What Do I Call Them!? - Alpha VS. Beta Readers

If you're anything like I was two years ago, you'll read these and think they're the exact same thing. Well...I've gained a little bit of knowledge over the past years and I hope to be able to share it with you in the post.

Let's begin.

Introduction

Alpha Readers and Beta Readers are not the same thing--but they kind of are....

You heard me, they are very different, but they both do a similar service for you and your writing, which is read your manuscript and give you feedback on how to make it better. The differences are in the stages of writing (first/second/fifth drafts, or in the editing stages, or just helping you work on brainstorming), what they give you specific advice on, and who they are to you as the writer (yes, this is important).

Alpha Readers

An Alpha Reader is one of your peers who also likes writing and can give advice on more of the writer-technical stuff (like structure and pacing and brainstorming and so on). They usually read your work in the beginning stages, sometimes during the first or second drafts, other times during the very beginning--when looking over an outline or brainstorming characters or settings with you. An Alpha Reader should focus less on the grammar and spelling than the overall story and character.

Beta Readers

Now, this one gets a little more complicated.

A Beta Reader is sometimes your peer writer, sometimes not, because when they're reading, they're less of a writer than a reader. When a Beta Reader looks at your script they should be looking for grammar and spelling mistakes, paragraph inconsistencies and all those things you really don't like when you're reading.

On top of that, a Beta Reader may also be a professional in an area you're writing about. Say your main character is a firefighter, but you have no firefighter relations and you have no idea what they would do in a certain situation (because research can only get you so far, and it's not very helpful for specific situations). When in this sort of dilemma, you may hire (or not, it depends) a firefighter who likes to read to go through your story and give you specific feedback on the firefighter aspect of your story.

On a usual day, a Beta Reader will go through your story at the end stages, after all the developmental edits have been made and it's just chapter and paragraph and line edits left.

Bonus: Sensitivity Readers

You hay have heard this term floating around writing communities, but are still unsure what they mean. On many accounts, a Sensitivity Reader is a lot like a Beta Reader--they go over your story at the end stages and are specific to one piece of your story (like the firefighter)--except for one caveat, which is the fact that they're not reading to make sure you have all the information right, but to make sure you're not using that information in a way that will offend of hurt a reader. Say you're writing about chronic illness, but you've never had a chronic illness and you don't know how to handle writing it with care to keep a reader with the same illness from feeling discriminated against or unloved because of that illness. Well, then you get a sensitivity reader to come along and skim through your manuscript to make sure you're writing in a way that is kind and loving. They may have the same illness, they may not; they may be a peer writer, they may not be; it doesn't really matter so long as they understand what your words mean to a certain reader.

Conclusion

Alpha Readers, Beta Readers, and Sensitivity Readers all fall into the same category: people who help you with your story by reading it and making helpful suggestions, but there are a few differences between them which are important to know when you're looking for specific help. If you ever find yourself forgetting what if going on and don't understand which is which anymore, come back and consult this post to regain your clarity--and please feel free to ask any follow-up questions you may have in the comments, the goal was never to be confusing.

I think that is all today, folks, so you all go read something and have a good day!

The End