Beta and Critique and ARC Readers, oh my!

I’ve seen a lot of discussion, questions, confusion, misunderstanding, etc in some of my writing groups about the concepts of Beta readers (paid or free?) vs Alpha readers vs Critique partners vs ARC readers recently. I won’t pretend to be the definitive expert on these terms, but between my early days in the ‘00s internet FanFic scenes and my newer, original writing, aiming to be a published writer days, I’ve become familiar with a lot of these terms, how to use each of these types of readers successfully, and where to find them.

Critique Partners/Writing Groups

Critique Partners and Writing Groups are people who are writers first. These are other writers with whom you regularly share bits and pieces of your works in progress. It’s a long term relationship, usually; some writers have the same critique partner(s) or writing groups for decades. And, most importantly, it’s reciprocal — it’s a two-way street, baby. They read your work and you, also, read theirs. Picking a Critique Partner or a Writing Group is a commitment, but can be so valuable as you iterate on ideas and carve your first draft out. They provide you with almost real-time, ongoing feedback on your work to help you refine your story and message as you’re writing it.

How to Find One:

In my experience, these are the hardest readers to find and I went well over a year into serious writing before I found one. Writing groups can be selective and insular and typically, writers limit the number of critique partners they have. It’s only natural — we all only have so many hours to read and write in our days. Our first priority has to be our own writing, so you don’t want to sign up for too much to read and provide feedback on that you eat into your own writing time. In advice that’s dismaying to all of us introverts, to find writing groups and critique partners, you have to get out there in the writing communities and start meeting other writers. Sorry, I know, I hate it, too! Here are some ways I started building my writing community and finding a writing group:

• Get on the Googles. Search for where the local writers to you might be meeting. Terms you can search for include things like (put your city name before all these) “writing group” “writers” “writing hours”.

• Look in the common haunts. If nothing interesting comes up in your searches, go directly to some of the most common places writers hang out:

  • Your local library. Check their websites to see if they have any designated writing hours or writing groups that regularly meet.

  • Local bookstores. Check with your favorite indie (or big box) bookstores to see if they have a writing corner or host writing hours.

• Workshops and Classes. In-person workshops and classes usually offer more opportunities for meeting, mingling, and making connections, but don’t discount online events entirely. There’s usually a cost to these, but many sites like Reedsy or ProWritingAid offer free classes and conferences. And for ones which there is a cost, if you need it, inquire to see if scholarships are available, especially if you’re in a historically excluded group or demographic. If you have a college near you, don’t forget to look into their continuing education or lifelong learning programs!

• Writer’s Organizations. I’m a member of a few local and one national organization, all of which provide regular free programming for their members (with annual memberships ranging from $30 to $80 a year), as well as additional paid workshops and conferences. They also provide private Facebook or Discord groups and other ways to connect one-on-one with other writers. A recent conference I went to even had a designated Critique Partner Speed Dating session where you could meet other writers in a quick, low-pressure way.

• Facebook writing groups/Discords/Instagram/other social communities. This is definitely a proceed with caution and after vetting option since these groups can often contain scammers. Don’t let that totally put you off… just make sure to do your due diligence to make sure you trust someone before you share your work with them.

For me, finding a writing group was a combo of options 2 and 3. I go to a local, very writer friendly, bookstore often to write, especially on their Tuesday writing-in-community hours. I often chat with the other writers there and it came out that one was in a writing group that may be opening some spots soon. At the same bookstore, I attended a Romance-specific workshop (led by the great Mariah Ankenman). After the class, as we shared socials and chatted, another attendee mentioned that her group had a spot opening and she’d love another romance writer in the group. I applied through their website, met with them to see if they were a good fit, and they invited me to join!

Alpha Readers

Finished your first (or second) draft and ready for a fresh set of eyes? Alpha Readers might be for you. Alpha readers are primarily readers (as opposed to other writers) that you have the highest amount of trust in. You’re giving them the “warts and all” copy of your novel. Typos, plot threads that you drop mid-way, character names that change (cause you decided Hero was too archaic and changed it to Hope but Hero was still stuck in your head so much after you did your find and replace). You do not want them wasting their time on line/copy edits. You’re looking for big picture feedback on story, cohesiveness of the plot, how the characters come across, if plot developments make sense, if there are any gaping plot holes, etc.

