To answer the original question.
A beta reader is a person who reads a book before it starts being shopped around.
What a beta reader does ranges depending on the beta and it also depends on the stage your story is. The rougher or more off mark it is, the broader the comments are going to be in my experience.
Some read and simply give a basic reply, my own recently told me to basically stay the hell out of children's writing and stick to genres where I could torture puppies. It was a strong remark and got the point across, my book isn't appropriate for the age group I was trying to gear it toward, that is my fault and I don't know if it's something I can fix or if I'll end up gearing it toward an older audience where it's okay to go deeper and darker.
There is the beta that will talk about your voice, structure, characters and so forth. The big elements. The elements that if you don't have nailed down your whole story won't work. And those need to be fixed first before you focus on anything little.
If your work is just about there and you need tweaks, then that's the comments you'll recieve. You'll recieve the nits and missed word and grammar fixes if that's the beta's specialty. You'll get the minor changes and adjustments, shifts in POV's those kinds of things.
So what a beta does partially rests on the beta who volunteers but mostly rests on you as a writer and where you've taken your story.
Hope that helps.
WHat a beta isn't.
A beta isn't your personal editor or slave. They are not someone whom you should degrade or talk back to in any way. They are volunteering their time. Ask them questions? Absolutely. Combat them? No. If you don't agree with what they're saying at least attempt to look into the whys. Why are they saying they don't like your main character. You might not have agreed with their suggested fix, but you might be able to see the reason they're saying it and how to fix it to your own satisfaction. They aren't ghost writers, it is not their job to rewrite your work.
Betas are fantastic, but they have lives of their own.
A beta reader is a person who reads a book before it starts being shopped around.
What a beta reader does ranges depending on the beta and it also depends on the stage your story is. The rougher or more off mark it is, the broader the comments are going to be in my experience.
Some read and simply give a basic reply, my own recently told me to basically stay the hell out of children's writing and stick to genres where I could torture puppies. It was a strong remark and got the point across, my book isn't appropriate for the age group I was trying to gear it toward, that is my fault and I don't know if it's something I can fix or if I'll end up gearing it toward an older audience where it's okay to go deeper and darker.
There is the beta that will talk about your voice, structure, characters and so forth. The big elements. The elements that if you don't have nailed down your whole story won't work. And those need to be fixed first before you focus on anything little.
If your work is just about there and you need tweaks, then that's the comments you'll recieve. You'll recieve the nits and missed word and grammar fixes if that's the beta's specialty. You'll get the minor changes and adjustments, shifts in POV's those kinds of things.
So what a beta does partially rests on the beta who volunteers but mostly rests on you as a writer and where you've taken your story.
Hope that helps.
WHat a beta isn't.
A beta isn't your personal editor or slave. They are not someone whom you should degrade or talk back to in any way. They are volunteering their time. Ask them questions? Absolutely. Combat them? No. If you don't agree with what they're saying at least attempt to look into the whys. Why are they saying they don't like your main character. You might not have agreed with their suggested fix, but you might be able to see the reason they're saying it and how to fix it to your own satisfaction. They aren't ghost writers, it is not their job to rewrite your work.
Betas are fantastic, but they have lives of their own.