The difference between a beta reader and an ARC reader

Greetings my lovely readers and visitors alike!

As I approach the completion of my first manuscript (that is a lie, but 20k short of 80k is closer than ever), I start to wonder about the publishing side of writing. Not that I never researched this subject in the past twelve years, but things have changed a lot, trust me. Maybe I lived under the rock but who the duck are ARC readers?

Hah, and I doubt I am the only one who wonders this. I am not the only one who wonders about the world of editing and what the difference is between a beta reader and ARC reader. Well, let me welcome you in the world of editing and if you are like me, an aspiring author, you would do good to listen to the things I'm about to tell you.

I have done some research, so you don't have to.

Firstly, let us make something clear. How you edit your manuscript is no one's business but there are some tips, especially if you are planning to self publish your book. Publishing is not cheap and you have to remember that if you want to do everything right. But there are some corners you could potentially cut if you find a good beta and ARC readers.

The question is, what exactly are beta and ARC readers and why would you need them?

A beta reader

A beta reader is a person with "reader mind" who will usually read your manuscript after an alpha reading (optional, of course) and all the self editing has been completed. They are the ones who takes your manuscript for a so called test drive once it's polished but not quite publication ready. Some do like to argue that you should invite the beta readers once all the editing has been completed but I can tell you the rationale against this.

Why, you ask, you should do self editing, beta reading, professional editing in this particular order?

It is simple.

A beta reader gives you the inside story of your story from a reader's point of view and your job is to then decide what to do with such feedback, what to fix and how to fix it. Imagine if you already did all the professional editing and a beta readers will bombard you with more errors. Once you fix the manuscript as per Beta reader's feedback, it may open more issues with your story and you will once again need a professional editor. This way, you are spending unnecessary capital on editing, more so than if you invited the beta readers prior to paying for professional editors. Be one of those who spends smart, I beg of you.

You should also be prepared that although they are a necessary evil, beta readers are so much work and professional writers would not recommend having more than five beta readers for one book. The feedback from the beta readers open an intensive detective work for you and it's up to you to figure out what makes the reader love the story, hate the story or not be bothered about it. That is the major difference between a beta reader and an editor. While an editor will tell you what the problem is and how to fix it, the beta readers will highlight problems and leave it for you to fix.

Now that I highlighted the cons, there are a lot of pros to having beta readers. First and foremost, most beta readers are volunteers which means that they are giving you a feedback free of charge, therefore we need to stop and be grateful for all the hard work these individuals do for the writing community. Most beta readers are primarily readers and therefore they read your manuscript for fun and the sake of the story and will give you the feedback from a reader's point of view. They also provide encouragement and constructive criticism when you need it the most and companionship because we all know that writing can be a lonely business.

Now that you have the pros and cons of a beta reader, you need to prepare questions for the beta readers so they know how much work is cut out for them and if they are willing to invest the time into your book. I found an interesting article on the most helpful questions you can ask. Click here to read more.

An ARC (advance reader copy) reader

An ARC reader is someone who reads your book prior to publication, after all the editing and formatting has been completed but before you purchase the ISBN. They read your book free of charge (after receiving a free copy of your unpublished book) and provide review for general public after the work has been published.

Everyone loves a review, it is potentially what sells the book so what are the cons of having ARC readers? Well, it depends how you look at it. There are some authors and readers who are against the idea of someone having ARC readers and this opens a big discussion about this subject. The ARC reviews may sound unethical to some and may even look fake. But that is all there is to it. It is nothing but an opinion.

I believe that if done correctly, there are plenty of benefits to sending out ARC copies especially to indie authors who are about to publish their debut novel. A lot of people forget that this move has been done by traditional publishing for years and I don't see why it cannot be used by indie authors are well.

The following quote has been taken directly from Amazon:

"You may provide free or discounted copies of your books to readers. However, you may not demand a review in exchange or attempt to influence the review. Offering anything other than a free or discounted copy of the book—including gift cards—will invalidate a review, and we’ll have to remove it."

If you make the terms and conditions clear to your ARC readers, I don't see any problems with sending our ARC reader copies and neither should the "Karens and Kens" of our community. Unfortunately, however, you can't please 100% of the human population and you should get used to this fact sooner rather than later.

I have found an excellent article about this subject and anyone who wishes to get ARC readers, should read it here.

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Phew, that was strenuous to my poor brain. No, really. There are a lot of articles on this subject but some sound all around ducking opinionated. I don't judge anyone's opinion you can say whatever it is you please. But unless you provide constructive criticism (some need a refresh what that actually means), I don't care. Don't come on the internet, insulting one group of people (indie authors), without backing up your opinion with facts. It is infuriating, indeed.

Or maybe I am just a Karen myself, who knows.

Take care my loves, I'm sending kisses!