Photo by Wynand van Poortvliet
The beta-reading stage is a critical part of the writing and publishing process, making beta readers some of the most important people in a writer's life. Although there are no set rules on who your readers should be or what you should (and can) ask from them, there are some general guidelines writers about to embark on the beta-reading process should be aware of.
The who and when
Beta readers are unpaid volunteers who read and give feedback on your story prior to publication. Ideally, your manuscript should go through the beta-reading process after your original round of self-edits but before you turn it over to a paid editor or submit to prospective agents. Some writers may choose to go through multiple rounds of beta-reading, one of which might come after the original paid edit. However, please keep in mind that beta readers should not take the place of a professional editor and that it is always safest to have content-, line-, and copy-editors review your work after making any major changes to your ms.
Unless you already have a significant loyal social media following to draw from, most of your readers are going to be friends, family, and people from your writing community. Within that group, you want to get as much diversity (gender, age, race, etc.) as possible, unless you are only writing for a specific gender or age group, such as women's fiction or YA. At least some should be regular readers in your genre, but they don't all have to be.
That being said, you don't want to set yourself, or your reader, up for failure. Not only will a poor experience be counter-productive for your work, it can damage your relationships. If you already know prospective volunteers wouldn't like your story—if, for instance, they hate being scared and your book is horror—they shouldn't be readers. If you know a person is unreliable or has a penchant for tearing other people down to make him- or herself feel better, s/he shouldn't be a reader. And, because readers should not share your work, those who couldn't keep your ms to themselves shouldn't be readers.
When sending out a call for volunteers, therefore, be clear about what your work is like—its genre, its target audience, its level of sex and violence, or anything else that might affect someone's ability to enjoy or appreciate the story—as well as a basic description of the process and your expectations. Don't be discouraged if you then don't get a lot of volunteers; all of those people who are passing are doing you (and your friendship) a huge favor.
As you may have already gleaned, the most important qualities to look for in readers, beyond basic genre and content compatibility, are honesty, respectfulness, thoughtfulness, and trustworthiness. Your readers are the first people to see the result of what might have been years of blood-sweat-and-tears, when your manuscript is in a decent, but ultimately imperfect, form. It is therefore imperative to deal with people who understand this is your work (not a hobby) with real stakes and real deadlines; who want that work to succeed; and who are capable of balancing sincere, considered criticism with supportive feedback.
Many, possibly most, of your readers won't be able to do all of that. Some won't follow-through at all. To be prepared for these eventualities, you should strive to get as many prospective readers as possible, albeit within the guidelines listed above.
The what and Why
The purpose of beta-reading is to give authors a better idea of what works and what doesn't in their manuscripts. Readers should therefore only look at big-picture issues like pacing, clarity, believability, and character development.
Some particularly detail-oriented or didactic readers may want to give the kind of in-line feedback that's normally reserved for editors. However, because the manuscript will likely need significant revisions after the first, or even second, wave of beta readers, this kind of editing will usually be a waste of their time and yours.
Writers should therefore be clear at the outset about both what they do and don't want. If readers then ignore your instructions, well, that's on them. However, when you have people in your stable of potential readers who you already know fit this criteria, it may be best to see if they would be willing to wait for a later round, when the bulk of your novel will be solidified and their eye for detail will be more useful.
In one of her many vlogs on beta-reading, Jenna Moreci recommends writers keep frequent contact with their readers, reviewing every few chapters in weekly-ish interviews. While this is probably the ideal approach, the reality for most people is that such constant, rigorous feedback just isn't feasible.
Another option is to provide a list of questions with your manuscript (or sections of manuscript), along with instructions. Include a request for confirmation of receipt near the bottom of the questionnaire to be sure your readers actually reviewed the instructions before starting on the ms. Even if you choose the questionnaire (or questionnaires) over frequent interviews, ask your readers in the beginning for a follow-up phone call or e-chat to occur at the end of the process, after you have received and had time to think about their initial responses.
Include at least two deadlines with your instructions: the first will be the day they should expect a reminder e-mail from you, the second should be the final deadline for them to send their responses. I recommend building-in a few days of padding between when you ask for their replies and your true date-of-no-return.
Because you want to compare their impressions and make your decisions about changes accordingly, there will come a time when late feedback will no longer be helpful or relevant. If you have readers who are still promising feedback after that date, you will need to politely tell them you had to move ahead without their responses. If they still send that too-late feedback, it is up to you whether to use or ignore it.
The trickiest aspect of preparing your questionnaire will be balancing your need to get as much information as possible with your readers' need to not be overwhelmed. It will probably take a few rounds to get this formula right, but, generally speaking, you will be better off with open yet directed questions that give your readers plenty of space to provide comprehensive feedback. For instance, "Where did the plot become sluggish?" will probably be more useful than "What did you think of what happens on page 273?" Of course, the more often you are able to communicate with your readers, the more specific your questions can be.
No matter what, be nice
At the end of the day, writers must always keep in mind that readers are volunteers who are taking time out of their busy lives to read your ms. They need to feel safe giving you honest feedback, and it needs to be okay for them to only do what they are able, even if that means backing out completely. When someone turns out to be a terrible or simply ineffective reader, just use whatever aspects of their feedback you find helpful, kindly thank them for their effort, and don't work with them again.
However, when it comes to those wonderful few who show they care by getting their feedback to you on time with the kind of thoughtful, balanced responses no decent book (or writer) can do without, make sure they know how awesome they are. Then, see if there is anything you can do to make the process better for them in the future. Great readers are rare and precious, and once you find them you should do whatever you can to ensure they are willing to work with you again.