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Erotica Writer - T.S. Arrington
Gone out to Beta Readers
September 12, 2021
Every author needs to have beta readers. That's a fact, right next to every author needs to know how to write. Here's my running experience with Beta Readership: finding them, giving them what they need, and getting feedback.

I was looking for Beta Readers to review my book.  I thought: How hard can this be?  Ask and the universe will answer.

 
Twitter Writing Community

Yesterday I put a post on my Twitter account.  As of today, I have 1,841 followers.  Looking for four Beta Readers should not be that hard, that’s only two percent response.  

2021-09-12_14-29-16

That has provided zero (0) replies.  I did contact my Editor and she found two of her friends to do the reading. (Thank you @kathrynhall_ )

 

I wanted to get feedback from four Beta Readers, so with two from Kathryn I still needed two.  I started a search and I found it very difficult but not impossible.  I ended up looking for freelancers.

 
Fiverr Freelance Marketplace

 

Note to self: I think I’m going to offer services there when I retire.

 

Yes, it costs money to work with freelancers.  One did my logo and I’m very happy with it.  I reached out to several, explaining that my manuscript is erotica although I still think of it more as erotic-romance.

Out of twenty queries I sent out, eight responded positively.  I narrowed the list to two and sent them the manuscript.  Both are supposed to give me written feedback on the work when they are done.

 
Beta Reader’s Questions

 

I put a list of seven questions to guide the beta reader towards what I’m looking for.  It is the first page of the manuscript.

  • Did the story hold your interest from the very beginning (Is the hook properly done)?  If not, why not?
  • If it wasn’t because of this gig, where would you have stopped reading?  Please be honest, this is an incredibly important question.
  • Did the setting interest you and did the descriptions and acts seem real to you?
  • Where there any parts that confused you?  Or even frustrated or annoyed you?  Which parts and why?
  • Did you get confused about who's who in the characters?  If so, who / where?
  • Do you think the writing style suits the genre?  If not, why not?
  • Did you enjoy the story?  If not, can you pinpoint some specific area?
  • If you enjoyed it, would this be something you recommend to your friends/followers?  if not, why not?

Beta Reader’s First Question

 

I was surprised to read a message from one of the beta readers on Fiverr (trackingdior) only a few hours after the gig started.  Notice the first question in the bullets above.


Ok -- so I am up to chapter 2 and there is a difference between the intro and the chapters. The intro doesn't have the description and passion of the chapters.

 

You use such vivid details in the following chapters that it's a little light, and black number was used 2x versus the opportunity to be more descriptive i.e. lace or Lacie, what exactly was the garment, how is it catching his attention?

 

Trackingdior

 

I have no idea how the rest of the feedback will come in.  I’m guessing I won’t have anything till the middle of next week.  This tells me someone is reading the manuscript and so far, they like it, but the area that I’m most worried about (The Hook) is still weak.

AUTHOR’S NOTES:


How do you get your beta readers?

Do you use the same ones all the time?

What kind of feedback do you request for them to give you?

How do my questions compare to yours?

Category : Writing Process
Tags : Beta Readers erotic romance Erotica First Tentative Steps Fiverr

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