Goodreads for Beta Readers?

[robwitty]

Has anyone used Goodreads to find beta readers? They've got a group dedicated to getting beta readers, and it has 29k members. Any thoughts or comments?

 

[suspensewriter]

Good luck, @robwitty!

 

[robwitty]

I posted for beta readers last night, and this morning got two people that were interested. One was an older woman, with some Goodread friends. The other has no friends and posted the same message to 5 other people asking for Beta Readers--all in the space of a few hours. Hmm. Sketchy.

 

[suspensewriter]

All I would advise you is to be very careful who you select, @robwitty.

 

[carolinamtne]

So how does one know who to avoid?

 

[Jeff Potts]

So how does one know who to avoid?

Click to shrink...

You don't. That's the big pitfall with beta readers.

 

[robwitty]

So what would a nefarious "beta reader" do with your manuscript?

 

[Jeff Potts]

So what would a nefarious "beta reader" do with your manuscript?

Click to shrink...

Some will take the manuscript, then ghost you.

Some will tell you, after a month of waiting, that the book "wasn't for them."

Some will provide details of the book that weren't there.

The combinations are seemingly endless.

 

[skstewart51]

Having beta readers, no matter the source, has all the potential pitfalls mentioned. I've found maybe 25% (which is truly a guess) follow through with some comment. I use social media, my website, writers groups, and my newsletter as sources for readers.

I recently saw the idea of not giving the entire book to a beta reader until there's a response, such as "I'm really want to know how it ends."

When sending a manuscript to a beta reader use a format that's hard to copy (I use protected PDFs. None of the menu options appear when the file is opened.) I also watermark each page ARC.