Beta Readers

Beta Readers

What’s a beta reader?

A beta reader is someone who reads a book that is either not quite finished, or someone that serves as a test audience for a newly finished book.

Where do you find beta readers?

You cultivate them. They are found amongst your friends and fans. They are people who want to help you with your career. They are people who are somewhat predisposed to like your book for one reason or another. They read the same genre that you write in, they have read other books that you have written, or they follow your blog and enjoy your posts on your blog. They are “friendlies.”

Why do you need beta readers?

Beta readers are the first readers/reviewers of your new book. They post reviews on Amazon and Goodreads and help you create a buzz when your book is released. If they have blogs, they post about your book and maybe invite you to guest post about your new book.

Can your book be published without beta readers?

Yes, but don’t you want to do everything you can to launch your book to a rousing round of enthusiasm? Don’t you want your book jump-started to the top of the Amazon rankings and lists? Don’t you want your book released into a pond filled with friendly fish instead of into the ocean filled with sharks?

Do authors innately know that they need beta readers?

In my experience, no. I think a lot of authors assume that the first person to read their new book (other than their mother) is the first paying customer. This can be true, but don’t you want the initial response to your book to be a positive one? Wouldn’t that be soothing on your ego – after the stress of writing, editing and formatting your book – to be told for the first little bit, how wonderful you and your book are?

One of our team members can help you get some beta readers – for help contact Babs Hightower at Author Services at the Bistro.

Go find yourself some Beta Readers!
Make some friends!

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Barb Drozdowich has been a blogger for four (4) years and has been a book blogger since mid-2010. Her book blog is Sugarbeat’s Books. Barb has 15 years of teaching and technical training experience and she closely follows where technology is going with respect to books. She’s spent hours training authors on the use of WordPress and more via her consulting business, Bakerview Consulting. She believes that authors need a social media platform to succeed in today’s ever changing world of selling books. “Authors should be allowed to be an author, and not be expected to be a technology expert. Your social media platform doesn’t need to be complicated, difficult or time consuming,” suggests Barb. Let her help you work with technology. She has experience in WordPress Blog design and operation; Side bar/Menu layout; Spam protection; RSS feed; Widget and Button uses; designing and implementing Twitter/Facebook accounts; Automation of RSS feed to multiple destinations; Social Influence Optimization; consulting for Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Google+, Networked Blogs, Dlvr.it. Barb offers a free phone consultation to discuss your needs. She charges for her work by the hour and can provide an estimate of costs in advance. Barb can do what is required to get your social media platform up and running or she can teach you how to do the work yourself. How cool is that?