3 Things to Remember When You Beta-Read

You wrote a novel! Now what? NaNoWriMo’s “Now What?” Months are here—this January and February, we’ll be helping you guide your novel through the revision and publishing process. Today, Sonali Dev, author of books including The Bollywood Bride , shares her beta-reading guidelines:

I think of my critique partners and beta readers as my lifeblood. Or at least the lifeblood of my books. The bulk of my writing happens during revisions, and comments from my readers help me identify exactly what I need to be focusing on to tell my story the way I want to. 

Consequently, I try and apply the same rules when I critique work as I expect my readers to apply to my work. And they are: 

Help Don’t Harm

Critiquing someone’s work can be intimidating. And it should be. Someone put their heart into what you’re reading, and they had the courage and the trust to give it to you to help them make it better. 

So first and foremost, be intimidated, this is important. Take it seriously and be kind and helpful. Nothing you say in your comments should ever make someone give up on their writing, or even consider it. All writing can be revised into beauty. Trust me, hideous first drafts are a specialty of mine. So dial down the snark and keep it helpful and kind.

Specific Comments are Helpful Comments

Always ask the writer if they’re looking for feedback on something specific. These are generally the things writers look for:

Formatting/Grammar
Hook
Setting
Characterization
Plot
Internal/External Conflict
Dialogue
Narrative/Voice
Pacing

The more specific you are in your comments the better. Nothing is more confusing and frustrating than a reader who says she hates something and then doesn’t tell you why.

Examples are a beautiful thing. Telling someone their heroine is a spineless nitwit is not helpful. It does nothing but hurt the writer and maybe even make them throw your comments out without consideration. Instead, telling them that their heroine needs to be more active and needs to make harder choices might actually help make their story stronger. That is your job here, to help make their stories and writing stronger.

Personal Taste Is for the Books You Buy

It is perfectly natural to have strong preferences in what you read. But if you have a strong personal response to material you’re critiquing, it is your responsibility to be honest and let the author know and recuse yourself. 

Tearing down a story because it does not fit your personal value system is not okay. Once you take on the responsibility, commit to critiquing the writing and to separate it from your morality and political choices.

Award winning author, Sonali Dev, writes Bollywood-style love stories that explore issues faced by women around the world. Sonali’s novels have been on Library Journal, NPR, Washington Post, and Kirkus Best Books lists. She won the American Library Association’s award for best romance in 2014, is a RITA Finalist, RT Reviewer Choice Award Nominee, and winner of the RT Seal of Excellence. Find out more at sonalidev.com.

Top photo by Flickr user Daniel Y. Go.