Beta-Readers
(by Kathryn Andersen)
What is a beta-reader? Why do authors need them? What makes a
good one? These questions I will answer, from both a reader and a
writer perspective.
The purpose of a beta reader is to help the author write the
best story they can, by pointing out the weaknesses in the
story, and telling the author they can do better than that. The
latter is aided by leavening the negatives with positive
encouragement, and there's two good reasons for that:
- to spur on the author to enthusiasm by encouragement. Different
authors vary in the amount of positive feedback they need, and
different betas vary in the amount they can give.
- Pointing out the good bits so that the author doesn't
unknowingly remove them!
Beta readers provide another set of eyes to look over a story.
I'm pretty sure that the term "beta-reader" comes from the software
industry term "beta-tester" -- someone who takes a working piece of
software, and uses it in an ordinary way, and points out the bugs
they find. The reason it's called "beta" is that it is the
second lot of testing of the software: the first lot of
testing, the "alpha" testing, occurs in-house. (Yes, I am a
software professional!) Speaking as a software professional, the
reason why beta-testers are so invaluable is that the alpha-testing
is done by people who know the software, know how it is supposed to
be used; so they may end up unconsciously avoiding actions which
could trip undiscovered bugs. Whereas beta-testers come at it
without assumptions, they come at it like a user, and find things
the testers miss.
The same with beta-readers. When the story has passed its
"alpha-test" and the writer thinks it's more or less ready for
consumption, then the beta-reader comes at it like a reader,
without knowing what the author meant to say, just reading
what they actually say, and are able to see things that
the author has missed.
Different beta-readers are better at noticing some things than
others. Me, I'm a whiz at spotting plot-holes, but don't ask me
about grammar! And I don't think someone who is a beta-reader needs
to be brilliant at spotting everything; that's why one uses
multiple beta-readers for one story, if need be.
As an author, it's tricky to find a good beta-reader, because it
isn't just a point of finding a "good" beta-reader; one needs to
find a beta-reader who matches one's work, on several
levels.
- If the beta-reader has a radically different view of the
characters than the author does, it won't work, because they will
be pointing out "out of character" bits that aren't out of
character from the author's point of view. (I remember a friend
talking about a problem she had with a story, the person who was
going over it had tons of objections... and she finally figured out
that it was because the main character in the story (one of the
supporting characters on that show) was a character that that
beta-reader really didn't like -- so of course she couldn't like
the story, because it was about that character!) One possible tip
on finding a character-compatible beta-reader is to look at the
stories of authors who also beta-read, and see if their
characterisations are ones that you can agree with.
- If the beta-reader has a much lower standard than the author
does, it won't work, because they won't find any weaknesses in the
story, and so the author won't be able to find anything specific to
work on. IMHO, the purpose of a beta-reader isn't to be a one-man
cheer squad, it is to light the way to a better story. Again,
looking at the stories of an author-beta-reader may tell you if
they are a good enough writer to be able to improve your writing.
That may not always be a good indicator, though. Sometimes it isn't
the case of a lower standard, but someone who is too
similar to the author, and therefore fails to provide a
different enough perspective. The other problem is, that someone
may be a good beta-reader without being an author at all, or may
have a writing style that you don't care for, but are good at
picking up particular kinds of mistakes.
- If the beta-reader has a much higher standard than the author
does, it won't work, because the author will end up wanting to rip
up the manuscript instead of working on it. Mind, it's good if they
have a higher standard than the author, because they will
find weaknesses that the author didn't see, but it can't be tons
higher or the author probably won't be able to cope. That probably
also depends on the diplomatic skills of the beta-reader. (I
remember one marvellous beta-reader I had in a particular fandom,
who pointed out flaws in characterisation in the one story I wrote
for that fandom, where she said "I know you can do better
than that!" in a very positive encouraging way, which was really
good.)
Tips for good beta reading:
- Be specific. Point out the exact spots where things don't work,
not just vague generalities.
- Make suggestions (which are free to be ignored) as to how the
problem can be solved.
- Point out the good bits too. I know as an editor, I tended to
be oriented towards "fixing the problems", but I realized that one
needs to point out favourite bits not only as a leavening of
encouragement, but so that one doesn't end up losing those bits in
the rewrite!
Tips for authors:
- Thank your beta-reader(s) even if what they said wasn't
helpful. After all, they spent their precious time reading your
story and thinking about it, that should be thanked.
- Remember what your beta-reader said is only their opinion, it
isn't gospel. This is your story, you have the say. On the other
hand, do listen you your beta-reader, because what was the point in
asking them to beta-read your story in the first place if you
don't?
- If a suggestion is made that you can't agree with, explain why.
It may be that when you explain your reasoning, or the intent of
that bit of the story, you may be able to figure out between you
something that works for both of you.
Kathryn Andersen
(8/12/2000)
