Chapter 4

I was always a reader first.

Devouring books, breaking them apart in my head, silently judging every plot hole, every flat character, and every brilliant twist.

Beta reading was the natural leap.
I realized my thoughts didn’t have to stay in my head. I could give them back to the writers whose work I was consuming.
I could help them see what worked and what cracked.

It wasn’t about a career; it was about the exchange.

I read. I reacted. And I told the truth.
In return, writers tenderized their craft.

...

Beta reading is the test phase, the proving ground.
It’s not grammar, it's not polishing.

This was more.
It was about the experience.

"Did the story land? Did it bore me? Did it tear me open?"

That’s what I answer.

...

I was beta-reading this one client's work.
They had an all-over-the-place kind of work, and I pointed that out in my feedback PDF.
(Yes, I have PDFs for that)

It wasn't long, but it was detailed, where I'd state the core of my thoughts and the whys behind my conclusions.
They had one chapter for me, as that's what they've written so far.

My process quickly shifted from an initial beta read into a surgical editorial breakdown.

My feedback was more than this one, but this is just a snippet: "The way the sentences were written at the beginning of the chapter was messy and unstructured. I saw that the story was written in both 1st and 3rd person. I pointed this out, then focused on omniscient POV per request. Connectors were missing or needed adjustment. The story has a bit of potential. It could be used as a short story, as I don’t see it potentially turning into a novel."

At this point, it had turned into a review, but the rest of my feedback was across the document they provided.

...

When they went through the email I sent them that contained the PDF, they got back to me with this:

And yes, they numbered it like a list.

It was one of those feedback that would just melt you right there on the spot, like all of your work was taken to heart and seen.

And I very much stand with beta reading being an actual job, rather than passing a comment.
It's something I value, especially when you're a writer, and the same gets done to you by your readers.

A thrilling feeling, but it's so real that it would be ignorant if you brushed it off.

Some may underestimate the real value a beta reader brings, and some may ridicule the title and the "work" they do.
But those are not for me.

I'm for the ones who are looking and squinting their eyes for such a presence, and for the ones who understand that a beta reader is an essential part of the process.

So, think of me as your first audience.
If your story doesn’t pass me, it won’t pass the crowd.