 Hello, hello, writers. I'm Christine Kiefer, author of fantasy fiction and creative writing resources. And you are listening to the Well-Sturried podcast, where I share insights, encouragement, and actionable advice designed to help you craft sensational novels and build your best writing life. Always in 30 minutes or less, so you can get back to writing, of course. Ready for the show? Let's get talking. Alright, come on in. Welcome once again, writers, and thank you for joining me. In June, I had the honor of working with beta readers for the very first time on my upcoming book, Build Your Best Writing Life. I've talked about that experience quite a bit over the past several weeks. If you've been listening to recent podcast episodes, I've given you kind of the week-by-week update on how working with beta readers was going. And I'm pleased to say now that I've received the feedback, worked through it, made my notes, and I'm more than halfway or about halfway through my third draft revisions based on beta reader notes, I'm happy to say that the entire beta reader experience for me couldn't have been more wonderful. And so today I'm excited to announce that I am doing a new two-part blog series on working with beta readers, with today's podcast episode being the first audio translation of that first blog article. So the second part two of this blog series will talk about how to create a fantastic beta reader experience, how to make it the very best that it can be for both you and your beta readers. But today we are tackling the basics. Everything you need to know if you are completely new to the idea of working with beta readers. We are going to cover what a beta reader is, where you can find beta readers to work on your project, what you should look for in a good beta reader, and more. But before we dive in, a quick behind-the-scenes update on what's happening at Wellster 8. I've been working very hard, as I mentioned, on the third draft of build your best writing life. And I'm about 50% of the way through. I actually have a deadline for this draft because I need to send this draft of the project to my line editor by August 1st. My editor is Sara Latterno of Heart of the Story Editorial, and I'm so excited to be working with her. Now, if you have looked at the date today, you may realize that it's quite close to the end of the month already. August 1st is coming up fast, and I'm still only 50% of the way through. But the good news is that I've been tackling all of the hardest chapters in this draft first, the ones that have been in need of the most revision, and so that's really kind of slowed down the beginning of my process, because I wasn't just whizzing through chapters that didn't need much work. But now I've got most of the hard chapters out of the way, most of the worst of the revision for this draft, and I'm getting into the easier chapters now, and things are really starting to pick up pace. So I have—I don't anticipate having any problems finishing this draft by August 1st, and I'm really excited to kind of finish this up and then move into the next portion, this next adventure in writing and publishing a book, because this is my very first book that I will be publishing, my first full-length nonfiction book. I've never gone through these experiences before working with a professional editor, working with beta readers, etc., and it's all been such a wonderful experience so far. I've been learning so much and growing so much, and it's all just—I couldn't, like I said, have asked for a better experience so far. So I'm very excited to share all of this with you, including today's new podcast episode. But before we dive into that again, I also want to mention that I am participating in a fantastic resource—writing resource—bundle this week with Shelby Bunker of Get Writing Done. Shelby, her website was previously called The Writing Pal, and it's one of my favorite websites for writers because Shelby tackles writing in a very unique way. She tackles it specifically from the angle of look. We all have full-time lives, we are all busy, busy, busy, and building your best writing life—to steal my own phraseology, I guess— building your best writing life is not about being the best, most efficient, most productive writer on the planet. It's about getting your writing done. It's about figuring out ways in your life to make writing happen, even when you're busy, and then to celebrate that and to be happy with that progress. And so it is such a wonderful honor to be working with Shelby. We are hosting a writing resource bundle, as I mentioned, that includes my resource, The Novel Planner, which is a daily planner for authors, as well as Shelby's ebook, Write Your Way, which helps you design your personalized writing lifestyle and Shelby's resource Story Notes, which is a collection of templates designed to help you make sure that you're capturing and organizing all of the new story ideas that come your way. So you never have to worry about misplacing an idea again. So altogether, these resources are typically worth over $43, but we are through this Sunday, July 20— oh man, what's the date? July 22nd, I believe. We are bundling these resources and selling them for just $9, so that is over 75% off. And if you would like to check that out and learn more about the bundle and grab your copy today, I will leave the link for you in today's episode description. Today I am also excited to share two new guest posts that have recently gone live on the Well-Storied blog. The first is by Claire Dalisha, and it's called Are You at the Helm of Your Writing Success? This fantastic article explores the three elements, the three foundational factors of what it takes to achieve writing success. And they may not be the factors that you're thinking they are, so if you would like to check that out, you can find it at well-storied.com slash helm. And then the second article I have to share is How Introverts Can Thrive in the Online Writing Community by Lauren Simonus Hunter, who is also one of the bloggers behind the fantastic website Writers Set. If you are at all an introvert, you probably know how intimidating it can be to participate in the online writing community. But that same community is the one that can provide the support and encouragement that you need to really live your best writing life. So if you are in need of some advice on how to make online socialization happen, make sure to check out Lauren's article at well-storied.com slash introvert. I will leave both of those links for you in today's episode description. If you would like to submit your own article for publication on the Well-Storied blog, you can find our guest post submission guidelines at well-storied.com slash guest. Alright, today's episode of the podcast translates the latest article from the Well-Storied blog into audio, titled The New Writers' Guide to Working with Beta Readers. You can find the article that also serves as the episode transcript at www.well-storied.com slash beta. Now let's dive in. Nothing improves the quality of your writing like a little objective feedback. Sure, a few well-honed self-editing skills can go a long way toward helping you craft incredible stories. But at the end of the day, you're simply too close to your work to truly revise and refine it to be the best that it can be. This is where a second pair of eyes