Beverly
Beverly asked Mark Lawrence:

I have been a beta reader several times for a known published author and while it is nice to be able to read a book before anyone else in the public, beta reading is also tedious work if it is done right. Do you have beta readers? How important are they to you in your work?

Mark Lawrence I generally have one reader who I share chapters with singly or in small bunches as I write them. For some books (Prince of Fools) I had none, some (Red Sister) more. When I have more it's generally to read the whole thing when it's 'done'.

I won't say they're not important, as they are, but the main importance is moral support. I like sharing my work and getting feedback quickly rather than writing what I hope is an awesome scene and waiting 2 years for it to hit the shelves before getting any response. Beta readers have never had any substantial impact on the direction/content of my books though.

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