If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it.
Margaret Fuller
If you spend a lot of time around books, and if you have any friends who are authors, you might have heard the term beta reader before. A beta reader is a person, usually a volunteer, who reads an author’s work before it’s published to give an average reader’s opinion on the work. An author will often have several beta readers and will use their criticism to fine-tune their work. Often, the author will indicate exactly what they’d like the beta reader to look out for. Maybe they want the beta reader to flag any plot holes. Perhaps they’d like them to identify problems with character development, consistency, or the overall plot. Whatever it is, the beta reader is helpful because they approach the work with a fresh set of eyes and can spot issues that the author, who may be too close to the work to see it clearly, may have missed.
I’ve recently started making myself available as a beta reader, and so far I’ve loved it! I joined a Facebook group specifically for authors and beta readers. The authors post when they need beta readers and offer a brief description of their book; if it’s something I’m interested in, I reach out to the author and offer to read for them. I like this format because it doesn’t tie me down to anything. I’m not obligated to read for every author or every book. I can pick and choose which books appeal to me.
I’ve found that authors have different styles in the way they approach beta reading. Some authors send a file for the beta reader to make comments on individually, while others send one group file to all of their beta readers. In the second instance, I was able to see the comments of other people reading the book and elaborate on what they said, agree or disagree, etc. It had a fun, collaborative vibe that I really enjoyed.
One of the books I read is called The Christmas Foundling by Martha Keyes. It’s available for pre-order on Amazon now. I’d been sort of silently lurking on the Facebook group for a while, but nothing had piqued my interest—until this.
“A babe in a manger once saved the world. Can this one save a failing marriage?
Lydia Blakeburn, Baroness Lynham, wants nothing more than to present her husband with an heir, but after five years of marriage, she has all but given up on doing so. What started as a love match has since begun to sour, yet there is nothing Lydia can do to free Miles from a marriage she is certain he regrets. The future they had envisioned together is slipping farther and farther away.
Miles Blakeburn is at his wit’s end. Not only has he failed to produce an heir to the family’s ancient title, his wife has withdrawn from him entirely. The one thing in the world she wants, he has thus far been unable to give her: a child. He is a failure in every regard.
When they happen upon an abandoned baby at the Frost Fair, Miles simply can’t resist the light he sees sparked in his wife’s eyes as she holds the child. He agrees to take the foundling in until Christmastide is over, when they will find the babe a permanent home. But, for a couple who’s been yearning for a baby for years, the infant can’t help but expose all the feelings Lydia and Miles have long been trying to bury, feelings that have the power to bring them back together—or estrange them forever.”
First of all, I have to admit that I’m a sucker for a Regency romance, but this one deals specifically with infertility, and that’s a subject in which I have enormous experience. I felt like particular little book calling to me, so I reached out to the author, and she graciously allowed me to read for her. Y’all, I’m not lying when I tell you that I wept. When it comes to showing how it feels to be struggling with infertility, Martha Keyes has absolutely hit the nail on the head. Reading this book left me feeling quite raw, but in the best of ways. I offered a few thoughts as a beta reader, but overall I just felt that this book was stunning.
After my experience reading The Christmas Foundling, I wasn’t actively seeking another thing to beta read. I had a lot on my plate and more coming down the pike, so I wasn’t under any illusions that I had a ton of free time to spend on beta reading.
But I happened upon a request for beta readers for Bronwyn, a fantasy retelling of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park. Now, Mansfield Park doesn’t get a lot of love among bibliophiles, but it’s one of my favorite Austen novels, hands down. And then you add in a fantasy element? How could I pass this up?
Bronwyn didn’t end up hitting me in the gut the way The Christmas Foundling did, but it was a thoroughly enjoyable piece of escapist literature with well-defined characters and a (much-needed) twist on the original ending. The author had some truly lovely bits of prose, especially describing a Halloween festival that was just delightfully imaginative. She also worked fantasy elements seamlessly and believably into a Jane Austen world. I had a complete blast with this read, available for preorder here.
I think the thing that I’ve enjoyed most about beta reading is helping a good author make a good book better. Nobody and no book is perfect, but a beta reader can help an author tweak their book to make it the best it can be. As someone who reads a lot, I’ve often read books and wished I could have talked an author off a particular cliff, mentioned that a character seemed superfluous, or pointed out a major plot hole. Beta reading gives me the opportunity to use the knowledge and insight I’ve gained as a reader to help authors put forward their best work. Plus, it’s really fun! If you’re looking for something to occupy some time during this endless pandemic, consider joining a group of beta readers. It could help you discover some literary gems.
Happy Reading!