or many seconds can come in handy, specifically in the form of beta readers. I recently worked with beta readers for the first time to seek feedback on my upcoming book, Build Your Best Writing Life, and I couldn't have asked for a better experience. I'm now excited to share what I learned from that experience in a new two-part series here on the blog and on the podcast, beginning with today's episode answering the most common questions about working with beta readers. Question number one, what does a beta reader do? Beta readers critique completed drafts of unpublished projects, providing writers with suggestions for improving the quality of their manuscripts. Typically, writers engage beta readers after drafting or revising their stories, seeking constructive criticism on issues regarding plot, character, setting, theme, dialogue, description, road building, style, voice, and other common elements of the craft. Some writers also engage beta readers to provide feedback on later drafts of their work, seeking insight into the quality of their prose. In these situations, beta reader feedback typically addresses stories, dialogue, descriptions, internal narrative, action sequences, style, voice, and tone on a line-by-line basis. Some beta readers may even proofread a work, specifically seeking errors and inconsistencies in the text. Question number two, what should you look for in a beta reader? Because beta readers exist to provide feedback that will help tailor a book to readers' consumption, writers typically seek beta readers who are well-versed in their project's genre and age market. A beta reader who only enjoys romance is unlikely to provide helpful feedback on a science fiction project, while someone who solely reads adult novels probably won't prove much of a help in critiquing your middle grade adventure. However, some writers do also like to employ a few beta readers who aren't well-versed in their genre or age market to see how future readers new to their niche would enjoy their work. A beta reader can be a reader or a fellow writer. Some authors prefer to have writers beta read their work since writers are often better equipped to provide insight into the major craft-based issues that can plague early drafts. For example, a non-writer may note that a character fell flat, but prove unable to explain that the story's stakes weren't high enough to give that character the motivation to act. These same authors may prefer to engage non-writers to beta read their later drafts to gain a better understanding of how future readers may react to their published books. That said, most writers don't mind engaging a mix of writers and non-writers to beta read their work, so long as they trust their beta readers to provide honest feedback. Non-critical feedback just isn't helpful, but some beta readers can be too shy or inexperienced to offer their honest opinions on what needs work. Bearing all this in mind, avoid asking friends or family members to beta read if they aren't well-versed in your genre or age market or if they're more likely to coddle you than provide constructive criticism. Question number three. Do writers pay beta readers? Not typically. Though some writers and editors do offer paid beta reading services through their websites. This can be a great option for writers who want experienced feedback on their projects but can afford to hire the more detailed services of a developmental editor. One thing to note is that beta readers are not the same as sensitivity or technical readers who read and critique a manuscript for potentially problematic issues or inaccuracies, respectively. Sensitivity and technical readers are frequently paid for their feedback. Question number four. How many beta readers should you engage when seeking feedback? Beta reader feedback is often highly personal. Seeking feedback from a good handful of beta readers? I personally recommend somewhere between three and twelve can allow for patterns in the feedback you receive to emerge, helping you better understand which criticisms should receive the most attention. Generally, I find it better to seek more beta readers than less. Chances are that at least one beta reader won't provide feedback that proves all that insightful or constructive or won't get back to you with their thoughts at all. Having a few extra beta readers creates a buffer against the possibility of ending up with too little feedback to glean any meaningful direction. Question number five. Where can you find beta readers? You can seek beta readers in several ways. Firstly, by considering any readers and writers in your personal life. If you know someone who fits the criteria of what you're looking for in a beta reader, don't be afraid to reach out. The worst they can say is no. That said, most writers find their beta readers via the online reading and writing communities. If you haven't yet taken the time to build relationships on your platform or platforms of choice, jump right in. Reading and writing communities can be found on Facebook, including our well storied Facebook group, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, and beyond. And speaking of which, if you are an introvert who feels intimidated by the idea of engaging on social media, don't forget to check out our recent guest post from Lauren Simonas Hunter. And finally, question number six. Are writers expected to beta read in return if one of their readers is a writer? This is a common practice, but no. It isn't strictly necessary to beta read in return for one of your beta readers. Doing so is a great way to build relationships and give back to the writers who have helped you, but you only have so much time and energy to give. If you can't or simply don't want to beta read in return, it's okay to decline the offer and share your gratitude in other ways. More on this in part two. Finally, I'd like to highlight that working with beta readers is not only a great way to gain a little helpful feedback on your project. It's also a way to connect with some of your book's earliest fans. Beta readers are often a book's first champions, the ones who help spread the word about the phenomenal story that is your book, and that support is priceless. So if you think you're ready to work with beta readers to improve your writing, keep an eye out for the upcoming second edition of this podcast and blog series, where I'll share the steps you can take to ensure a great beta reader experience for all, from prep work to deadlines to applying beta feedback. Stay tuned, writer. Thank you for listening to today's episode of the podcast writer. I hope you found it helpful to your writing journey. If so, make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss a new episode, and to give the podcast a quick rating and review. Doing so goes a long way toward helping the podcast reach new writers, and lets me know that you're enjoying what I'm creating. You can also give me a shout out directly on Twitter at christen underscore keeper. For additional guidance as you work to craft sensational novels and build your best writing life, be sure to head on over to www.well-storied.com, where I share blog posts, workbooks, e-courses, and other helpful resources for writers. Again, that's w-e-l-l-s-t-o-r-i-e-d dot com. Thank you again for tuning in to today's episode, my friend. Until next time, happy writing!