That time I became a BETA Reader
- naia-ash
- Feb 12, 2017
- 4 min read
Hello wonderful people!
Remember that time when I said I Beta read for someone and was awaiting her permission to talk about it? Well, she gave me the green light a few weeks back but I was too busy to sit and blog about it. Finally found some time now so here it goes.
I found her on one of the few Facebook pages for authors/writers which I am in. (P.s. I cannot stress how good it is to find support in these pages. I will list down a few of them so you can request to be added to the group if you need some help from other writers)
Anyway, let's cut the chase. After seeing her post on one of the groups, I decided to message her and tell her that I was willing to BETA read her novel for free and gave it a go. Her book title is listed under "MY BOOKS" labelled as "other projects" in this website. I am still waiting for her testimonial! I too want to know how I did. LOL.
Okay, so after doing this, editing, reviewing and what not, I have come to realise that it is definitely not easy being an editor/BETA reader. You have to put in a lot of your own time (especially if you're doing it for free). This made me realise how tough it is to actually have it as a job. Maybe after a while they get used to it, but it's definitely not something I would do as a full time thing if I were ever to fall into the publishing line. AND I understand why their charges are as such. Try reading 100,000,00 ++ words (at the minimum) which may or may not be bullshit and then question why their fees are as such.
1) You need a lot of patience.
2) You need to set a side time every day. How I spread my time out was I told myself to do 10 pages a day.
3) You need to have an open mind. For me, in this particular novel, I had my own reservations about her characters, which I had listed out to her when sending her back my edits. Speaking of that, it brings me to my next point which is,
4) You need to be honest. There's no point in being the flowery good guy because at the end of the day you are supposed to be helping someone. You don't need to be a jackass about it but definitely let the author know your honest opinion about the characters and story line.
Now, I know many of you think that BETA reading for someone is actually doing that someone a favour, I recommend it to any writer especially one who has just started to do it if you have the time because:
1) You get to see what irritates readers.
2) You get to see how characters sound like when someone else reads it and fine tune yours accordingly.
3) You understand how annoying grammar and spelling mistakes are for editors and will probably go through your novel a million times before sending it out to a professional editor, or whoever.
4) It is something like teaching. The more you teach, the more you learn. Like wise, the more you edit, the more you learn and I guess it gets easier when it comes to editing your own novel.
At the beginning when I decided to take my own novel seriously, I never really considered getting someone to go through it. I just thought that I would pass chapter by chapter to a trusted friend to help check spelling/grammatical errors and what not. But I guess I am starting to change my mind. I will definitely get some readers to go through it (Definitely strangers and not someone I know). I expect honest opinions about my work and usually if you give it to a friend to read, most likely they would either be a) anal about everything b) too nice about everything. Lol.
I wouldn't say BETA reading is my favourite thing to do, but I wouldn't mind helping out people who do need help so if you have anyone in mind who needs someone to go through their work, (for free don't worry) you can approach me. I can't promise to do it within the week or so, but I will try to do it as quick as I can.
Currently, I have already taken up another novel to BETA read. I am trying my best to finish it as soon as I can. I understand how anxious the waiting time can be, but I have my own ongoing work too, so the only thing I can do is to try my best.
For writers who need support do add up these pages on Facebook. As surprising as it is, there are actually very nice people out there so don't be shy and ask for help when you need help.
1) Where Authors Begin - https://www.facebook.com/groups/516756898457588/
2) Books,Blogs, Readers & Writers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1738820499716120/
3) The Write Life Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheWriteLifeGroup/
I know I have been slacking in updating my blog. Do tolerate me for awhile as I have been genuinely busy. Don't worry, this space is not forgotten :P
Love,
Naia
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