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New and unpublished authors will often hire beta readers to receive an insightful critique before submitting a manuscript to a publisher or self-publishing.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

- Penny F.

Thank you for your detailed report..work life has got in the way sadly. I appreciate your many recommendations.. many, no real surprise. As a new writer I felt I needed another opinion even though the MS was incomplete to help me clarify strengths and weaknesses. I had set my book aside deliberately for almost a month and now have two solid weeks to devote to it - and will attempt to address your concerns. I know I have a long way to go to develop good novel writing skills ....I'm hoping practice will get me there!!
Once again thank you for your guidance.
Penny - Penny F.
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- Stephenos M.

I wanted to take a moment to thank you so much again for the meaningful and insightful feedback you left on the manuscript assessment. I really appreciate your work and the ways your feedback has led to the improvement of my writing. Sincerely, Stephenos. - Stephenos M.
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- 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.
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- Benjamin G.

I've just been looking over the beta reader report and can't thank you enough. You identified so many issues I would never have found on my own. I agree with all your suggestions and am excited to go through another revision to improve the manuscript. Your report was much more insightful and detailed than I expected. I will be referring you to fellow writers looking for a good beta reader. Thanks again. Sincerely, Benjamin J. Gohs - Benjamin G.
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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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- John D.

That’s terrific, exactly what I was hoping for (would have been better if I’d sent the final edit version). I would like to purchase another $110 worth in a couple of weeks, if available.

John Dawson. - John D.
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- Lisa H.

I am in receipt of your report. I will be looking it over thoroughly tomorrow, but I glanced at some if it already and it looks like it is going to be very valuable toward helping me improve and strengthen my book. I will let you know if I have any questions.
- Lisa H.
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- 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.
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- Kevin O.

I was clearly led to the right Irishman to beta read the book: what with a daughter with Iona in her name, a Jamaican connection and a knowledge of that part of Irish history, who better? I really appreciate all of the details that you replied with, it's very helpful. I mentioned that I have two endings and would love your opinion on them. I have attached a new file. This is actually the first ending. The one you read was the new alternate. This version begins at chapter 53. Thanks for doing this. I'm really curious to hear what your thoughts are. I am just beginning the agent query process..
- Kevin O.
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- Hanif M.

Thank you for your concise report which was quite helpful in highlighting the areas which need to be worked on in the manuscript. Indeed the middle part did seem to go off point and there is no need for several characters/situations.

Additionally your comments on the appropriate dialogue and South London lingo are well noted.

There were some attempts to highlight the disillusionment the protagonist faced when arriving Nigeria. That was also supposed to be part of his journey.

However It's clear that the manuscript does require a good plot overhaul/change in the sections mentioned

Naturally the services of a developmental and copy editor would be engaged. The point of this assessment was to ensure if the story had some potential.

Best regards

Hanif - Hanif M.
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- Hugh A.

Thanks for your report and your encouraging remarks, as well as your advice and criticisms. Your detailed comments under the various headings are invaluable to me. I accept your point about the beginning, introducing the protagonist rather than the protagonist. I’ll work on it. [...] As for the other issues that you’ve highlighted, I’ll work through the story and fix them as best I can.
- Hugh A.
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- Naomi L.

Thanks, Declan! We will review these reports soon. Naomi @ The Artful Editor
- Naomi L.
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- 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.
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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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- Bob L.

Thanks for the insightful comments. Beautifully written critique and I will use it to polish the manuscript. Regards, Bob Levey. - Bob L.
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- Denise N.

Thank you for my Evaluation. I was quite excited and nervous to read the feedback. Your feedback was really great. I do understand what you are saying. My biggest thing I did get from the feedback was, I am obviously not getting my message across about the most important topic of all, which is, negative money thoughts, all to do with the mind. It is not about, financial security, independence etc it is about looking at your money thoughts and language. If you have any other suggestions I would love to hear from you, if not, thank you again. - Denise N.
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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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*For manuscripts in excess of 120,000 words please contact us for a quote.

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