5 Things to Look For in a Beta Reader

When you finally finish your NaNoWriMo novel, the options for taking the next step can be overwhelming. Today, writer Sarah Beaudette of The Spun Yarn gives you a few tips on finding beta readers that will help you take your novel to the next level:

When NaNoWriMo ends, you’ve probably finished both your draft and your self-congratulatory cake, bottle(s) of Scotch, really involved vegan lasagna, (or whatever you do to celebrate). Once you’ve taken time away from the manuscript to regain some precious objectivity, you are now entering The Editing Realm. 

Here’s where it gets tricky if you actually want this baby to make it into the world. For one thing, you’ve got a lot of options: self-editing, developmental editor, self-publishing, traditional publishing… the list is nearly endless.

BEFORE you engage in this choose-your-own-adventure terror, it’s fairly standard to get a few beta readers. If your book is your baby—something you and the universe have created using your genetic material and life experience but which will ultimately live out in the world—who are the first people you trust to hold this fragile, precious, bloody thing?