Self-editing and Beta / Sensitivity Readers

If you’ve reached this point, you’ve probably finished your first draft—Congrats! Your journey is still far from over. To ensure that you’re putting out the best book that you can, you’ll need to review your story several times. I strongly suggest letting your book sit for at least three weeks. Don’t read it. Don’t edit it. Don’t even talk about it. When you open the document again, you’ll want fresh eyes and a clear mind before you have a go at it again.

Before you start the first self-edit, make a list of your weaknesses and strengths.

What do you think you do well?

What do you think you do poorly?

How do you think the pacing of your story is?

As you read through your manuscript, you should look for things that will turn your reader away. Things like info dumps, head-jumping, overuse of clichés and tropes, immersion breaks, events that affect the plot, but don’t have setup, and events that happen without consequence (ie: massacres without mourning, deaths with no emotion, etcetera). Make sure to ask yourself the following:

What can I cut without changing the core essence of the story?

Do my characters’ voices sound the same? How can I make them more unique?

Are my character / scene descriptions vivid enough?

Are my character / scene descriptions too long?

Were there info dumps? How can I relay this information differently?

Of course, the previous list only has a few questions, but there are many more you should watch out for. If your story feels incomplete to you, it will probably feel the same to the reader.

During this entire process, you should have your thesaurus ready to battle any repetitive words, but be sure not to use words that are too archaic (unless the writing calls for it) and words that only mildly share the meaning of the one you’re trying to replace.

Avoid padding your book with needless filler. If you’re forcing unnecessary scenes just to enhance the reader’s view of a character and it serves no purpose for the plot, you should reconsider how you’ve structured the character. Additionally, excessive swearing, using mental health as a flaw, sex scenes, and rape scenes can be a big turn off for some. Which brings us to the next topic—

By definition, beta readers are people chosen to read the manuscript in question for the sole purpose of providing feedback about its contents. These people can include friends, family, fellow writers, others within the writing community, or random people who are paid beta readers. How you choose to pick yours is entirely up to you, though I strongly advise against using family and friends.

Oftentimes, their feedback may not be helpful unless they are completely open to being brutally honest with you. It may be hard for them to do so if they’re worried about hurting your feelings or seeming unsupportive. Paid beta readers may be the route to go for those who have extra cash to invest into their work, however not everyone is in that boat, and finding reputable beta readers may prove difficult. If this is something you’re interested in, I’d suggest sifting through writing communities and Reddit to find dependable readers that can be vetted.

Before you venture forth, you may want to think of questions that you’d like your readers to answer. Type them up into a document so that you can provide the list to the chosen readers. Below is a massive list of questions that may prove valuable to you. I did not compile this list, nor do I remember the source.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1G8kngxSop5BT8Fd3LqSoMat1GfNAmR085B0dvzfoUkE/edit#heading=h.hhevn0icya3z

Sensitivity readers are also an important part of publishing a book in today’s society. Sadly, there are some topics or views which may aggravate readers, causing unwanted backlash to the author, regardless of the author's intentions. Generally, sensitivity readers are used to offer more accurate, less offensive portrayals of people of color, or other cultures when written by individuals who are not of those races and cultures.

It has been argued that these readers pose a threat to freedom of speech, insisting that they bring about censorship in literature, or push their own personal or political agendas. Personally, I believe that they may offer a different view to outsiders and perhaps even enhance characters when done properly. At the end of the day, it’s up to the author to decide if they want to take the advice of beta and sensitivity readers, assuming they are self-publishing. Those who opt to publish traditionally may not be given that choice.

Once you’ve gathered feedback from the beta and sensitivity readers, you should do another round of editing to address their concerns. I’d like to stress that you are not obligated to change anything, and you shouldn’t change absolutely everything. When in doubt about cutting large bits of the story, speak with your editor to determine the best course of action for your novel.