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@nuetrobolt

Hey there! I’ve been a beta reader and I’ve also released books for beta reading too! So I hope I can help with your questions.

I get it, because this can be confusing at times.

Beta reading can be time consuming. (This depends a lot on how long the book is and how slow a reader is.) What a beta reader is required to do is read your manuscript, then point out plot holes, characters acting out of character, grammar mistakes, and storyline and worldbuilding and logic issues. (But if you’d rather your readers not look for a specific thing like, say, grammar, you can tell them to ignore that and they’ll usually be happy to oblige.)

You can really have as many beta readers as you want! I actually think it’s a good idea to err on the side of too many, because the really bad fact about beta reading is very few of the people who sign up to beta actually read your novel. Most people seem to literally fall off the face of the planet after they tell you they’ll beta read for you. XD It’s understandable how sometimes life gets in the way, but be prepared!

You can give your manuscript to your beta readers at any time you want! Whenever you feel like you really need some eyes on it. (Be warned, you’ll most likely regret giving your first draft to beta readers, mostly because it can be very rough, but I still do it anyway. XD)

I like to just give my beta readers the entire manuscript at once. It seems to drag the process out for everyone when it’s given one or just a couple chapters at a time, and I think it might even put us in danger of losing yet more beta readers. XD

The one thing you need to know is just pick people you trust to beta read your novel. They don’t have to be your family. But if that particular person who volunteers to beta read just gives you a bad feeling, don’t give it to them. Stick to people you know will help instead of harm your process of writing. 😀

Wow. That was crazy long. XD Hope that helps though!! Good luck with your writing and the beta reader process!