When we start out writing, it’s (mostly) an individual endeavour - if your growing manuscript is something you haven’t even told anyone you’re working on, you’re not alone. But as the words go into that manuscript and you start to revise and think that you might like to develop your craft and perhaps publish it…sooner or later you will realise you can’t do it on your own.
But that’s often where the panic starts to set in. Not only do you now need to tell people you have been working on a book, but you need to ask people to critique it. I work in the talent industry for my day job and I know firsthand how difficult it is for most people to ask for feedback. More than that though, it can be really hard for people to give feedback.
We’re going to discuss both critique partners and betas here so I’ll quickly touch on the differences.
Generally, a critique partner is someone who would read your work fairly early in the piece. They are often writers and can comment on more technical aspects of the story. Exactly when authors send their manuscripts to a critique partner varies – I know some who do it after they’ve done several revisions themselves and others who send chapters as they are drafted. Some critique partners will also read a manuscript more than once to help with the direction (but obviously talk this through first).
A beta reader on the other hand generally comes a bit later in the process. While they are also often a writer, they are looking at your manuscript from the perspective of a reader. In my experience, while there can certainly be some elements of crossover, a beta reader will comment less on the technical aspects and more on how they feel, whether they understand why characters are making certain decisions, whether they can imagine the story unfolding around them, and so on.
For the sake of this blog, let’s assume you’ve got an idea of how to find the people you might ask to read your work at any stage (and, if not, check out the blog here for some tips). But how do you know if any of them will be able to provide you with useful, constructive feedback? Or, a different question, what if you want to be a critique partner or beta reader, how do you know what to expect and what to offer?
In my experience, there are a few key things that are important:
Relationship
Personal style
Technical capability/experience (this one isn’t as scary as it sounds!)
Let’s talk ‘relationship’ first – because I can hear some of you saying, I don’t have a relationship with these people yet!
But, yes, if you don’t have any relationships with people you can ask about this yet, you’re going to have to make them. And before your palms start to sweat, I do actually know how terrifying it is to share your work and I have every faith that you can get over this hurdle.
Quick tip: when you get to this point, feel the fear and do it anyway. If you’re serious about your craft, unless you’re some undiscovered literary genius who’s got all the story elements down pat on your first ever draft (hint: this doesn’t exist), one of the best things you can do is get feedback. And remember, it will (or should – we’ll get to that) include positive feedback too!
Back to the relationship. Whether you’re the author or the critique partner/beta reader, for me, this is really important for two reasons: firstly, if you’re the author you are exposing your craft and asking someone to tell you where it’s not hitting the mark which can feel incredibly vulnerable; secondly, if you’re the person giving the feedback, you have a tough job to make sure it’s honest, constructive and kind, while giving genuine help and guidance to the author.
Ideally, this relationship will be a long-term one so I suggest you approach it as such. Just like you might date someone before you agree to be exclusive, I’d ‘date’ your potential critique partner/beta reader or the author. Get to know them, send/read a chapter or two, and see if the writing and the feedback gel.
And remember, this is a relationship and it goes both ways. Whether you’re the author or the reader (and you might be both, particularly if you’re critique partners and you read each other’s work) put in the effort to make it work, don’t take the other for granted, and be kind.
Personal style is also something I think should be considered when thinking about what makes a good critique partner or beta reader. This is not to say that I think there is a style that’s better than another but that I think the personal style of each part of the relationship needs to work together. That can mean similar, complementary, or quite different styles, but the two of you and your approaches need to fit well.
I am particularly talking here about how they give and receive feedback. For example, if your critique partner only tells you what they hate about your book with no guidance on what might help it get back on track, or your author disputes every piece of feedback you give, chances are your styles aren’t aligned.
When I am working with an author or critique partner/beta reader, my style is to give lots of encouragement and call out all the things I love, as well as provide thoughts on what isn’t quite working and why. This means that sometimes I leave LOTS of comments but for some authors that won’t work – they might prefer that I would only comment on the bits that need adjusting, give some really tough love, and leave out all the positives. Each of those things is okay, it just might mean we’d not be the best fit (or I’d have to try really hard not to comment on all the things I really enjoy!).
On that note though, I think most of the people who put their hands up to be critique partners and beta readers genuinely want to be helpful, so I think it’s also good to tell them what you’d like – in my mind this guidance forms part of your half of the relationship. When I’m reading or sharing work with my critique partners or beta readers, we always go through a process of working out what the author wants. Are they looking for feedback on beats? Pacing? Character arcs? Romantic tension? Action scenes? If a character feels relatable?
There can be a multitude of things authors are expressly looking for in their feedback and some things the critique partners or beta readers will pick up that weren’t on the list. Personally, I also specifically ask to know what they like as they read because, in addition to giving me the warm fuzzies, which I think is important to help writers keep writing, it helps me work out why they might say a different element of the story isn’t working.
Thirdly, critique partners and beta readers should have good technical understanding or experience. By this, I don’t mean that everyone you ask to give you feedback should be a qualified editor. But I do mean they should have a solid understanding of story and be able to articulate this to you – very often this comes from just being a voracious reader!
This feedback or commentary won’t always be in technical terms and the author will need to do some assessment of their own on the feedback but, for example, a beta reader might say ‘I feel a little lost here’ or ‘where are they again?’ or ‘I’m so ready for x,y,z to happen!’. It’s these comments that will help give you a sense of whether you’re info-dumping, or not grounding the reader in a scene, or have built the tension well.
As a comparison, a critique partner might say things like ‘this is getting a bit info-heavy. Can you sprinkle some of this world-building into chapter two when x,y,z is happening instead?’ or ‘this scene is quite action/dialogue focused but can you show me where I am and ground me in the scene – what should I be able to see/hear/smell, etc here?’ or ‘I LOVE how she digs her nails into her palms here, I can really feel how she’s about to explode in response to that statement.’
Another element of ‘experience’ probably goes without saying but, just in case, keep the genre of your story in mind. I primarily write adult fantasy and asking my brother who solely listens to non-fiction podcasts to read and provide constructive feedback on my drafts just isn’t going to give either of us what we need from the experience. Just like you would think about your target reading audience in terms of genre, age group, and content/trigger warnings, consider and discuss these things with your critique partners and beta readers before you dig in.
Being or choosing a good critique partner or beta reader is just as subjective as writing and reading. We’ve touched on some of the key points: relationship, personal style, and technical skills and experience. Layer onto that (for all parties) kindness, a willingness to help each other, and a genuine love for all things story and you might just be onto a winning combination!
Before I leave you, I have one more addition: timing! Whether you’re the author or the reader, be upfront with your timing requirements and what you can commit to, and do your best to stick to it. If something looks like it’s not going to stay on track, just let the other party know and work it out – transparency soaked in kindness goes a long way!