Hi besties,
This post might be a tough pill to swallow for a lot of aspiring authors (myself included). If you’re just here as a reader, you’re safe. But if you’re also a writer, this one’s for you, and I promise I’m saying this to help.
I’ve been writing for as long as I’ve known how to read and write. In middle school, it was fanfiction. In high school, it was Wattpad. By university, I was practicing writing novels that only my family ever saw.
It wasn’t until after I graduated that I realized I wanted to take writing seriously. And at that point, I knew it couldn’t just be me and my family reading my work anymore. That’s when I was first introduced to beta readers.
For anyone unfamiliar, beta readers are your early readers. After you’ve gone through several rounds of edits and feel your manuscript is in a good place, you send it to them before anyone else sees it. Ideally, they shouldn’t know you personally. Because friends and family might hype you up out of love, while beta readers are there to be honest. It’s also helpful if they’re actually interested in your genre. A friend who only reads non-fiction might not be the best audience for your high fantasy novel.
In theory, this sounds simple: write your book, then send it to betas. But whenever I send my work out, my hands still get a little shaky. Because now my book is actually out there.
I think most authors share two big fears:
- No one reading their book.
- Someone actually reading their book.
The first one, I was used to. For years, the only person I shared my writing with was my dad, who is incredibly supportive and would never say anything negative (even about things I wrote at sixteen that were… objectively not great).
But betas are different. They don’t owe you anything. They can say whatever they think, and for the first time, you’re faced with the possibility that someone might say something discouraging, or suggest cutting a character or POV you deeply love.
So… should you just not send your work to anyone at all?
No. Please do.
Having a fresh set of eyes on your manuscript is incredibly important. When your book is eventually published, readers will pick it up with no prior connection to you, and they’ll have opinions. If something isn’t working, wouldn’t you rather know while you still have the chance to fix it?
I know another common fear is: What if someone steals my book?
Of course, do your research and choose betas carefully. But in my experience, many beta readers are writers themselves, often swapping manuscripts with you. I’ve swapped work with several betas before, and I’ve never worried about them stealing my book, just like I’ve never had any interest in stealing theirs. I’m in love with my story, and no other one matters to me in the same way. It’s a bit like being in a relationship: you might recognize that someone else is attractive, but you’re not interested, because you already have history and connection with your person. It’s the same with your book.
Sharing your work before submission is essential. It gives you new perspectives, and while you don’t have to implement every suggestion, feedback is still valuable. If three betas are confused by the same part of your manuscript, that’s probably something worth revisiting.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from this industry, it’s that many of us are introverts who want people to read our books, but don’t want to be seen while they do. Unfortunately, that means we have to be bold and put ourselves out there.
It’s scary at first, but it often leads to growth, and sometimes even friendships. Think of it like going to the gym: you might dread the idea beforehand, but once you’ve done it, you feel proud of yourself. As someone who hated being seen, please take this one piece of advice if nothing else:
Get yourself out there. Ask for opinions.
No Saints Among Us was the first book I ever sought external feedback on, and it became the first book I published. At some point, the story became bigger than me.
Advice never hurts. In my case, it helped my book bloom.
★ Zeynep