What is the difference between a beta reader and an editor?

Editing is done by a trained editor who checks for grammar and punctuation errors and gives you feedback on the technicalities of your novel. A beta reader is someone who reads your book and gives you feedback purely from a reader-centric perspective.

When should you get a beta reader?

It’s best to beta after a few thorough self-edit drafts (possibly done with the input of a writers group or mentor), so the work will be clean enough for readers to enjoy.

What is the difference between alpha and beta?

Both alpha and beta are historical measures of past performances. Alpha shows how well (or badly) a stock has performed in comparison to a benchmark index. Beta indicates how volatile a stock’s price has been in comparison to the market as a whole.

What is the purpose of a beta reader?

Beta reader (n.) A beta reader is a test reader of an unreleased work of literature or other writing (similar to beta testing in software), giving feedback with the angle of an average reader to the author about remaining issues.

What does an Alpha reader do?

Alpha Readers assist writers by offering a reader’s perspective for a manuscript after an initial draft. The manuscript often has not been edited. It’s not uncommon for an Alpha to read before the author edits the first draft.

What does a copy editor do for a newspaper?

Copy editors are the grammatical gatekeepers of the media world. They read over stories—or, as the content is called in industry terms, “copy”—and check for everything from typos to nonsensical sentences to errant commas. Copy editors have historically worked at newspapers, book publishers, and magazines.

What is the purpose of alpha testing?

Alpha testing is the first end-to-end testing of a product to ensure it meets the business requirements and functions correctly. It is typically performed by internal employees and conducted in a lab/stage environment. An alpha test ensures the product really works and does everything it’s supposed to do.

Is alpha or beta more important?

While a positive alpha is always more desirable than a negative alpha, beta isn’t as clear-cut. Risk-averse investors such as retirees seeking a steady income are attracted to lower beta. Risk-tolerant investors who seek bigger returns are often willing to invest in higher beta stocks.

How can a beta reader be helpful?

How to Be a Great Beta Reader and Give Helpful Feedback

1. Understand the author’s goals of this round of feedback.
2. Let the author know if you’re not in her target audience.
3. Keep a notebook next to you at all times.
4. Provide macro and micro feedback.
5. Try to understand character’s motivations.
6. Make sure the main character changes.

What is the difference between beta and Alpha reading?

At the alpha reader stage you’re looking to smooth anything out that will be jarring to your beta readers. You want to avoid throwing your beta readers out of the story wherever possible so that they can focus on their reader experience. Beta readers are your test audience.

Should you submit your book to beta readers before or after editing?

Ideally, you’ll submit your manuscript to beta readers after self-editing but before sending it off to a professional editor. Here’s a 9-step path you may take: 1. Write the first draft of your book 2. Revise the story (i.e. your second draft) 3. Edit your completed story for mechanical errors (typos, grammar, etc.)

What are beta readers and how do they work?

Beta readers are your test audience. They are a group of people who read your novel as a whole and provide feedback on what did and didn’t work for them. They are often not writers themselves and that is fine because what you are looking for at this level of feedback is a reader’s response to your story, not a writer’s response.

What do alpha readers do?

Alpha readers, in my opinion, tend to be writers. Often, they are your writing group and they do not critique your novel as a whole but on a chapter by chapter (or word-count by word-count) basis. The type of feedback they provide is very much dependent on the individuals and the nature of the writing group.