Why Free Beta Readers Can Come at a Cost

New and unpublished authors will often hire beta readers to receive an insightful critique before submitting a manuscript to a publisher or self-publishing.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.

- 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.
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- Rudy S.

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. I wanted to say the notes were extremely helpful and gave me alot to think about. I don't know if too much time has passed by now but I thought I should try. My only question for the reader to clarify on is that I forgot to mention that this book is the first of a planned series. And she said the characters didn't feel developed, and i'm just wondering if knowing that changes anything? I hope the Covid didn't knock you around too much and that you're feeling better. I've read the notes and first wanta thank you for the feedback. I genuinely appreciate it. - Rudy S.
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- Jennifer B.

Thank you so much. This feedback was extremely helpful and I think it will be crucial in assisting me to tell the story I want. I greatly appreciate it! Sincerely,
Jennifer Byrd - Jennifer B.
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- 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.
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- Joseph C.

Report received, many thanks. I'll let you know how it goes once I get stuck into the drafting. Cheers - Joe
- Joseph C.
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- Thomas M.

Hi Declan, I am, in a word, speechless. This is not at all what I expected from your beta read. Just to be clear, I'm thrilled! First, you pointed out a lot of things that got me thinking and realized I agree with you. I will make all or virtually all of your suggested changes in the next revision. You have made what I consider vital suggestions that will smooth out some of the rough edges still to be found in the book. Second, regarding your thoughtful commentary. I'm very happy that you found that the plot, characters, dialog, etc., worked well. As you know, the kind of praise in your evaluation is not something writers get to hear too often, if at all. - Thomas M.
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- Pat K.

Thank you for the valuable feedback on both the strengths and weaknesses of Windshift. I'll be working on those improvements during the weeks ahead. Thanks again, Pat. - Pat K.
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- 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.
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- Jupiter H.

Thank you guys so much for the feedback! I’m sorry the first part was so hard to get through. I had concerns with a lot of the things that were mentioned, especially regarding pacing and if I started in the right place. This cleared up a lot of that and hopefully I can address a lot of the issues pointed out. - Jupiter H.
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- Jeffrey M.

I totally get why it took longer to read. I feel a little goofy pestering you so much, I just wasn’t sure. You have nothing to apologize for. You were right, this was a top notch reading which will greatly help my revisions. - Jeffrey M.
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- Tom F.

Sorry it has taken so long to get to you. I’ve been swamped with day-job work. I also want to thank you for reading and providing thoughtful comments.

- Tom F.
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- 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.
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- James R.

Thank you for taking the time to read my book and provide your feedback! I think it is very helpful, and I've definitely got a lot of work ahead to try and cut it down some.

Thank you,

James R. - James R.
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- Paul B.

Declan, just read your report. I'm hugely relieved by your comments. Thank you so much for your thorough assessment. I'll ensure you get a mention in the acknowledgements. - Paul B.
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- David J.

Thanks for that, your reviewer made some pretty encouraging comments and I can see the sense in the bits they criticised. I've made notes of a few things I'm going to modify or even remove. I hope you are also well. Kind regards, David.
- David J.
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- Philip K.

Hello Declan – I have been through your further assessment, thanks for those insights I can certainly work with those and will follow up on the contacts you suggest asap. I’m pleased to report that after many months of research and writing I have finally been able, this week, to self publish on Amazon the novel named “Treaty or Treason”! A close call with Penguin Ireland sadly didn’t work out for traditional publication. I would like to pass on particular thanks to Declan at Writerful Books (Dublin and Melbourne) who assessed the manuscript and helped me with many comments and kept me trudging or swimming on. Some famous author once commented that writing a book is like swimming the English Channel, you don’t know where you are, don’t know how far you have come or how far it is to go, but you have to keep swimming! Couldn’t agree more. Philip Kerrigan.
- Philip K.
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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.

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