Mistake #1 (Re: Beta Readers)

So you’ve huddled in a corner of your home or coffee shop, studied the craft of writing, and pounded out your story to the best of your ability. 

Now what? Send it out to your acquaintances (beta readers). 

We all have blind spots and need fresh eyes on our work. Incorporating feedback will result in an improved manuscript that your professional editor can then move along even further.  

•  Mistake #1. In my great excitement, I offered my novel to just about everyone I knew and was pleased to get sixteen readers. Each reader had something valuable and unique to contribute (some detail-oriented, others big picture), but processing sixteen drafts was onerous. 

My next manuscript will go to four or five people max. (If your circles are limited, as mine were, just get started somewhere, anywhere, and they will grow.) 

**Important** When it came time to find advanced readers—the ones who would hopefully post reviews on Amazon and Goodreads—most of the beta readers did not want to read the novel again although it had been developed significantly. 

•  Bonus Mistake. I spent hours flipping through EVERY SINGLE PAGE of the beta reader manuscripts looking for comments. Now I ask my file readers to add an asterisk wherever they comment (making a search easy) and I hand hard copy readers a pack of sticky notes to mark pages.