Hey Savannah!

Your first question is harder to answer. I don’t think I’ve put more than one beta-reader on the same google doc more than one time. One advantage of giving different readers the same doc is that they can reply to each others comments. For instance, “Oh, I like what you said. I was feeling the same way, but I didn’t know how to put it. I think the root problem is a little different though. I think the root problem is A.” If the tension is between getting /more/ feedback vs more /thorough/ feedback, I place more value on thorough feedback. One thorough beta reader is worth ten surface-level beta readers.You only really need a couple beta readers if they’re really good, but you try to get more because most beta readers won’t finish or are still learning to beta read.

For your second question, more beta readers are always nice, but sometimes you only have time to process comments from the people who will be the most help. For The Songkiller’s Symphony, I asked beta readers to apply through a form, then I emailed them back if I wanted them to beta read. I had the privilege of an email list to reach out to however. A more repeatable process for getting many beta readers is to ask for beta readers on multiple forums and Facebook groups, on your blog, social media–everywhere. If you already have 3+ really good beta readers, it’s not so important that everyone else be an expert beta reader. You can tell the others to focus their attention on the unique perspective they bring to the table. For instance, if you wrote a Civil War story and your friend is a Civil War nerd, ask her to pay close attention to historical accuracy, but only worry about story problems if she wants to.

I hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.

That was a phenomenal article! Thank you!

I do have a question: do you think it’s unwise to get alpha reader feedback later in the writing process? For instance, if a story takes a first draft and two significant rewrites to get it where I want it content-wise, are there drawbacks to receiving feedback after I’ve already been through that many drafts?

Thank you in advance!

This article has been super helpful! Thanks so much these invaluable pointers, Daeus.

“If we pool our talents, commit to high standards, and urge each other to persevere, over the next decade we have the potential to witness a revolution of the arts. Dozens of feature films produced off stellar Christian novels, superior and highly accessible education for beginning novelists, Christian art festivals, new literary societies, and more!”

Woah, that would be amazing! Definitely makes me want to go friend some authors on social media…

This is a needed encouragement for me. Thank you for writing this.

Good reminder, Daeus!