Choosing Who Gets To Read Your Writing First (And When)

If you are fortunate enough to have friends or family members who are supportive of your writing goals, sooner or later, they'll probably start asking when they can read your stuff.

While you should definitely have people read your manuscript along the way, it's good to be discerning when it comes to who you let read what and when. That can depend on the stage you're at with your writing and what you need from that reader.

There's also some jargon you may have heard when talking about getting feedback on your writing, so we'll start by defining the different readers you might have along the way to publishing your book.

Critique partners — fellow writers, who you may show your earliest drafts to, sometimes while they're still in progress. Their feedback comes from the perspective of a writer and while they can offer big-picture or more concentrated feedback as an Alpha or Beta reader might, a CP's feedback is primarily going to be focused on craft elements. Their feedback can be especially helpful when for brainstorming and troubleshooting on a technical level (for more on CPs, check out this post).

Alpha Readers — as the name suggests, Alpha readers are your manuscript's first readers and get the roughest iterations of the completed story. Some writers may send their unpolished drafts out as soon as they've typed THE END, while others may hold off until they've done an initial round of self-edits. Alpha readers can give overall feedback about what is and isn't working in this early draft like pacing issues, character arcs, or plot holes, which helps establish a plan for your next self-edits.

Beta Readers — after implementing feedback from CPs and Alphas, it's time to enlist Beta readers. Where CPs (and often, though not always, Alpha readers) are writers assessing your manuscript from the stance of craft and technique, Beta readers are assessing it from the reader's viewpoint. Their feedback can help you gauge how readers experience your story.

Sensitivity Readers — the aforementioned readers usually look at your manuscript as a whole, but sensitivity readers tend to focus on specific things regarding your characters' identity and experiences. Sensitivity readers come from the same background as that character and can advise when something comes across as insensitive or offensive. As an example, I am not Muslim, so I would want to get some feedback from a Muslim sensitivity reader if I were to feature a Muslim character in a story.

ARC Readers — so far, all of the readers on this list provide feedback to the writer. ARC readers are the exception.

ARC readers are folks you've likely seen a lot from social media, so I wanted to mention them here, but their comments are NOT for you, the author. ARC reviewers receive what is called an Advance Reader Copy of your book shortly before its release in exchange for an honest review and/or promotion. Their comments are intended to generate hype around your book, while also helping prospective readers determine if your book would appeal to their tastes.

Some of these readers may be brought in in multiple batches. For example, after your first Betas provide their feedback, you may choose to enlist a second team of Betas after you've implemented it. The key here is not to get hung up on any particular phase for too long. A good rule of thumb is that if the feedback you're being given is consistently leaning towards approval, that may indicate you're ready to move on. Similarly, if several of your readers are highlighting the same concern, that's an indicator that it's worth revisiting—no matter how much of a darling it might be!

Speaking of having multiple readers for each step, how many readers do you need? It depends on your preferences, but there are definitely things to keep in mind when assembling your teams. Having only one or two readers probably won't give you enough to go on. Too many can create a "too many cooks" scenario, giving you too much to sort through.

I personally find that 4-6 readers at a time is the sweet spot. I've also learned to be fairly selective in choosing early readers. Generally speaking, it's best to seek readers who are familiar with your genre. They'll already know the tropes, conventions, and beats, and will be able to identify what works and which areas need improvement; long story short, they're your ideal readership.

That being said, I do think it's valuable to have one or two readers outside of your genre. It's not so much about making your book appeal to the generalized market or pleasing every single reader who happens to pick up your book (trust me, I learned that the hard way), as it is about making it accessible to readers who are not as acquainted with your genre's nuances.

In my case, that might mean making sure that the historical elements are explained clearly enough for newcomers to the Regency Era and historical romances as a whole to follow along, whereas a sci-fi writer may want to do the same for any advanced tech introduced. It's making sure your story meets the expectations of readers familiar with your genre without totally icing out those outside of it.

Beta readers should be unbiased when it comes to your writing—and by extension, you. This doesn't mean your significant other or non-writer besties cannot be your beta reader. However, they need to be able to provide constructive feedback (unless you're asking for a positivity pass or a vibe check). It's not uncommon for loved ones to sugarcoat their critiques, which may not be as helpful when your objective is refining those less-than-stellar bits. If your loved one shares this trait, it's fine if you let them get that sneak peek of your WIP, but that makes it all the more important to look for readers beyond your circle.

Social media can be a great place to get in contact with readers. Some writers will invite interested readers to reach out directly through DMs or comment on a post or they might keep a list of potential readers to contact directly based on their content. Others might create an application to vet candidates.

In my mind, a good candidate for reading an unfinished draft needs to be able to provide detailed feedback about your writing, without sugarcoating it to be nice or scathingly harsh just to be harsh (been there, done that), and reliably get those comments to you in a reasonable, agreed-upon timeframe.

Early readers aren't there to lift you up—that's what positivity passes are for. Excluding ARC readers, their main goal is to help you take your story from a rough draft to a sparkling diamond on the shelf.

It takes a village to publish a book, so it is incredibly important to entrust your book baby to the right caretakers.