular betas know the series history. But with each new book, I seek out at least one fresh reader who hasn’t read prior books. For that person, I ask specific questions like:

Are relationships among characters clear and understandable?

Can you follow the plot easily?

When events from past books are referred to, can you still follow the current story?

Are past references confusing or unclear?

Do you want more information or clarification?

  1. What about spoiler alerts in a series? Over a number of books, continuing characters often undergo changes in marital/relationship status, children, mental or physical abilities, and even death. They can move to a different location. They shift jobs or functions.

The overall theme may even evolve. One great example is Sue Coletta’s Mayhem series. Hero Shawnee spends several books under attack from serial killer, Mr. Mayhem. Then (spoiler alert) they become unlikely allies as eco-warriors against common enemies that threaten wildlife.

Some spoilers are inevitable. The most obvious is the hero survives the life-or-death catastrophe from the prior book. Otherwise, s/he wouldn’t be around for succeeding stories.

Where does a series author draw the line about giving away secrets?

In Fruit of the Poisonous Tree, I wrangled with a difficult spoiler and even asked for advice from TKZ readers.

The surprise ending from the third book, Eyes in the Sky, comes back to haunt the ongoing characters in the ninth book. I had to weigh whether it was more important to preserve the surprise from Eyes or tell a current story built around that in Fruit. Ultimately, I gave up worrying about revealing it and wrote the new story that demanded to be told.

Fruit of the Poisonous Tree is now out to beta readers, and I’m interested in their reactions to this spoiler.

~~~

Beta readers are important friends for writers to have. To thank them, I always acknowledge them in the published book, give them a signed copy, and, if possible, take them out for lunch or dinner, or send them a small gift.

Make your beta reader’s job as easy and painless as possible. The resulting rewards are well worth it!

~~~

TKZers: Have you used beta readers? Any ideas for other questions to ask them?

