I read a post yesterday about someone finally finding a beta reader after going it alone forever. And a while back, when I posted about the types of critiquers, there was a lot of interest. So, I’m going to try something a little different today. I’m pimping. Hopefully I will hook you up.

Here’s how it’s going to work. I’m going to define two of many types of critiquers: alpha readers and beta readers. Then I’m going to ask anyone who is interested in doing an alpha or a beta read in the near future to comment below this post. Anyone who needs an alpha or a beta read can check in with you, but once you have committed to enough reads, be sure to comment again to take yourself off the list. If you want readers yourself, you can use the list to contact them–after checking the whole list to make sure they aren’t full up. Readers, please, please make sure there is contact information somewhere to reach you!

Alpha and beta readers are both crucial to the success of a book. Often, it can take multiple passes with a lot of rewrites and drafts in between to get your story right. It’s possible we also need a post on the proper care and feeding of readers, including the fact that they should always be acknowledged in your book, but for now, I’ll let you figure out how to show your appreciation properly. Meanwhile, on to explaining the difference.

Alpha Readers: Alphas read the first draft or a portion of it at a time, a third or a half, etc., to tell you what is working and what isn’t. They are looking ONLY for macro things including:

• concept and marketability
• plot making sense
• structure working for the story
• interest and variation in the setting
• action rising and falling as appropriate
• voice sounding authentic and credible
• main character seeming likable and believable
• emotional connection
• tension to keep the reader turning pages
• trends in language, diction, grammar, punctuation, etc. that need to be corrected or changed

Alpha readers should not be marking individual word choices or doing line editing. They aren’t really even looking at things like action beats in dialogue that don’t make sense. Truly, an alpha read is a BIG PICTURE read. It makes no sense to look at little things, because the little things may–and probably will–change. The whole scene could get thrown out, and all the work and effort of critiquing it would be wasted. If an alpha reader encounters a problem, she should make a comment in the margin about believability, or being taken out of the story, or being confused, or finding herself skimming etc. But that’s as far as it goes until she writes an overall report on the individual issues and strengths of the piece.

Beta Readers: Betas are looking for the same things as your alphas, but in theory the plot and structure should already be in place, you should know your characters are likable and capable of getting your readers involved and connected. You should have read through, and hopefully had your critique partners read through, the manuscript several times to check for grammar. That should leave a beta reader able to read smoothly, the same way she would if she was reading a book. And the beta reader, ideally, should do things in two passes. On the first pass, she should look for everything but line edits to make sure there aren’t whole sections that will need to be deleted or rewritten. But because that shouldn’t be true at this point, and because typos and grammatical errors should be few and far between, she should mark them when she sees them. As she reads, a beta reader is looking for:

• pacing and structure
• a smooth beginning without info dump
• a non-sagging middle with plenty of conflict
• a taut, satisfying climax and ending
• plot holes that need to be filled
• resolution of all subplots
• general structural problems
• variation and detail in the setting
• main character seeming likable and believable
• places where the emotional connection is lost
• scenes, paragraphs, or passages that don’t seem credible or authentic
• anywhere the voice or point of view seem to have been lost or violated
• sections where she is skimming because the action or pacing is off
• specific instances where language, diction, grammar, punctuation, need to be corrected or changed

These are tall orders. Most readers don’t know what they are looking for. They simply read and mark line edits, or one or two issues that need to be repaired. They aren’t seeing the big picture or articulating problems that left them less than satisfied when they reached the end. That kind of a reader makes a good critique partner. An alpha and beta reader, however, needs a different set of chops. Alphas and betas have to be good critical readers. Critical reading will also help you develop your writing skills. Truly, it’s a win, win situation.

Are you ready to go? Think you have what it takes? Put yourself to the test. Leave a comment with your contact information, what you’ve been reading, and what you are reading now. Also be sure to say whether you want to alpha or to beta!

Happy reading!

Martina