Fully Booked EP9: Yes, you need Beta Readers. Here’s why...

Whether you’re a new author or a seasoned pro, it never hurts to have a fresh and unbiased assessment of your story, BEFORE it gets published or into the hands of reviewers. Beta readers familiar with your genre can give valuable feedback on common and expected tropes, plot, characterization, or pacing.

But they can be used even more specifically when needed, such as by choosing readers that fall within the specific demographics of your target audience, or from those with the unique knowledge to comment on how you may have handled any potentially sensitive topics that your story deals with.

Today, Fully Booked talks with authors Helen Yeomans and Lisa M. Lilly, both of whom have used beta readers for years and from a variety of sources. Together, we dive into this topic to give some answers to questions such as who does or doesn’t make a good beta reader, how they work, where they can be found, how many you need, and even thoughts on how to decide which suggestions, if any, should lead to changes in your book.

 

Lisa M. Lilly

https://lisalilly.com/

 

Helen Yeomans

https://www.helenyeomans.com/

 

Hidden Gems

Hidden Gems offers a beta reading service which you can book right here:

https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/product/beta-reader-service/

 

All episode details and links:

https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/podcast