Yesterday I talked about editing. Today's post is still part of that process. If you aren't done writing yet, that's okay. You'll need this info eventually.

So you edited your first draft and now you want to know what else you need to fix. This is when you enlist some really good friends or you find a forum and get some help. This is when you get yourself some beta readers.

I'm lucky in that I have friends who like to do this (I think they like to do this. That's what they tell me). The unlucky thing for them is that they have to chain themselves to a computer and read a document that's not chaptered for hours (I'm sorry guys!). If I had the money and the ability to get a manuscript to the people I trust to beta read my work, I would do it. I just don't right now.

Beta readers can be just about anyone. They don't need to have experience in the subject, but they can if you want them to. The point of a beta reader is that you want someone who is outside the story to read it. A beta reader is going to find the gramatical stuff you missed, the spelling errors Word didn't catch, and the holes in your plot that need to be filled in.

I've actually given a first draft to a beta reader (NP I'm sorry about that. I know it was bad) and she was honest enough to tell me the truth. Based on her recommendations, I fixed a lot. Did I listen to all of her suggestions? No. But I listened and I learned. It made it easy to not repeat the same mistakes over and over again in my later works.

Personally, I don't like to beta read. I will do it if someone asks me to, but I don't always like to. Does that mean I won't do it if you ask? No. If you ask me, I'll be more than happy to do so. I read quickly and if you don't hook me in the first two chapters, I'll tell you. But there are people out there who love to do this kind of thing.

Besides, if you've been telling people you're writing a book, I'm sure they want to read it right? Find someone you can trust, someone who won't steal it from you and try to publish it on their own (I've heard horror stories) and let them have it. The only way to find out if it's any good is to let someone read it.