by Soulla Christodoulou
Welcome to this week’s post about Beta Readers and why I wouldn’t be without them.
A Beta Reader is someone who I select to read my manuscript from start to finish, prior to the story being sent out to publishers if publishing traditionally or before uploading to a publishing site if publishing through the Indie route.
This is an important part of my writing to publishing journey. It highlights any aspect which doesn’t quite read or sit right with the reader or within the story, as well as any glaring spelling mistakes, plot holes or anomalies.
The Beta Reader is not an editor but a reader – someone who enjoys reading and can comment on how the story unfolds, whether the characters are rounded and real, whether the setting feels right at each stage of the story, whether the time line works or if there are any confusing points in the story which spoil their enjoyment of the story.
Once feedback is received from my beta readers, I read through and analyse the comments and action those which I deem justifiable, and a final round of edits follows before I send the story to my publisher and/or the editing team,
Being a beta reader is a great honour and it means you get to read the book before anyone else.
As a thank you, I will always include my Beta Readers by name in the acknowledgements section of the book.
Have you ever been a Beta Reader? How was the experience for you?
Until next week, thank you for reading.
With much love, Soulla xxx
