Finding beta readers and proofreaders for your self-published indie novel

Should indie authors pay for a professional proofreader? What makes a great beta reader, and are family members and friends to be avoided at all costs? These are some of the questions self-published authors face after they've completed their manuscript.

I received an email recently that gave me warm fuzzies AND set me thinking about this matter. First of all, here's the letter (which the writer kindly gave me permission to print):

I just wanted to write to you and say thank you. I have been an avid reader and writer all my life but life has always had a habit of getting in the way of me actually accomplishing my goal of writing a book.

About 4 years ago an idea came to me in the night and I started writing Gaea, then life got in the way again -- first with happy stuff then with heart breaking stuff and for the past 18 months I have not read nor written anything at all -- until I stumbled upon a free sample of your first book. I had to buy it, then the second, then the third and there is no doubt in my mind that I will buy them all! I especially like the authors note at the end of book three and as I have started writing again with a clarity of mind I have never experienced before I will definitely be contacting your brother sometime in the near future! Grin.

So, thank you. Your wonderful writing and amazing story has inspired me and helped to wake me up again. I am not lucky enough to have proof readers as family and friends but I am confident the universe will figure something out for me when the time comes and for the first time in a long time I am really looking forward to it!

Right, onwards to book 4.

So naturally I was chuffed to bits when I received this. But it also made me think about beta readers and proofreaders, and where to find them.

When I finished Island of Fog back in 2008, I was apprehensive about it. At that point, nobody but me had read it. I thought it was okay, maybe even good enough to start shipping around to publishers, but it might equally have been terrible. Up until then, the only writing buddies I had were from a writers' group I was a member of. We'd shared critiques on several chapters of our novels, and also short stories, but we'd never beta-read or proofed entire manuscripts. In that respect I was kind of on my own.

I found a highly recommended professional editor, took a deep breath, and paid $700. This was a monumental expenditure for me back then, and still is to date. I don't regret it, though. The overall feedback was very good, and the sheer number of red marks throughout the manuscript proved she'd read the book carefully instead of just brushing over it. I learned quite a lot and, above all, discovered that it was "worthy" of publishing, and that I was on the right track. All this was back in October 2008 (see The manuscript is back!).

This set me on the road to self-publishing, and through that book and the ones that followed, I gained an audience including a few fellow authors such as Brian Clopper and Roger Eschbacher. Also, my brother Darren was developing his own Iguana Proofreading business. Suddenly I had a close circle of professionals that I could call on to proofread my books, and of course I returned the favors in whatever way I could.

I always edit, edit and edit until I think I have a highly polished manuscript. Then I pass it on to fellow authors and my proofreading brother. More recently I've started asking for beta readers, too. These are generally readers only, in my case fans of the Island of Fog series, and they're more than capable of spotting typos and commenting on larger issues but not so concerned with comma placement and some of the finer details. Beta readers are supposed to read the book and get a feel for overall story rather then get bogged down by details.

When I requested beta readers for Chamber of Ghosts, I ended up with this list:

1 author 1 wife 14 fans 1 put-upon brother

The author (Brian Clopper) was first in line simply because he's so fast. I also gave the manuscript to Darren, knowing that his critique would be the last I received but probably the most detailed and comprehensive. Meanwhile, my wife and fourteen others were given a few weeks to read the book and get back to me.

My wife and most of my fourteen betas gave me very detailed lists of typos and inconsistencies and general issues to look at. Many of the typos were mentioned several times, but each beta reader found stuff that others didn't. Some of the larger issues that were brought up were mentioned two or three times, so I felt a need to address those issues.

Because the feedback came in at different times, I was able to put things right bit by bit, which wasn't as daunting as working on all feedback at once. Fixing typos is easy. Correcting awkward phrasing is easy. Deleting scenes and reorganizing things is fairly easy. Dealing with large-scale issues is a challenge, but luckily I didn't have much to fix in that respect.

Finally, Darren's critique came in. Some of it was dealt with already, and some was no longer relevant because scenes had been deleted. But there was still a ton of extra fixes to deal with, much of it that NONE of the beta readers had picked up, technical things that frankly most readers don't even notice or care about, like whether a comma should be placed before "but" and so on. It's all really important stuff that I want to get right, but it's not something beta readers are asked or expected to report. (See how that "but" in the previous sentence needs a comma before it? It often does but sometimes doesn't... like this example here!)

Finding beta readers is not difficult. They don't have to be fans of your work. They just need to be voracious readers. I've found that many readers love getting involved. In fact, one of my betas posted on Facebook about how she felt "honored to be part of the process," and her friends and family congratulated her and asked how she "got so lucky"... my point being that many readers just love the idea of getting involved no matter how utterly unknown the author is.

So if you need beta readers, ideally ask your own readers, who will have the added insight of knowing your characters and caring about them, and can comment on the arcing plot between books. If you're a new indie writer and have no fans yet, then trawl social networks and ask for readers to critique your book. Not all of it will be great feedback, but those who offer will generally be helpful.

Don't pester friends and family, though. Your best friend may feel obliged to read your book but might be the worst possible beta reader. You're better off avoiding family and friends and instead going to strangers who are genuine fans of your genre and have nothing to gain or lose by offering their feedback. Friends and family tend not to "get" that honest criticism is far more useful than simple glowing praise.

I pestered my wife, though. She likes my books and generally offers very useful feedback, good or bad. I always tell her not to hold back, and she doesn't. She's not one to pick up on technical writing errors, but even with fourteen other beta readers, an author, and a proofreader brother, she still looked up from the book, frowned at me, and told me something everyone else had missed. Every beta reader has a different way of looking at things, and having at least ten of them will give you a really good overview of what's wrong -- and right -- with your book.

One thing I will stress, though: find beta readers who are familiar with your genre. Otherwise you'll have some bright spark saying, "Wait -- Hal's a shapeshifter? That just doesn't happen in real life, though. Consider changing this idea to Hal being psychologically damaged and just thinks he's a shapeshifter. You don't want to lose your readers." Seriously, someone started reading Island of Fog once thinking it was a suspense thriller, and he was completely turned off in the first chapter when a manticore appeared. "A monster? Are you kidding??"

Author Brian Clopper and I beta-read an urban fantasy romance recently. We both found problems with it, particularly in the final scene, and although it may have looked to the author that we ganged up on her, in fact we came to the same conclusion separately. As far as we were concerned, the ending just didn't work. The author insisted it was fine, that the problem was more to do with the fact that we were guys who weren't interested in the romance genre. Hmm. I hope the author reconsiders. I still don't think romance readers will go for an ending like that, but the experience has made me vow not to beta-read romance-type books again -- because if I don't know the genre enough to know what works and what doesn't, then how can I be of any use in my feedback?

Beta readers are everywhere. You don't need to pay them (except with a copy of the final edition) -- just let them be a part of the process, thank them profusely for ALL feedback good and bad, and NEVER get argumentative and say they don't know what they're talking about. The thing about readers is that they're actually more professional at their job than many authors seem to think. The only qualification for being a professional reader is reading a lot of books.

Finally, it's worth mentioning that my dad picks up typos as well, in my books as well as in these blog posts. I think my mum is afraid he's going to upset me by nitpicking, but the opposite is true. So when I write blog posts, I check them carefully but am always wondering what else I've missed! Luckily, my dad usually has it covered. :-)