Beta Reader - Barbara Peterson

Every writer is grateful for a beta reader.

A beta reader is someone who reads a manuscript after the author has completed a draft but before publication, offering feedback as an ordinary reader rather than as a professional editor.

The term comes from software development, where "beta testing" means letting real users try a product before its official release.

Many writers provide beta readers with a list of questions to answer. I don't. I'm grateful for any honest reaction. (Having said that, there’s a list of beta-reader questions below, if helpful.)

It's a big ask. As someone who beta reads for other writers, I know how much time and thought goes into giving useful feedback.

Barbara Peterson has beta read and edited my work for years. She's gone over everything from polished drafts to manuscripts that should have remained hidden in a drawer forever. She may be too kind, but she always offers thoughtful comments and catches things worth fixing.

Barbara is a longtime fan of cozy mysteries and spent her career as a middle school reading and history teacher. She's also a sounding board for the poetry and prose of her husband, Brady Peterson, so she knows words and how they should be strung together.

When she recently agreed to read my latest completed manuscript, Parade of the Dead, I handed her 500 pages set in Holocaust-era Riga—not exactly beach reading. She plunged in immediately and read clear through.

Also, she's my sister.

Thank you, Barbara Peterson.

I hope these Beta Reader Guidelines help you define your aims with each beta reader.

Beta Reader Guidelines 060526.pdf

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