Giving and Getting Beta feedback

What is Beta reading?

-       You are not editing, so you do not have to go through each line with a fine-toothed comb or deconstruct the story’s development. However, you can do so if you please.

-       As a Beta reader, our job is to give feedback to the author based on our experience as a reader and/ or specific questions they may have presented along with their manuscript.

-       I.e: An author may ask about how specific themes and characters come across, if certain events are coherent, emotions evoked, what to trim ect.

What is “good” feedback?

-       It is ok to be critical, but remember, there’s a difference between constructive criticism and being mean. Some reviewers pride themselves on being harsh, however, this often demotivates authors and defeats the purpose of what we’re trying to achieve – making a story as good as it possibly can be.

-       Constructive criticism looks like: “I think the dialogue is a bit rushed here” or “The tone of this section doesn’t match this other section and I’m uncertain which one you’re going for.”

-       Being mean looks like: “This is terrible writing” or “This plot is sloppy.”

-       Mean feedback is lazy, not a badge of honour. You don’t have to think about why you don’t like something, only that you didn’t. This helps no one.

-       Avoid emotion unless it’s positive to the author or framed in a constructive manner. You can say, “I love this part!” (including why is certainly a bonus), but if there’s a part that you hate, you can say, “This scene makes me uncomfortable because it’s too graphic.” However, you are free to say you dislike something of course, even if you can’t quite put your finger on why (sometimes that happens, and that’s ok!) It’s all about the framing, as we’re here to help, not tear someone down.

-        Also sometimes “negative” terms can be positive in that they evoke the emotion the author wanted you to experience. I.E. saying something is “gross” in a horror story might actually be a compliment. Or hating the villain is a good thing because that means they’re effective.

-       If you see it, say it, though you can be as general or specific as you want. As stated above, line-edits are unnecessary, but the more feedback we can give, the better. If you feel that a section of dialogue is rushed, point it out. If you find a character annoying (even if you can’t place why), point it out. If a section doesn’t make sense, point it out. Ect. ect.

-       Be as objective as you can. There are going to be stories and story elements (such as word choice, tropes ect.) that are simply not to our taste, but that doesn’t make it a bad story or a poor choice. If you want to make the comment regardless, you can caveat it with a notice that it is your subjective opinion.

-       Try to be balanced. There is something to like or enjoy in every story. If you notice many comments leaning toward the critical side, take a moment to find a few things along the way that you do like. Or even the opposite may happen, and you fall in love with the story and can’t find much “wrong” with it, so you may want to get a bit nit-pickier. However, don’t force anything. It is what is, this is just something to keep in mind.

Story elements to keep in mind

This is not mandatory or comprehensive by any means, but may be helpful in keeping track of areas to concentrate on and include in your feedback. You don’t have to answer all or any of these, they’re mainly here as prompts in case you feel a bit lost on what to focus on.

Characters

-       Who, what, when and why ect.

-       Are they relatable?

-       What is your impression of character A, B, C?

-       Could you visualise them?

-       Are they realistic?

Plot

-       Conflict: Is there enough external/ internal conflict? Does the type of conflict (person vs. person, person vs self, person vs. nature ect.) suit the story?

-       Are there any holes?

-       Do the actions and consequences make sense?

-       Are there inconsistencies?

-       Is it too similar to another story in a way that’s problematic?

-       How does it subvert or maintain genre convention?

Themes

-       What themes are present?

-       How were the themes dealt with in the story?

-       Were you satisfied with how the themes were handled?

Pacing

-       Does the pacing suit the genre?

-       Is it too fast/ slow and in which parts?

-       Did you want more or less of a certain scene/ certain type of scene (more character moments vs action, or more action and less exposition)?

Tension

-       Does it fit the genre? (Thrillers are going to breathe differently than a Romance).

-       Does it rise and fall appropriately?

-       Does tension build momentum into the next chapter(s)?

Structure

-       Do the scenes all serve a purpose (plot, character development, world building, exposition ect.)?

-       Are the chapters ordered appropriately (maybe chapter one should be chapter five?)?

-       Does the story start where it should (inciting incident)?

-       Does it end properly?

Expectations

-       Were you satisfied/ disappointed by the ending?

-       Were expectations subverted?

-       Did characters behave as you thought or did they surprise you?