From Critique Partner (CPs) to family members, as a writer, it’s always best to have a second (and third and fourth and fifth, okay, you get the idea) set of eyes looking over your work before you enter the querying trenches!
But the truth is… sometimes your friends and family aren’t the best beta readers you can have. By nature, they are biased. Even if you ask for raw and honest feedback, it will 99% of the time be difficult for your friend or family member to be brutally honest about something in your manuscript as opposed to how they would be in regards to that of a stranger.
And sometimes life happens. You can’t keep exchanging manuscripts with multiple people just to hope they give you feedback on your manuscript in a timely fashion. If someone is not being paid to beta read your book, more often than not, reading your manuscript will not be their top priority.
Don’t fret. You can always hire someone to read your manuscript!
Today, we’re sharing four reasons why you should hire a paid beta reader.
Paid beta readers are qualified
Paid beta readers are qualified, focused, and know what they are doing when reading your manuscript. Most of the time, paid beta readers are writers themselves or avid readers. They are essentially a one-person focus group for your novel. What more could you want than someone who is there to help you take your writing to the next level and/or give pointers on what to do to really level up your manuscript?
Paid beta readers will not be shy about constructive criticism
Remember when we said that friends and family are biased readers? It’s true. And biased is something paid beta readers are not. They wouldn’t be doing their jobs if they were. Paid beta readers will not be afraid to be upfront with you. They will have no reservations about being brutally honest in a constructive way that will have you looking at your story in a whole new light. If becoming a published author is your dream, then you need someone who will be able to give you a reality check when you need it.
Paid beta readers find the gaps
Your friends and CPs know you. They know what your thought process was when drafting, what the outline of your story has been from the start, and they almost always know what you are trying to say even when you didn’t quite say it.
But that’s not going to help you improve your book.
You need someone who will be able to find the gaps and holes in your manuscript.
If you’ve talked to your CPs about your characters and your story, they can subconsciously fill in things where something feels like it’s missing or doesn’t make sense and not even realize it enough to tell you about it.
Paid beta readers come into your story blind, ready to catch any inconsistencies and plot holes. They’re also ready to make sure your manuscript flows seamlessly when it comes to characters, pacing, etc.
Paid beta readers are in your corner
Paid beta readers want you to succeed. They will help you make a good first impression by the time you enter the querying trenches. They will offer unbiased constructive feedback so that your book can one day be even better prepared to receive that shiny orange banner on Amazon.
At the end of the day, paid beta readers are in YOUR corner… but in an unbiased manner.
That’s not to say you should stop sharing your manuscripts with your CPs or friends. We encourage you to keep doing that until you get the shiniest version of your manuscript and need a final set of eyes for some non-biased feedback!
Luckily for you, we offer paid beta reading services.