Beta Readers, Critique Partners, and Editors: The Revision Tribe

Today, on catchy-but-terrible-for-me-advice...

I recently wrote a post about the struggles of finding support as a writer. Well, being the new, improved, more pro-active Emily that I am, I didn't just write about it; I acted on it. I have been spending some of my writing time finding communities to participate in, and it's been wonderful.

Twitter is amazing. Who knew?! (Literally everyone but you, Emily, you dinosaur.)

(P.S. Follow me @EmilyFinhill, I'm still getting the hang of it.)



Anyway.

In the communities I've joined over the past week, I've found something I was sorely missing. I've found commiseration, cooperation, encouragement, and inspiration. I've also found one beta reader and one critique partner, which is amazing. This week has been the first time I've sent my work to a complete stranger in years. 

I haven't heard back from either of them yet, which means I've been in a pretty constant state of anxiety (which wasn't really helped by 3 days without power but anyway). So I thought, why not turn all that gut-churning into something that could help people?

Today I want to do a breakdown for you of what, exactly, a beta reader, critique partner, and editor are; what they do, who they are, and how much they should cost. Disclaimer, I'm not a professional; I'm brand new to recruiting beta readers, and I've never hired a professional editor. I am well-versed in the theory of it all, though, and I promise to present you with whatever information is relevant as I experience each step of the revising process.

What is a Beta reader?

Beta readers are "test" readers who read either parts or all of your book, before revisions. Many writers send beta readers their first draft; as an over-anxious perfectionist, the very thought of this makes me need to do my breathing. You can certainly send beta readers your first draft, but in my opinion, you're better off fixing the things that you already know are issues before you send it off; otherwise, you'll just be getting feedback that confirms things you already knew. Better to use their brainpower to pick out things you haven't noticed, right?

Beta readers are free. Completely. You owe them nothing-- no money, no return beta reading (although it's always a quality move to do a fair swap), nothing. Their feedback will also be coming from the perspective of a reader and consist of mostly reactions, not suggestions or fixes. Remember, they're doing this for free, and just giving you an idea of how your book comes across to a reader. 

Some people offer a very rigid set of questions they want answered, chapter-by-chapter; others ask the beta to read the whole book before responding. Personally, I think both approaches have merit, but it should ultimately be up to the person offering up their time, attention, and effort to help you out. 

You might want betas in your target audience, or you might want a wide range to better help you understand who your book will appeal to. Places to find betas include Facebook groups, subreddits, your own friends and family, and local writer's groups. The only real requirement for a beta is that they can read the language you're writing in.

Most web pages have strict rules about how and when you can request beta readers, so make sure you're paying attention, reading the rules, and behaving like a respectful member of a writing community. Don't just show up in a forum and drop your request right away. You will probably need to offer to beta read for a few people before you've earned a request, unless the forum is specifically set up for requests.


What about critique partners?

A critique partner is the next level. This is a fellow writer, someone with a bit more experience, who is also working on a project. Usually, their work will be roughly the same length/type as yours    (for example, you're both writing historical biographies of about 600 pages). You should click with this person and have clear communication. You should enjoy their writing, even if you find it flawed, because your input is going to be more in-depth than just "I liked it" or "I hated it."

You can find this person in the same places you'd look for beta readers. You can also find more than one; just be aware that you'll be reading a work from each CP that is equal in length to yours, so don't over-commit!

Again, no money needed, although you will be "paying" for their input with your own." 

Do I Need a Professional Editor?

Yes.

I'm tempted to just leave it at that, because it almost is that simple. Even if your prose is wonderful and your grasp of grammar supreme and your CP was an English major and your aunt is a copyeditor and she looked at it, you still need to hire a professional editor, because none of those people are going to get your book perfectly up to industry standards.

But.

But not really, though.

Because I'm going to tell you a dirty little secret that your English teacher, your local Lit snob, and your editor, don't want you to know:

It kind of doesn't matter.

How many published books have you picked up with typos? How many stories have you enjoyed with a dangling modifier here and there? 

The thing is, your book really doesn't have to be perfect. In fact, it will never be perfect. There will always be one more tweak, one last rewrite, one final comma to insert and then delete. It's a little like painting; you have to know when to stop.

The thing that matters most is the quality of the story you've told, not that every single sentence is up to MLA standards. In fact, most of the time, that's not even the goal. Correct grammar can ruin a story. Ultimately, publishers don't care if you have a "perfect" story. They care if you have a marketable story, a gripping story, a uniqueish and interesting and well-crafted story that people will spend their shiny shiny money on. The same goes for self-publishing. Just look at the best-selling books over the last 100 years; I guarantee there's not a perfect work among them. 

At least, this is what I tell myself when the anxiety monsters start nibbling at my toes.

A professional edit can really help polish your manuscript, and it can help you feel like you've given this your all. It might give you an edge in querying. If you're lucky, you might even get a blurbable piece of positive feedback. The cost of quality, however, can be prohibitive: from $250 on the very lowest end, for perhaps a first-timer or someone building their portfolio, to thousands of dollars. It can also be remarkably easy to get scammed by people claiming to be editors who really have no better knowledge of grammar, convention, or industry standards, than you do. If you're going to hire an editor, make sure you do your homework.

In a perfect world, everyone would hire a professional editor before querying their manuscript; but in a perfect world, my grocery budget wouldn't be "find quarters in couch, buy ramen." If your craft is on point and your story is good, you can probably get close enough with several revisions by the English majors in your life.

And yes, that includes me, which leads me to-- 



One Final Place to Find a Beta, Critique Partner, or Editor:

Right here! I'm currently looking for beta readers, at least one more critique partner, and one or two projects to edit. I'm here, I'm moderately experienced, and I'm not charging, so if you're interested, let me know before my schedule fills up.

Thanks for reading. I post every weekday except for when I have no electricity. Please leave me a comment letting me know what you think of the blog, asking a question, or anything. Until tomorrow!

Song Recs:

Edit by Regina Spektor

Open Book by Cake

Word Crimes by Weird Al