Alpha Readers, Beta Readers, and Editors

In the book world there are a lot of terms that get thrown around, especially when it comes to publishing and marketing. It can be overwhelming. Especially if you're new to the self publishing world.

 

On this week's episode of the Bound by Books Podcast, Marianne Morea and I talked about the different types of editors. It's important going into the editing process to know which type of editor you're looking for and what you should expect to pay for those services. But what about alpha and beta readers?

 

If you've been hanging around the author world for any length of time, you may have heard other writers talking about alpha and beta readers. So what are they and how can they help you in your writing process?

 

Let's start with alpha readers. Just as the name suggests, an alpha reader is the first person, or people, who see your story. Alpha readers don't have to be professional editors or even have any editing experience, although they can. Instead, they are giving you feedback on the story as you write it.

 

Beta readers, however, are used once the story is completely written, but before the story has gone to an editor. Authors will often have a handful of beta readers to read through their story before sending it off for a professional edit.

 

So what other distinctions are there between alpha and beta readers?

Alpha readers are great for catching specific issues on culture and lifestyle. I use two alpha readers for all my BDSM stories. They're a couple who's been living a master/slave relationship for over twenty years. I send them a chapter at a time and they let me know if something doesn't make sense, or if I've set up a scene incorrectly.

 

When I was writing Welcome to Serpent's Kiss, the prequel to my Serpent's Kiss series, I wrote a scene where the male submissive's wrists were chained above his head, and then a spreader bar was attached to his ankles. When I sent the chapter to my alpha readers, they informed me that I needed to have the Domme attach the spreader bar before chaining the submissive's wrists as the spreader bar would lower the subs center of gravity.

 

While the above would have been an easy fix even if I'd sent my alpha readers the story to read after I'd completed it, sometimes it's much easier to address the issue right away and not let it create a huge plot hole that needs to be fixed later. For example, I was writing a scene where the hero walks out on the heroine. He immediately regrets it and goes back, but when I sent it to my alpha readers they were both ready to throw my hero to the wolves.

 

This is good feedback to have right way so it can be fixed. When you're writing a romance, you don't want readers to hate your hero. Or, at least I don't. I want my heroes to be likable.

 

But if you have an alpha reader, then why do you need a beta reader?

 

The short answer is you don't NEED a beta reader if you have an alpha reader, but having one can be an asset. 

 

Depending on how fast you write a story, an alpha reader could be reading your book over the span of months or even years. By the time they get to the end of the story, they may not have the best memory as to what happened at the beginning. But even if you only send a beta reader a handful of chapters at a time, the story is complete before they see the first word and you're able to send them the next set of chapters as soon as they've completed the first. This means they can give you feedback on how the story flows and whether you may need to make adjustments to the pace.

 

Beta readers are also great at noticing plot holes, both big and small. Again, they're seeing the story as a whole instead of a chapter at a time. If you mention your character grew up in Texas in chapter one only to have them growing up in New York halfway through the book, that's something that can be caught and fixed before it ever goes to an editor. Or worse yet, paying readers.

 

Do you use alpha readers or beta readers?