Where to find them:

• In your critique partners or writing groups. The caveat here is that they’re not totally fresh eyes. They’ve usually already read your work as you were writing it. Unless you’ve significantly reworked it since they last read it, they might not be your best option.

• Other writing connections (listed above) that aren’t regular critique partners. Folks that don’t have the time to commit to being an ongoing partner might have time to read the full draft and provide feedback on it (depending on where they are with their own projects — keep that in mind and be considerate and always offer to return the favor).

• Friends and family. Okay, this is a polarizing one. Some people are very opposed to having friends and family give feedback. Really, it’s up to you. Can the F&F you share it with give you detailed, constructive feedback? Do they understand that they’re reading an early product that’s not polished? Can you take criticism from your F&F? Some friends and colleagues (even a coworker’s mother-in-law) have been some of my best early stage readers, providing great feedback and a safe environment where I feel comfortable asking questions about how they felt about certain aspects of my stories.

• Or… you don’t. Some people go straight to beta readers if they feel their critique partners or writing group have done a good enough job of giving comprehensive feedback.

Beta Readers

You’ve finished a draft (or two… or five) and have had some constructive feedback already and incorporated that into your drafts? You’re ready for a beta reader! A beta reader is a reader first and, very importantly, they should fit into the target market or demographics for your book. They may have some experience with writing, but they are primarily a reader, and they can agree to give you quality, constructive feedback about your book. They are not line or copy editors (see the next section for more on Editors), though some won’t be able to help themselves from pointing out typos or word choice suggestions, especially if they are also writers. It’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me (sorry to my bestie Brekke Elle, I love you). The point is, you shouldn’t be relying on them to catch all the typos and dangling participles.

What you’re looking for from beta readers is:

1. How do you, as my target market, feel about this story? Do you respond well to the characters, the setting, the plot?

2. Did you have any strong reactions, and if so, to what parts? Note: Strong reactions, even negative ones, are not necessarily a bad thing!

3. Were any aspects confusing to you? In plot, characterization, motivation, etc.

4. Did you notice any inconsistencies or huge mistakes? Things like using two different names for a character or a town, characters suddenly chiming in on a conversation when they weren’t in the scene, etc.

These are mostly big picture things that you want to refine and finese to get your manuscript in the best shape possible for whatever your next step is (querying, self-publishing, etc)

Where to find them:

Okay, before we get started here, let’s talk about Paid vs Volunteer beta readers. Folks have STRONG opinions on this, both ways. I don’t, so let’s lay out the case for both.

Paid Beta Readers - when paying for beta readers, the expectation is that they will provide high quality, detailed feedback. There’s a higher expectation of reliability and trustworthiness. You may be able to get more feedback from a smaller number of readers and you may be able to combine their services with line/copy edits if the reader provides that, too. Some people express concerns that paying for beta readers means you’re less likely to get honest or critical feedback, but I think there’s a big [citation needed] on that. Where to find paid beta readers:

• The Niche Reader

• The Spun Yarn

• Referrals. Ask your fellow writers if they have beta readers that they use and trust.

• Fiverr, Upwork, etc. Okay, I’m including this in here, but I have not tried it and I’m a little skeptical about it (because there are so many scammers out there). You want to really vet people carefully. Ask if they can provide a sample of past beta feedback they provided or a referral to another writer they provided it to.

Volunteer (free) Beta Readers - this is the more budget friendly option for folks who don’t have a ton of cash to throw around, obviously, but caveat emptor — beggars can’t be choosers and all that. That doesn’t mean that free beta readers are always going to be less reliable, less trustworthy, or lower quality (just like paying doesn’t always mean they will be). It does, however, mean it’s going to be harder to require them to provide anything specific and that your response rate is going to be lower. Where to find free beta readers:

• Referrals. This is where that writing community you’ve built up comes in. Ask around your circle for folks they use (and trust) as beta readers and ask for a referral to them.

