When you’ve got your first draft of your book done, what’s the next step?
That depends on whether you think it’s pretty much there, or if it needs some work to get it to a point where you’re happy for other people to see it. If you’re not quite ready to share, your first stop will probably be a good editor; someone who can help you to develop it. But assuming you’re reasonably happy with it – even if it will need a bit of polishing, you might find asking some people to beta-read your manuscript will be a useful step.
What is a beta reader?
These are usually people who fit your ideal reader profile and are willing to read your first draft and give you feedback, suggestions and pick up on anything that isn’t working.
We’re not talking about reviews – those will come later in the process, but beta readers are valuable as they are looking at your manuscript from the reader’s perspective and can help you to ensure everything hits the spot.
You don’t need lots of beta readers – as you could end up with a mountain of feedback to work through, much of which will be the same kind of comments. Anything from two to around five or six is manageable. Some fiction authors have dozens, but they also have a team of assistants who will work through the feedback and just give the author the key points to work on!
The important thing is that you create a clear brief for them, so everyone is working on the same thing.
When you get the feedback you’ll need to work through your manuscript to integrate the suggestions and make any revisions.
There’s no rule that says you have to take any of the feedback on board, you can decide not to change things, but if there are things that have confused the beta reader, or left them wondering what the next step is, you should take note.
Once the updates are made, then it’s time to give your manuscript to your editor. If you’ve already had a first edit done, this shouldn’t be a big job for them, but I’d definitely discuss your plans for beta readers before any editing takes place and get their advice on what point it would work best for them.