Have you been a beta reader? Did the author include questions or concerns for you to watch for? Did that help?

~~~

Deep Fake Double Down was chosen as a Top Pick for the Silver Falchion award, sponsored by Killer Nashville, and was the Mystery Finalist for the BookLife Prize.

Available at major online booksellers.

 

Visit debbieburkewriter.com for more information and release dates for Fruit of the Poisonous Tree.

31 thoughts on “Six Questions to Ask Beta Readers”

  1. Excellent post. Editing is fun even if it never seems to be done. This post will be a great guide to editing my next book.

    • Brian, you’re so right that editing never seems to be done. There’s aways one more tweak.

      A big thank you shoutout for the beautiful cover of Fruit of the Poisonous Tree!

  2. Good post, Debbie. Sometimes I use beta readers, sometimes I don’t. My critique partners might be considered beta readers, and they catch things before they get out of hand.
    A tip: you said “Oops. I changed one character’s name from “Fram” to “Framson” and hit “replace all.” But I forgot to put a space on either side of the name. Therefore, every time the letters “fram” appeared, it was changed to “Framson.” The same petite frame now read The same petite Framson.”
    All you have to do is select “whole words only” in the “More” options on the Replace menu.

    • Terry, thanks for that tip about whole words. As many years as I’ve used Word, I’ve barely scratched the surface of its capabilities.

      I’m lucky to have both critique partners and beta readers. The limitation of critique partners is they only read a small chunk of ms. at a time. That’s great for the first draft as I’m feeling my way through the story. But once it’s done, I like betas who look at the whole picture. They spot continuity and pacing problems.

  3. Thanks for the shout-out, Debbie! My editor and proofreader act as beta readers for me. I also have a husband and wife team who receive early ARCs and act as betas. Neither write, which makes them my ideal readers. Sometimes writers can get too caught up in the small stuff to be of value, myself included.

    • Sue, your series is a terrific example of evolving characters whose roles change during the series.

      A person who’s an editor, proofreader, and beta reader all in one is a treasure.

      I agree that other writers often focus on points that regular readers gloss right over and don’t care about.

  4. I’ve thus far used beta readers once–I like your list of questions and wish I’d been more specific like that. But that’s why we have TKZ so I can continue to learn. 😎

    Question concerning: “If you are concerned about particular issues, let betas know so they’re on the lookout.” – in your experience of using beta readers – if you express concerns about particular concerns you have about the story, does that remove their objectivity in assessing the story or do you feel it enhances it?

    And thank you for the tip on having a beta who hasn’t read a prior book in your series to ensure they got enough background to bring them up to speed/not confused. Hadn’t thought about that.

    • Brenda, great question about particular concerns!

      When I ask questions like that, it’s usually in the form of “Do you think X’s reaction to Y is consistent with the way you perceive his/her character?” Or “Did the chase scene keep your interest? Would you like more detail or less?” Or “Would you like more family/job/history background info? Or less?”

      That way, I try not to influence them but guide them to share their own conclusions.

  5. This is a very helpful post on using beta readers, Debbie, and one I’ll refer aspiring authors to in the future.

    Beta readers are essential to my own writing and publishing process. I have a team of seven to eight beta readers, who all read in my genre, cozy mystery. Two are former library colleagues, another is a published author, another is a former editor. I give them a list of questions very similar to yours, with the caveat that they can answer as many as they see fit. Most answer all of them. A few give me line comments—mostly catching goofs or places where things are unclear.

    One question I add is, “did you figure out the mystery, and when?” Actually, my books usually have two mysteries, one involving murder, so they address both. They’ll indicate who they suspected in the murder and when they began suspecting them.

    Your series questions are excellent and I’m going to use that with Meg Booker #3.

    I have beta read myself and, yes, I did get some guidance, but not as structured as the approach you and I use with our respective betas.

    Beta readers provide an informed reader’s feedback. They can also let you know what they enjoyed and cheer you on even as they let you know where they found problems, confusions, etc, Their enthusiasm for the book is also important, especially after you’ve spent many months slaving over the book, alone, wondering if it all works.

    Hope you have a wonderful week.

    • “did you figure out the mystery, and when?”

      Dale, that’s superb question!!! Thanks!!!

      Maybe ask an additional question: “Whom did you suspect and why?”

      You’ve got a great lineup of betas, esp. librarians who add a valuable dimension b/c they observe firsthand what readers like and respond to. Someone who works in a bookstore would also be helpful.

  6. Great post, Debbie. A lot of good ideas for beta reading.

    Since I write clean teen fantasy, I wanted middle grade and high school students for beta readers. I was fortunate in the beginning to work with a gifted and talented program coordinator, and the feedback from students was very helpful. Unfortunately, when the coordinator moved on to another position, I had to work directly with the teachers. That didn’t go so well, because the teachers were so busy with all their curriculum requirements. I moved on to the home school community.

    Thanks for the wonderful ideas. Have a great day!

    • Steve, going straight to your targeted readers is the best idea ever. But, as you say, sadly teachers don’t have time to encourage “optional” reading.

      The Authors of the Flathead sponsors an annual student writing contest. When the G&T program was still operating, the submissions were often terrific. Since the pandemic, both quantity and quality of submissions has plummeted. Discouraging.

  7. I’m still soooo far away from getting to the beta reader stage, but I’ll save this post for later. Thanks.

  9. I have been fortunate enough to have been a beta reader for a few books. Sometimes whole books, sometimes just sections. In real life I am a computer geek. I check/suggest computer use. It is fun to see my suggestions in the final book.

    My eldest child is a recent graduate of Transylvania University. Transylvania really does have a crypt under the Administration building. It ended up in “Dead of Night” by Elaine Viets. The hard part. Oldest child had to keep the secret until the book was published.

    • How cool to know the inside story beforehand, Alan!

      I’m always amazed and gratified by the willing enthusiasm of beta readers. As you say, it’s fun to see something you contributed wind up in the published book.

  10. Hey, Debbie. I just had a Beta reader look at my new manuscript and asked, ‘Did you know who the killer is?’
    She didn’t, but she gave me more ideas for clues.

  11. Great info about beta readers, Debbie.

    I’ve been fortunate to have beta readers for each of my novels, and they’ve provided me with feedback that made the stories better. The most important is my husband, who always softens his critiques with generous compliments. Beyond him, I rely on fellow authors as well as some friends who are avid readers. All of them give critiques from different perspectives.

    • Different perspectives are really helpful, Kay. They always make me consider something I hadn’t thought of.

      Lucky you to have a great critiquer-husband! We should do a poll sometime about how many writers have their partners read their work. From what people tell me, it either works wonderfully or becomes grounds for divorce 😉

  12. Nice article.

    One novel I read had one heck of a find and replace error. In paranormal fiction, “The Light” is what you see and cross over into when you die. Every time someone cut on a light switch, “The Light” came on. Snicker. It was the most amusing part of the book.

    • Thanks, Marilynn.

      Ouch, but it’s funny. That’s why I never trust spell-check, autocorrect, or myself. Always proof one last time.

  13. I voted for both you and Kay!
    With the last few books I’ve written, I haven’t had time to send out to beta readers or critique partners…hoping I will with the one I’m working on now. Otherwise my editors will be my beta readers. lol

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