How to Write a Beta Reader Checklist

Last weekend, I patted my next novel “Separation” on the butt and sent it out into a little slice of the world, letting my beta readers explore the town of Alessandra and its various characters. Hopefully, they’ll enjoy the read, and won’t ultimately tell me to toss my computer in a fire and start over from the beginning.

Short of that, I feel like it’s important that my beta readers have some direction when they start diving into my story. I don’t want to simply hand the story to them and hope they send me useful freestyle feedback. Even if your beta readers are amazing, well read people who could spot a plot hole from the International Space Station, it’s still key that you point them in the direction of any specific concerns you have with the story.

So, I send them a checklist alongside the story itself. For one, it helps them avoid their own bout of writer’s block (“How should I start this? What does he even want to hear?”). But it also gives them some items to pay attention to as they read, and makes the process easier on them. Even if all they do is check some boxes, that’s still helpful feedback for me. To whatever extent they decide to write their further thoughts — or give me a little proofreading boost, which everybody needs — all the better.

The way I set this checklist up is I give them a list of statements about different elements of the book. If they agree with it, they check the box next to it. If they don’t, well, they don’t. Then I give them several lines on which to explain their agreement/disagreement below each statement. Here are the ones I used for “Separation” …

• The first chapter grabs your attention and makes you want to read more.
• The premise involving the steel rings is plausible enough that I accept it for purposes of the story.
• The dialogue seems realistic and true to the characters.
• The characters seem fully developed, distinct from one another, and are people I can relate to.
• The characters behave in a way that’s consistent with how I think they would behave in real life.
• The pace and general flow of the story kept me hooked throughout.
• The ending was satisfying and difficult to fully anticipate.

One of the useful aspects of this method is it also allows for unlimited customization for each book. While some of these have been common to each story I’ve written so far, I’m able to change them and weave new ones in as I have new concerns about a story. I can point them in the direction that makes the most sense for that particular book.

Then, here’s what I leave for them below that …

If you have, literally, any additional comments, feel free to write them below. Anything you liked, didn’t like, think could improve. Did you think the ending seemed rushed? Did it need more details? Did you want to know more about a particular character? Did the town need to be fleshed out more? Were there too many characters to juggle? Anything at all.

I think this part is important too. Sure, I want to give them some specific directions and make this as easy as possible. But, for those who really want to provide more, I give them that space, along with a few suggestions. In the end, though, I want “literally any additional comments.” Whatever they want to say, from “This sucks, and you need to rewrite the whole damn thing” to “You’re Twain and Hemingway rolled into one; please father my next child.” I want to encourage them to say whatever they think, and give them the space to do so. This is how you take a story from good to great … hopefully. In theory. I think my editor will thank me for this when I send it her way in a few months.