Beta readers are neither paid professionals nor kindhearted friends. Rather, they are actual, honest-to-god readers who want what you’re creating so badly that they’re willing to endure an early, awkward, broken manuscript just to get it. Since beta readers are real readers, they can offer real insights, which come from three places: What they say in their comments (qualitative insights) Where they begin to become bored, start skimming, stop reading, and stop commenting (quantitative insights) How they apply the book’s ideas in their lives (observational insights)