• Instagram or Facebook. Searching for “beta reader” on Instagram brings up folks who offer their services (either free or paid). There are Facebook groups just for finding beta readers, or you can find them in some writing groups as well. As with everything, watch out for scammers and do some vetting if possible.

• Your own mailing list. Have you been building your list? Put out a call for readers in a newsletter and give them a way to express interest (maybe the next item?).

• Creating an intake form. Hoooey, this is another controversial topic. Making a beta reader fill out a form just to be a beta reader for you? Clutch your pearls! My thoughts: if someone can’t be arsed to fill out a short form in order to get a free book, how likely is it that they’re going to provide me with high quality feedback in return? The answer: not very. Having a fairly lightweight form allows me to a) collect a list of potential beta readers even when I’m not actively looking, b) know their demographics, so I can target YA to younger readers and definitely not send them the spicy adult romances, and c) understand their preferences to know if they are the readers I’m looking for or not.

Side question: Do I need to copyright my book before I send to beta readers?

Okay, first, repeat after me: Your work is copyrighted as soon as you put pen to paper (or type to digital file). Did you repeat that? Great.

Now, does that mean that everyone is a super chill person who would never steal your book? Of course it doesn’t. But it’s very unlikely. What’s more likely is someone stealing your idea or concept and all the copyright in the world does nothing to stop that or prosecute it - ideas aren’t copyrightable.

You’re probably going to be providing your manuscript to your beta reader in some digital form — that provides you with the digital trail and date stamps to protect your copyright if it were to come to that. But this is why vetting and trust is important when it comes to picking beta readers.

When will you copyright? In short, when your product is finished and you’re about to self-publish it. If you’re going traditional, your publisher will handle this for you.

Some words about Editors

So, in the Alpha and Beta reader sections above, I said that you shouldn’t expect copy/line editing from these readers (especially if you’re using free beta readers). Copy or line editing is a more specific, skilled service that, if it’s within your budget, you want to spend the cash and hire someone reputable for. These editors may provide big picture feedback on your story and structure, but their focus is going to be on all that nitpicky grammar and typo stuff. You want to wait until your book is at its most finished, ready to publish except for the proofreading element before engaging one of these editors. And if you’re going the traditional publishing route, you may choose not to engage your own editor at all, as this will be a service that your publisher is likely to provide.

Developmental Editors, however, are a different story. A developmental editor is going to look at your manuscript as a whole, and also may provide feedback on how well your story fits into the current market. These are editors you might want to hire at different parts of your process. You may engage one early on, in lieu of a critique parter or Alpha reader, to get formative feedback before investing too much in your manuscript. You might hire one when you have a finished manuscript, but you’re not getting any traction with agent or publisher querying, to help you understand if there are ways to adjust your book to be an easier pitch. You may even hire one when you’ve barely written a word, to help flesh out an idea you have and plot it out.

ARC Readers

ARC is the term for Advanced Review Copies, provided to readers before your book is released. These are some of the last pre-release readers you’ll engage with. While there’s an implicit expectation that ARC Readers will review your book, it’s generally too late for them to provide real constructive feedback to you, the writer. They might point out typos or errors and you may be able to correct those (especially from digital versions) before the final product is out, but ARC Readers are primarily providing a service to other readers. The service they provide to you is potentially helping to build up hype for your book when it launches (if they like it).

Where to find them:

• ARC Services. Book Sirens and NetGalley are two of the most popular services where readers can request ARCs from multiple authors and you can distribute your books through the service.

• PR Services. If you’re working with a PR service, they can handle building your ARC base and distributing the copies to them.

• Your email list. You may want to cultivate an ARC or Street Team as you build up to your launch and your email list is a great either way to get people on that.

• Your socials. You can also put a call out on your own socials for ARC readers, either on a book by book basis or to build up an ongoing Street Team.

What do you think? Did I get my interpretations totally wrong? Do you have other suggestions for where to find different types of advance readers? Share your thoughts and tips in the comments.