Beta Readers
Those people who get to read the unadulterated, first draft, grammatical nightmare that you call a story are no longer called friends or buddies or, dare I say, chums. No, these people are now Beta Readers, like Beta testers in the computer world. There is little reward for this task except maybe a small thank you on the inside cover of the book but they do get to have an influence over the writer of a book. I'm sure there's been more than a few over the years who've told a friend, "I told her to write that line." or "That scene was my idea." And a little bit of vicarious living never hurt anybody...I hope. Where do you find these hard-working and noble Beta Readers, those select few who are both smart enough to give you useful comment and available enough to spend some time on your new WIP? Well, usually it's friends. Sometimes close friends whose opinions you've grown to respect...or at least put up with. It's a huge ask but some of them ...