Why Free Beta Readers Can Come at a Cost Writerful Books, 30 August 201613 October 2023 New and unpublished authors will often hire beta readers to receive an insightful critique before submitting a manuscript to a publisher or self-publishing. The beta reader’s job is to read the manuscript as an actual reader would and present feedback on what works and what doesn’t, any styling or structural issues, plot holes or issues with characterisation, flow, grammar, pacing and so on. Some authors who have multiple books under their belt or are writing a series of books have the ability to enlist existing readers of their books on social media, Goodreads or writing forums. This can be a valuable and free way to get feedback from fans who are familiar with the author’s writing style and know what to expect from that particular author. First-time authors may not have the luxury of enthusiastic fans who are prepared to beta read their manuscripts for free. So invariably they fall back on family and friends to read their work. The major problem with enlisting family and friends is not that they are inexperienced when it comes to giving in-depth feedback but that they are reluctant to hurt the author’s feelings if the book has major flaws and requires substantial revision and may not even recognise this fact. Aspiring writers are not always flush with cash so finding affordable beta readers to critique their work in a methodical way is essential. As experienced beta readers, we guarantee you a friendly and personalised service which will deliver valuable feedback in a report to assist your writing ambitions. There is also the very real possibility that your manuscript will be ripped off in part or in its entirety by an unscrupulous operator who has claimed your work as their own and decided to sell it on Amazon, Apple iBooks or Smashwords under their own name. The following forum post on AbsoluteWrite claims that someone acting as a beta reader ‘borrowed’ some of the author’s work. - Tina H. Thanks Declan for your thorough breakdown of my book. Yours is the first feedback that is constructive. Friends and family are always a little too enthused and not always honest with their feedback. I will take your thoughts into consideration as I rework some of the chapters. Thanks so much for beta reading my book! Thanks, Tina. - Tina H.Read Moreread less - Janene W. Thank you for these timely reports. Please pass on my thanks to the beta reader for his or her report. It was extremely helpful and I think I've gained a much better insight into my manuscript from his/her useful and honest comments. I have read them and have been chewing on the comments. There are many points listed in the reports that align with my instincts regarding the manuscript. These give me areas I can directly attack as I head into my next draft, and I appreciate that. - Janene W.Read Moreread less - Nikhil S. Thank you for your advice on the manuscript. You are right that this is an earlier draft and it needs some more revising, but I think I have some ideas based on your comments. Take care, Nikhil. - Nikhil S.Read Moreread less - Alessandro S. Thanks so much for the essay and the editing, it's all very encouraging and it has gotten me back into self-editing at full speed! [...] Sorry for babbling a bit, but I felt inspired! Thanks again for this, and by all means feel free to ask anything you like. If you or the reader want to talk about it face-to-face (digitally so to speak) I am also very open to it, I don't have much opportunity to speak about my writing with people in the industry so it would be a great experience for me to chat about it. Kind Regards, Alessandro. - Alessandro S.Read Moreread less - Renae M. Thank-you so much! This report will be so helpful in rewrites. Do you offer a re-read service when my edits are finished. I love the fact that I get an unbiased opinion and feedback! Thanks again! Renae Mercado - Renae M.Read Moreread less - Margaret D. To cut a long story short. Could you improve the story and if so what would it cost me to do so. I'm thinking that a bit of tweaking will help the story tremendously. Margaret - Margaret D.Read Moreread less - Luke J. Thanks for your time! I really appreciate the feedback and your willingness to slog through. I’m going to spend some time ruminating on your observations and hit it with an overhaul. Thanks again! - Luke J.Read Moreread less - Rebecca R. Thank you so much for the report. I am thrilled to receive this kind of feedback! It was so detailed and the reader made really insightful and useful suggestions. Please be sure to thank them for their thorough critique and kind comments. This was beyond helpful for me as well as reassuring that the book is worth my continued hard work. - Rebecca R.Read Moreread less - Mark R. Just back from being out of town and opened your beta read at the airport. I appreciate the time and effort you put into this. Will be getting into your feedback now and using it to make the book a better read. Sincerely, Mark - Mark R.Read Moreread less - Bert O. I have just started book 4 of this series so I will certainly use your pointers! - Bert O.Read Moreread less - Amelia N. Thank you for the report! The beta read was very helpful to let me know what to edit and work on next. Pass on my thanks to the reader. Regards, Amelia - Amelia N.Read Moreread less - Jodi D. Thank you for the report. Both readers finished commenting around page 200 - I understand one beta reader totally disliked the manuscript, hence not finishing it but was that the same for the second beta reader? I only ask, in case my Word document stopped displaying the comment boxes. Jodi. - Jodi D.Read Moreread less - Rebecca A. Thank you very much for your work. It is clear to me you have read the manuscript thoroughly and I appreciate your direct feedback. I already feel excited about the potential for improvement you have outlined that I wasn't able to see on my own. What's more, I've also seen clear evidence that I made the right decision in deciding to get a manuscript assessment from your detailed comments alone. This is exactly what I needed. Thank you again. Rebecca - Rebecca A.Read Moreread less - Latifa J. Thank you for the manuscript assessment. I really appreciate how quickly you've gotten back to me. I'll start working on it as soon as possible, (rewriting it, taking everything you've mentioned into consideration). Thanks again! Regards, Latifa - Latifa J.Read Moreread less - Rob D. I am happy with the advice you have provided, it is practical and identifies real areas on how I can improve it further. Seems I underestimated how “ready” the manuscript is and may explain why there has been a lot of rejection. - Rob D.Read Moreread less - Alarna H. Hello Declan, You’re amazing, this is exactly what I needed. Thank you for such a quick turn around. Kindest, Alarna. - Alarna H.Read Moreread less load more This type of thing is more common than you think and a major reason why you should hire only trustworthy beta readers rather than posting a request on a forum for free beta readers or using a Beta Reading Service which allows anyone to sign up and beta read an authors manuscript without passing any background checks or signing a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). There is nothing stopping someone you’ve made contact with on a forum or social media from uploading your manuscript to The Pirate Bay or another torrent website to give anyone the ability to be able to download your ebook for free. As you know, internet piracy is rampant which is why you need to be smart about whose hands your unpublished manuscript ends up in. The simple truth is that no publisher will consider signing a new author if their work has been illegally uploaded to a file-sharing website without the author’s knowledge. Our Beta Reading Service is: ► Affordable ► Comprehensive ► Fast Turnaround ► Honest ► Professional Beta Reading Service Fees: Our beta reading fees are excellent value for a comprehensive beta reader report. AUD $245, CAD $220, GBP £130, EUR €150, USD $165 per reader up to 120,000 words*. *For manuscripts in excess of 120,000 words please contact us for a quote. Our beta reading service accepts fiction and non-fiction manuscripts. ** If your manuscript is unedited we recommend you use our Manuscript Assessment Service ** Click here to hire an editor for a manuscript assessment Hire Beta Readers Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Name *FirstLastEmail *Country of Residence? *Genre *Word Count *Has Your Manuscript Been Edited? *YesNoBrief Synopsis *Any Questions? For example: specific areas to request the beta reader focus on.Submit Your Manuscript Click or drag a file to this area to upload. PhoneSubmit * We take your privacy seriously and will always protect your copyrighted material. Writerful Books offers affordable editing services to authors within Australia (Brisbane, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney), in Ireland (Cork, Belfast, Derry, Dublin, Galway, Waterford) and the UK (Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Sheffield) and the US. 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