Beta Readers

This was a brand new concept for this rookie writer want-to-be. I had never heard about these outstanding individuals who can help an aspiring author with their manuscript. What these people do is go through your manuscript looking for errors, omissions, grammar/spelling, character/plot development issues that the author cannot see because they are too close to the issue. It is almost essential for those who self-publish unless they have the budget to hire an editor. If you publish without this overview and correct obvious errors, your book, no matter how fantastic it could be, will end up being a failure.

It must be said that there are those who charge for the service and some who do not. Those who do, charge a fee that is relatively small as compared to a qualified editor. Usually $100- $120 per manuscript. Compared to 6-7 hundred dollars. Yes, many of them are avid readers who, after reading so many stories can point out irregularities. Some are not good with grammar issues.

What you want from the BF needs to be discussed before entering into verbal agreement with those who do not charge, and in a semi-formal contract for those who do. It all comes down to communication between two individuals.

The writer must have an honest conversation of what they expect from the BF and this must be agreed to before they commit. What are your expectations? Can they deliver it? What timelines do they offer? Do they review changes after the initial consultation? Again, communication!

For either the self-publishing writer or those who want to submit through an agent or publisher, the Beta Reader can clean up an author’s manuscript to make it ready to submit.