How Beta Reading can Change Your Writing Life by @IntisarKhanani
Many indie authors struggle with
putting out a professionally edited book, in large part because a
professional editor can easily cost $2,500 (that’s for substantive
editing, not just copyediting). When you consider that the average
indie author makes a whopping $800 a year, it simply isn’t
financially feasible. After all, authors still need a professional
cover designer as well as a proofreader, not to mention the
importance of maintaining a budget for blog tours, giveaways and
other marketing efforts. And then there’s the small matter of being
able to buy yourself a cup of coffee now and then on your “profits.”
What’s a writer to do?
Take a look at your craft. If you are
fairly confident in your level of skill—and you have the
unsolicited reviews to suggest that you can tell a strong story—then
a team of beta-readers just might be your answer to professional
editing (at least until you’re selling enough to afford one). While
the cyclic process of editing and revision of your own work can’t
be undervalued, beta-readers can provide the critiques and insights
that can speed you through the process much faster than you could
make it on your own.
After the release of my debut novel,
Thorn, I knew that I wanted more editorial input into my
writing process. I was happy with Thorn, but I didn’t want
to spend ten years getting the next book right. I needed input from
more than just my family and my writing circle. To tighten the
timeframe, I recruited beta-readers to help me with my new series,
The Sunbolt Chronicles. Those beta-readers changed my writing
life.
More through accident than intention, I
put together two teams of beta-readers. The first, a larger group of
readers from diverse backgrounds, reviewed an early draft of Sunbolt
and provided big picture feedback. I developed a questionnaire
covering everything from what they thought of the setting, to
questions I hadn’t resolved, to characters and plot elements I was
considering cutting out. But they also found plot holes, suggested
new scenes, and even pointed me in the right direction for starting
the story. We had a “secret” Facebook group, which allowed for
dynamic discussions. The FB group also helped me to get a consensus
of opinion from my beta-readers, or to assess the level of
disagreement. Taken together, the questionnaire and FB group provided
me with a range and breadth of feedback for me to consider before
revising. Collectively, this group acted as my editor.
My second team of beta-readers was
composed primarily of word-lovers: grammar fans, a poet, and a fellow
author. These readers functioned much as a copy-editor might,
providing a very close reading with an eye to grammar, imagery, and
the craft of writing overall. This tightened the language and flow of
Sunbolt much more efficiently than any number of revision
cycles on my own would have.
I am now completely on the side of Team
Beta-Read. Until I’ve got a jingle in my pocket, I’ll be tapping
my wonderful volunteer readers to help me shape and improve my
stories. Heck, even if I can afford an editor, I expect I’ll still
stand by my Team(s). I still use a professional proofreader to assure
that those last typos and errors are caught, but the developing my
Beta-Reading Teams means I have the budget to assure I can still
invest in all the other areas of bringing a book to my readers.
Have you ever use beta-readers—or
been one yourself? What was your experience?
Meet Intisar KhananiIntisar Khanani grew up a nomad and world traveler. Born in Wisconsin, she has lived in five different states as well as in Jeddah on the cost of the Red Sea. She first remembers seeing snow on a wintry street in Zurich, Switzerland, and vaguely recollects having breakfast with the orangutans at the Singapore Zoo when she was five. Intisar currently resides in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband and two young daughters.
Until recently, she wrote grants and developed projects to address community health and infant mortality with the Cincinnati Health Department—which was as close as she could get to saving the world. Now she focuses her time on her two passions: raising her family and writing fantasy. Intisar’s latest projects include a companion trilogy to her debut novel Thorn, featuring a new heroine introduced in her free short story The Bone Knife … and of course, she’s hard at work on the remaining installments of The Sunbolt Chronicles.
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