What are beta readers? Beta readers are people an author asks to read their book and give feedback on it before it’s published or sent to an agent. How important are beta Readers in the development of a novel? The main point here is that authors can get so close to their work that they don’t see the holes in it. They think their book is ready for publication, but they can’t see it the same way as someone who has never read it before, and all readers who purchase the book are in that category, so it has to work for them. Authors need others’ opinions to help them see their book from a reader’s perspective. It’s better to get feedback while you can still change the book than either have poor reviews after self-publishing or an agent or publisher stop reading and discard the book because the author has not had the perspective of other opinions on their work. An agent or publisher will not tell you what’s wrong with your book; they will just discard it. Readers, however, … [Read more...]