Beta Readers

[I. J. Parker]

The term still bothers me.  Anyway, how do you guys find good ones?  I look for someone who can be both editor and copy editor, meaning he/she will alert me to stylistic problems and also comment sometimes on the action.  And of course, I return the favor.  Absolute honesty is a must.

 

Years ago I belonged to a writers group.  We exchanged a chapter or story every 2 weeks. That worked well, but the group didn't survive.  Since then, I've been working with two of my readers, but one has serious health problems and the other no longer sends me his writing.  In other words, I think I'll soon be without readers.

 

Suggestions are welcome.

[I. J. Parker]

Whatever works for you.  I also used to have a good beta reader, a fellow writer who was an excellent copy editor, even if he didn't always get it (his field was SF).  My other current reader is so involved in the story that she is continuously rewriting my plot as she imagines it should be.  Amusing, but not always helpful.  :)

Of my publishers' editors, only one has been good.  Then she turned over the subsequent book to a copy editor, but that lady was also excellent.  The rest have been a nuisance.