Writing a story may seem like the hardest part of completing a project but polishing it off can require a significant amount of time and effort. Stare at anything long enough and you start to miss details. Likewise, the opposite can be true as well – you become so mired in the details that you miss big-picture thinking. A ghostwriter and editor can fill this role for you, but if we’ve been working alongside you on a project for a long period of time, we might suggest beta readers.
So what is a beta reader? In simple terms, a beta reader is someone who is not a professional writer or editor, but is well-informed and represents a reasonable consumer of your product. Beta readers go over a draft of a project and provide feedback.
You may wonder why anyone would have amateurs evaluate a work. Surely professionals will do a better job of noticing grammar mistakes, structural problems, and plot holes, right? While this is true to some extent, beta readers can actually provide feedback that points to those same issues, just in a less direct way.
As an example, think about a bad movie. You’ll likely notice when certain plot payoffs don’t land or when character motivations seem unclear. You know when you feel unsatisfied with an ending or a twist the story takes along the way. In short, you notice the areas where the movie is off. While you might not realize this is because the film was edited into oblivion, the script lacked enough subtle groundwork to earn an ending, or the direction was too static and lifeless, you still recognized on an intuitive level what didn’t work about the finished product.
The same concept applies to beta readers. Despite not being professional writers or editors, they’re still well-informed readers. They can spot problems, make suggestions, and give detailed feedback on their experience reading through a project. Many times, they offer a perspective on aspects that never occurred to you or your ghostwriter.
For instance, in one novel project, multiple beta readers responded that a particular, unimportant character seemed suspicious. They spent much of the storyline expecting this minor character to turn on the main characters somehow. It wasn’t a major concern, but a potentiality that lurked in the back of their minds. While this was a testament to the atmosphere of paranoia the novel had created, that character was never meant to arouse any suspicion, illustrating the need to tweak how that figure was represented. Because of the beta readers, we recognized the gap between what was intended and what came off the page for the average reader.
Not all projects will require a beta reader, but some might benefit from this extra bit of polishing. Beta reader input is most essential in clarifying the areas where the writer’s intentions are not translating to reality in the finished product. Even amateur readers can tell when something is off. By working with them and with a ghostwriter or editor, you can ensure your finished product is streamlined, clear, and effortless to read.