What is all of this stuff about alpha and beta readers? What about ARC readers 0o.
When I first started writing, this made my head spin too, so here is the down and dirty of how they generally work in the writing world and how I use them.
Alpha Reader – My Alpha readers don’t mind if my manuscript is full of errors and issues. They are going to plow through it and give me feedback on my MS (Manuscript) including:
What they liked and didn’t.
Characters they gravitated to or ones that hated.
Continuity.
Plot holes.
And most importantly, what was clear and what wasn’t.
The book will go through massive changes based on this feedback, so there is no reason to give it a really good edit.
Beta Reader – My story is solid but still needs eyes for details, tweaking, and clarity. At this stage, I’ve gone as far as I can with my editing (Grammarly is my friend), but if an error is in there, I just didn’t see it. My beta readers give me feedback on everything (especially sentence structure and clarity) but expect a more polished but still not professionally edited MS.
Critique Partner – I personally do not have one. Critique partners usually write along with you and give you feedback as you go. I find this distracting and struggle to complete my story when there are outside influences, but lots of authors use critique partners and love them because it helps they stay accountable and on task! It is also more frequent feedback which can be helpful.
ARC Readers (Advanced Reader Copies) – These amazing peps should be reading as close to polished as you can make your book. They ARE NOT part of your editing team!! However, really nice ones will point out any typos that have made it through your editors before your book comes out. They get a free copy of your book before it hits shelves (or Amazon in my case) in exchange for leaving an honest review.
Want to join one of my teams? You can email me at KateMessickAuthor@gmail.com, and we can chat!
