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New and unpublished authors will often hire beta readers to receive an insightful critique before submitting a manuscript to a publisher or self-publishing.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

- Christopher M.

Thank you so much! This is great feedback, I appreciate your ability to see the grammatical details, while still evaluating the manuscript on it's broad strokes. That's not an easy thing to do. Thanks again, Chris.

- Christopher M.
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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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- 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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- Bert O.

I have just started book 4 of this series so I will certainly use your pointers! - Bert O.
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- Thea O.

Thanks for sending it through. The beta reader is the first person outside of family to read it, so I was expecting it to be torn to shreds a bit! I'll be able to go through their comments a bit more closely over the weekend but it looks like I've got plenty to be getting on with!
Cheers,
Thea - Thea O.
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- Alan C.

Thanks very much for taking the time to read my story and for your kind comments, highlighting errors and raising points for further consideration. It's all very helpful and reassuring to know there's a story in it, from someone other than my girlfriend. Thanks again. Take care, Alan Corcoran. (Author of Marathon Man)
- Alan C.
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- Katherine S.

Please let the reader know that I'm flattered, and none of your beta readers should ever fear causing offense. I want their honest opinions, besides I'm pretty thick-skinned 🙂 - Katherine S.
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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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- William

Thank you so much for the invaluable feedback on Zoa's Arks. I am grateful for the cogent points you brought up. - William
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- Anni T.

Thank you so much for the quick turnaround on your beta read! Your report was very insightful and will help a lot in understanding a reader's perspective. I am so glad the story came together for you - that alone is extremely helpful. Yes, the subject matter is dark, which is always difficult when trying to write a story that is entertaining! I have lines that I won't cross, esp. when it comes to writing about children. I think writing for shock value is a race to the bottom. I'll go back and work on the dialogue that is stilted/unrealistic - yes, it would be awful for the narrator to have to read stilted dialogue! Also, I have to thank you for ploughing through the story despite it being so messy! My editor is finding 100s of errors and many inconsistencies. I've been under pressure to make a deadline for my audio publisher and I've had issues caused by the border closure in Victoria (we were meant to be moving there). I agree with the border closure, but it's been a difficult time - as have these past months been for many, many people.
- Anni T.
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- John K.

Thank you, Herr Doktor. - John K.
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- AJ F.

Please pass on my sincere thanks to the reader. Some generous and kind comments along with some solid pick ups. I’ve not yet had the ms proofread in case it needed some serious work, hence the typos. - AJ F.
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- Catherine C.

Thanks so much. Those are brilliant suggestions.

Catherine C - Catherine C.
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- John B.

Thank you for providing a very informative and constructive critique. I feel most of the observations were quite valid and I will proceed with further refinements and edits. Thank you again, John. - John B.
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- 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.
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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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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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Beta Reading Service Fees:

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*For manuscripts in excess of 120,000 words please contact us for a quote.

Our beta reading service accepts fiction and non-fiction manuscripts.

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