Nicole Wilson
Basic
If you use beta readers, how do you find them? And how do you make sure they do what they promised to?
For my first novel, I had eight beta readers. One was my hubby, two were my parents, three were friends, and two were people my husband works with who asked to read it. I gave them my manuscript back in December with a cover letter that laid out what I was looking for: honest feedback (even if it sucked as long as they told me where it sucked) and a couple questions for after they read it. And I asked for it back in the March-April area.
Of those eight, two (that's right, TWO) have gotten them back to me. Seven months later. My husband, who's a writer and understands the importance of beta readers, and a friend were the two. The other six have either said they're still working on it or they've stopped responding to my texts completely. At this point, they're reading such an outdated version of my book that it doesn't matter terribly much if they get it back to me.
But, now gun-shy from my first experience, I'm coming up on the time when I'll need beta readers for my second book. Yet I don't know how to find them. Are friends a bad idea? Do I have to pay for beta readers? Any advice?
For my first novel, I had eight beta readers. One was my hubby, two were my parents, three were friends, and two were people my husband works with who asked to read it. I gave them my manuscript back in December with a cover letter that laid out what I was looking for: honest feedback (even if it sucked as long as they told me where it sucked) and a couple questions for after they read it. And I asked for it back in the March-April area.
Of those eight, two (that's right, TWO) have gotten them back to me. Seven months later. My husband, who's a writer and understands the importance of beta readers, and a friend were the two. The other six have either said they're still working on it or they've stopped responding to my texts completely. At this point, they're reading such an outdated version of my book that it doesn't matter terribly much if they get it back to me.
But, now gun-shy from my first experience, I'm coming up on the time when I'll need beta readers for my second book. Yet I don't know how to find them. Are friends a bad idea? Do I have to pay for beta readers? Any advice?