How Many Betas Do You Need?

Depends.

Depends on how many rounds of alpha I'm able to do, and how many alpha-readers I haven't burned. Depends on the quality of new beta-readers and if my long-standing ones are still able to point out problems in my writing.

I try to aim higher than six, and twelve would be a good spot as long as everyone isn't saying different things.

When I use alpha-readers, I'm typically testing the content. The writing always needs a few layers of polishing, and they know that, so I just want to see what works and what could be made better.

I use very critical writers and a few language partners I've procured.

On Hans and Greta, I had seven betas. Six did LBLs, and one read for content, although my last reader (who read mostly to decide if the changes worked) also read primarily for content. Only four finished it.

I think it's as good as it gets with non-professional editing.

But I had to cut it from 186k down to 150ish by myself. It was my first time cutting beyond that and I needed to acquire skills. Betas helped me look at my work critically and get it below 130k. I'm cutting my second manuscript, and from 183k, I'm already in the 150s, and I'm only a third of the way through.

I don't think I'll need as many betas this round. But I'd say read and crit other manuscripts for as long as it takes that you literally run into, "It works, now." My last beta only cut 600 words (not much in a MS over 400 pp.), most of which she said were simply style choices. We moved one piece of dialogue. There are two places she wants me to expand a bit. Not much, really.

I suppose in time, I'll know when it's ready. At this point, I'm not confident enough to run with it until I hear from another writer that it's good to go. You only get one chance with an agent, or with your readers if you're going the self-pub route.

ETA: I also had four other betas, early on, who were only readers (husband and friends). They were great for what didn't work, but they couldn't tell me how to make it better, and they weren't as critical as the writers.

This is a bit like asking "how long is a piece of string?" How many betas do you need? As many as you need.

I tend to ask for feedback in pairs so I can compare advice. For my first book I did two rounds (4 betas). The second round didn't have much to say so I declared it through beta. For the second book, I put it into beta earlier and needed three rounds before the feedback told me it was clean (6 betas). I wouldn't have wanted to do much more anyway, though, because I didn't want to over-edit it. It's all a judgment call.

You also might find you need to send out to more betas (or perhaps more critical betas) if you're not getting bites from querying or you're getting critical feedback from industry professionals.

I rely very heavily on alphas. I start using them before the story's complete. Betas are for testing the waters for me. When they give the seal of approval, the book is ready to go. I like to use 1-3 alphas and 2-4 betas usually and depending on their strengths as a critiquer.

I only let 2 other people see my manuscripts, and a lot of this is honestly based on logistics more than anything else. I have to know a person really well before I can give credence to what they think about anything, and I'm really asocial, so I don't have a lot of options. I mean, if I got random betas on a forum like this one, I might end up getting "advice" from someone who thinks Terry Goodkind's work is the epitome of fantasy, lol.

On my current MS, I'm on round seven. For all but a couple, I tried to get multiple readers (I shoot for 3, but usually get 2) so I get better bandwidth. My opinion is that you need several rounds with as many viewpoints as you can get. Swaps are usually interesting, too, so you can see the reader from both sides and work together.

It depends on not just the writer but also the book.

I like to send out my MS to two betas at a time. I edit it after each round. I do about three rounds, then I send to one beta at a time, just because at this point, I'm hopefully in the polishing phase. So in total, my book might have 6 to 9 betas.

Of course, with my last book, I ended up having about a gazillion betas because I was getting so much conflicting advice. (Some liked the first half and said the second half moved too fast, others thought the first half was boring and vastly preferred the second half...and so on and so forth. It drove me insane.)

*waits for JAR to prance in and announce how stewpid betas are and how the only people you can rely on for feedback and agents and editors *

I usually have 0-2. The two things I've sold didn't have any betas, but that's not to say they aren't useful...

Has anyone seen James?

If you want 'em to reproduce, you need at least two.

And you need to keep the fish tank clean.

caw

I tend to have an alpha (my husband), and at least two betas. All my betas are close friends who are critical readers.

mccardey said:

Has anyone seen James?

Click to expand...

Has anyone seen Reziac?

I have one, my husband, and he's ruthless.

My mother is usually my first reader--she's great for mechanics (spelling, typos, grammar) and good at identifying actions that seem out of character. I suspect she's too forgiving about my plots, given some of the changes I've needed to make later in the editing process.

I'm planning to look for more betas for this WIP, though. I love it, but it's different enough from my other stuff that I don't quite trust my own judgement. I'm still fixing things I know aren't right yet, and once I'm done with that will probably post a request in the beta forum. Might try on Facebook, too, since several friends have seemed interested when I've posted about it.