Beta Reader Group discussion
Writing Advice & Discussion
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Compiling a list of places to find betas! :)
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Well, I have found many ads searching for betas on upwork, so they must find them there. People prefer native speakers as beta readers on that site, though
I've found a few betas in real life. I have some friends that enjoys the type of book I'm writing, and they've asked if they can read it. I was also at work dinner with my husband and one of his co-workers sat down and asked me what I do. I told him I'm writing a book, he said he was also working on a book, and then immediately asked if we could swap manuscripts. I've also found some betas on Twitter. I get excited about my book while editing and will tweet about my book on there, with the #amwriting tag in it. I do get people sending me dm's asking if they can beta read. I haven't done that in awhile... I should do that again
Hiya!Are you looking for free beta readers, or for professional services?
Free betas can be awesome, but not always reliable. I've been burned by a paid beta service, so I would suggest checking client reviews (make sure there are lots posted) and asking for a sample of their work, and whether or not they have an agreement between them and their clients.
I found my last round of betas through a Facebook post. I was looking quite specifically for a certain kind of reader, who matched the profile of my ideal audience.
Best of luck!
1.) Twitter: #PitchWars, #Pitmad, #PitchMadness, #StorySocial, #StoryCrafters 2.) Agentqueryconnect.com
3.) Facebook group called "#Pitch Warriors": https://www.facebook.com/groups/Pitch...
4.) Absolute Write Water Cooler forum
5.) Discord server (it's a chat server) called "Writer's Block": https://writersblockdiscord.com
6.) Reddit: r/writing
I have been using Simbi which is a service exchange community. As such I can trade services with others to get something I want, or trade "Simbi" to pay them, which in turn they can go use to buy services elsewhere. No, it doesn't cost anything and Simbi can't be redeemed for money.It's worked well for several reasons...
1) It's a community where people are engaged to go DO something, rather than click a link—like Facebook (Yeah I haven't had any success using FaceBook to get Beta Readers at all).
2) There are various attributes that the site records on everyone's profile, so you can plainly see people who say, never respond or take a long time or those who have the quickest response time.
3) The review feature also allows you to rate others transactions. So I can look at someone's profile and examine if they've done a lot of Beta Reading and what others experience was with them.
4) The other perk of using Simbi is that if say I help out by reading someone else's story, but then they disappear for awhile I can exchange those Simbi for editing services for instance, or to enlist other Beta Readers.
I have still had to sift through several people sometimes before I find someone who will take on the task, but it's been useful. I hope that helps some. Here is a link to join up https://simbi.com/nathaniel-cassani/w....
I’m attempting to make an extensive list to share in a YouTube video, and any information would help- I’d even like to hear about places you or someone else tried that didn’t work- thanks!!
(I’ll be sure to post a link to the video when it’s done in a few months-)