5 reasons i love my beta-readers

I’ve written a few posts about beta-reading (including this one “for the love of beta-reading“), but I thought it was high time I wrote one about my beta-readers. ❤ Here are just five reasons I’m so happy to work with them!

1. They volunteered their time to read my book! And it’s not just reading, it’s reeeeaddding. Poring over every sentence that doesn’t make sense, scrolling up to leave a comment about something I forgot to explain later, keeping their eyes peeled for inconsistencies… They took time out of their busy schedules to do this for me! I’m honored and flabbergasted every time it happens. ❤

2. They each have a unique perspective. Some are there to comment on commas, others see character issues, and still others notice those little details that slipped by everyone else. I love having so many pairs of eyes on my books because I know it’s going to be that much stronger.

3. They each bring an area of expertise. I have two books being beta-read at the same time right now, and I ended up with the perfect team for each since one person was an expert on historical details and another had experience with pregnancy. I know my stories are more accurate because of them.

4. They humble me and build me up. Like when they point out I had my main character cry “dirty tears” on a “sterile, white” spaceship. How does that work? Or they find the “darlings” I don’t want to kill and prove to me just why I need to. But also when they stay up late and fangirl over the budding romance or the themes I’ve built. When they rate my half-done story highly on Goodreads because they still enjoyed it. Processing beta-reader comments can be quite an emotional experience, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

5. They’re so fun to work with. ❤ And I mean it! The fact that I can rewrite a sentence and reply to their comment with “better?” and get a “yes!”. I can ask for a suggestion for a word and get quite a few. I get messages after they’ve finished about how much they loved the story and suggestions for how I can fix what they pointed out. It’s truly quite fun, and I always love getting to know my team better.

Have you worked with beta-readers before?