Beta Reader Group discussion
Writing Advice & Discussion
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what to do about my beta reader?
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I would go through paypal for a refund. I think you have been more than patient.As far as calling them out....that I am not sure on.
I agree with Melly, the first stop is to go through Paypal. Report the vendor (beta reader), explaining how the service hasn't been deliver and ask for a refund. See what their answer is, see what the beta reader (who they will inform of your complain) says, and go from it. But be sure you can present evidence of the beta reader not delivering. An unfilled contract is not a subjective matter, did you get feedback or not? That the the feedback is not what you expected doesn't really count as not having received it.
As someone new to searching for beta readers, I would appreciate the warning of who to avoid. I agree with the suggestions to go through Paypal for a refund.
Thanks for the suggestions. I was just looking into requesting a refund through Paypal before I saw your comments. Fran, I haven't received any feedback yet at this point. If she had sent some form of feedback by now then I probably wouldn't be as concerned.
Mod
Dakota, I just sent you a PM with more information.
I hate when situations like this happen. No one likes to feel like they've been cheated. I think that others would like to know so that they do not get cheated as well, however I'm not sure what would be the repercussions for yourself. In either case yeh or neh, neither is the wrong answer.
Where did you find this beta reader? That would be where I would post a warning if any, and I would pursue the paypal refund avenue. Sorry this happened. As a ps, I will add my vote for knowing who it was in case they are still soliciting betas to read
I found the beta reader on Goodreads, which surprised me because every beta reader I've worked with in the past from Goodreads has been phenomenal. After giving it some thought, I'm not sure if I'm comfortable listing the beta reader publicly, but I'm more than happy to message you both with the name of the beta reader. The good news is that I escalated a claim with Paypal and they decided in my favor so I should receiving my money back! It's still a little worrisome that there's someone out there with my novel who most definitely should not have it, but that's something I'll deal with if anything else happens.
So, A.T and Evette, I'll send you the name of the beta reader. If anyone else reading this wants to know a beta reader to avoid, just message me or post here and I'll let you know
I wanted to give a quick, final update on this. I did hear back from the beta reader who cited medical reasons/hospitalization for the lack of communication during the last several weeks. I'm not able to judge whether this is true or an excuse, but I wanted to post it here so you all have the full story
I just surfaced after a year with my head down to finish a book. Had 4 beta readers lined up, the smartest friends I have and a volunteer from Facebook . I had no idea that people paid beta readers! From what I have read, these are people the writer knows and trusts, close in, who often do this over many years. Editors, yes, you pay. But beta readers?? I feel like I just woke up on another planet.
Why not pay a beta reader? A good beta reader will give valuable feedback that you won't get from someone who is doing it casually. They will give feedback about plot, character development, style, voice, POV and lots more. A good beta reader (aka developmental editor) is worth their weight in gold and will save you a ton of time and anguish and make your book so much better, so much quicker.
I don't see myself paying for a beta readers because I will gladly do a thorough beta read (plot characterization, etc) for a swap with someone who will do the same. And, also,for the initial reason of this thread.
Mod
If you're swapping, you're "paying" for beta reading, you're just doing it through sweat equity. :) Friends aren't always the most objective in terms of giving feedback. And if they've never beta read before, they may not know exactly what it is they're volunteering for. It's a lot of work to do a beta read. Nearly every novel I've beta read was not publication quality at that time, so it's reading much rougher work than most readers are used to. It's also a huge time commitment.. I volunteer to beta read here from time to time and it generally takes me 10 hours to read and comment on a manuscript of book length (80K words). Basically, taking on someone's manuscript and helping them becomes like your part job time.
And sometimes it's a totally thankless job, literally. A lot of authors complain about disappearing betas; I've had at least three authors ghost me.
If you've got friends who do a good job beta-ing for you, treat them like the gold pieces that they are. :)
I have a beta reader situation that I would like some suggestions on before I take any "action." I hired a beta reader for my novel two months ago with a promised feedback delivery date by the end of July. I foolishly made the payment up front. I've been using beta readers for years and have never had any issues, so I guess I'm getting complacent.
So, the deadline rolls around and the beta reader says she cannot send the feedback just yet due to a family issue. I'm fine with that because life happens. More time passes and I hear more excuses about why the feedback can't be delivered (laptop caught a virus...). I ask for a refund, but she gives an excuse on why Paypal won't let her refund the money. I've sent two emails within the past 10 days with no response.
I'm not wanting to pursue any legal action to get my money back, since that seems like a huge money sink that would go nowhere. I'm really wondering if it would be appropriate for me to post a warning about using this beta reader so other writers don't fall into this trap.
Any suggestion on how to proceed?
Luke