Critique partners

Critique partners (cps) are usually other writers who look at your story with the eyes of a writer, trying to help you fill in plot holes, make your characters more believable, and also to spot grammar mistakes. Very often you don’t only exchange stories, but even form a long lasting partnership.

Beta readers

Betas or beta readers can also be writers themselves, but as the name suggests, the focus is more on the reading aspect. They can tell you how they found the story on the global level, if they liked the characters, figured out the mystery, etc.

If you are wondering what to look for as a Beta Reader, here’s an example of questions many authors ask their Beta Readers:

READABILITY:

• Does any part of the story drag?
• Are there parts that you skipped to get to ‘the good part’?
• Do I over-inform (info-dump) anywhere?
• Did you understand every phrase / term I used?

STEAMY BITS:

• Do any of the love scenes seem overly cliché?
• Were the love scenes too fast, too slow, or too frequent?
• Did you have to reread any part of the love scenes to understand who was doing what?
• Did any action in the love scene make you cringe?
• Did it make you hot?

FLOW:

• Does one scene lead logically into the next?
• Do the scenes flow smoothly from one action to the next, or did they jump as though something was skipped?
• Is there enough downtime between intense scenes to allow it to build to the next?

THE WORLD:

• Can you see every action clearly while reading?
• If you went there in real life, would you recognize the places?
• Did you have to reread any part of the action sequences to understand who was doing what?

DIALOGUE:

• Does the Dialogue sound realistic for the individual characters?
• Could you see what the characters were doing while talking?
• Could you see where the characters were while talking?

CHARACTERS:

• Could you see what each character looked like clearly?
• Do their actions and reactions seem logical and realistic?
• Could you feel the emotions between the characters?
• Does the story stay focused on my main character?
• Were any of my characters too much of a jerk or too aggressive?
• Were any of my characters whiny, wimpy, or overly dramatic?
• Are any of my characters too stereotypical?
• Who did you like best and WHY?
• Who did you hate and WHY?
• Who got on your nerves and WHY?
• Do any of the characters get in the way of the STORY?

If you are interested in being a Beta Reader or Critique Partner, please email. Thank you.