Hello again! This week, I thought I'd talk about something I'm honestly still working on, working with Beta readers. Even though I've had a couple of experiences working with Beta readers at this point, I still sometimes forget that the point is to work *with* them, not just to wind them up and let them go.
A few tricks I wish I'd known from the start would be to give my Betas a deadline, but also to work with them from the start. To make sure I knew how they preferred to receive the manuscript, and how they would prefer to leave comments, (on the document, through my fillable worksheet of questions, or both.) Another trick I picked up from a fellow writer, is to share individual copies of my document, so each Beta has a clean copy to comment on.
But honestly, even with all of this taken into consideration, the most important thing I can possibly share, (and practice myself) is to work with Beta readers. Over the last few years, I've gone from feeling like I had to argue every comment, and reflexively defending every point, to learning to trust my Betas, even if I don't always agree on every point. Yet the trick really seems to be in working WITH them, not just trusting them, but actively working with them, as a collaborative effort. And quite frankly, I don't have that fully figured out yet, but I think I'll get there in time.
Have a great day, and keep writing!
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