If you’ve finished your self-edits then you might be gearing up to work with beta readers. (If so, hooray!)
What is a beta reader?
A beta reader reads your completed or near-completed manuscript to offer a fresh perspective and advice on things like plot, characters, worldbuilding, pacing, themes, and more. They should represent your idea reader (someone familiar with your genre) so you know how your book might be received by a potential audience.
Working with beta readers is a great first step in sharing your writing, getting feedback, and strengthening your story.
To ensure you get feedback on the areas you’re struggling with — and to help give your beta readers some direction — providing a few questions can be a great option.
What types of questions should you ask?
When sharing questions with your betas, I find it helpful to break questions up.
This could be into specific focuses, like plot, character, worldbuilding, etc. so you can examine your book one element at a time.
Or you can ask questions chronologically so beta readers might be able to answer or make notes as they read.
Beta reader questions examples
PLOT
At what point did you feel hooked by the story?
Were there any points when you lost interest or felt the story was dragging?
Were there any plot points that seemed unbelievable or questionable?
Did the main plot and subplots have satisfying conclusions and resolutions? / Was there anything that felt unresolved at the end?
Did you guess any of the twists before they were revealed? If so, at what point?
Did the climax feel impactful enough?
Did you feel there were any missed or underutilised opportunities in the story?
CHARACTERS
Were there any characters you particularly liked or disliked? Why?
Did the characters feel consistent throughout the story? Were there any whose characterisation felt vague or conflicting?
Did you feel the protagonist’s/antagonist’s backstory was impactful enough?
Did you feel there were any moments of characterisation that were missed or underutilised?
Did the protagonist feel three-dimensional and believable?
Did the protagonist’s/antagonist’s goal and motivation feel convincing?
Were you satisfied with the protagonist’s character arc growth by the end of the book?
WORLDBUILDING
Was there anything in the worldbuilding that you were confused about?
Did you understand the uses and boundaries of the magic system?
Were there any worldbuilding elements that were missing or felt underutilised?
Did you think the setting had enough impact on the plot and/or characters?
What tone and mood did the setting convey to you?
Were there any elements of the worldbuilding that felt too similar to another story?
If there was one way you could improve the use of the setting/worldbuilding, what would it be?
Of course, tweak these questions to your own specific needs, as not all of these will be applicable for every story.
How many questions should you ask?
You don’t want to overwhelm your beta reader, so try to narrow it down to 5-15 questions. Try to avoid questions that may be repetitive or which may be answerable through their in-line comments and feedback.
This is so useful. I always overthink the questions that can be asked, so I will definitely come back to this post to give me direction & feel less overwhelmed when thinking of the questions part 😊.
Super useful, saved for the future! Thank you!