Beta readers are an essential part of putting a book together. The problem with these readers is that their feedback may not help you strengthen the story. Comments such as “I like it,” or “good story,” are not very helpful.

If you don’t tell the beta readers what it is you are looking for, there is a good chance you won’t get it. So I developed a list of questions to send the beta readers along with the manuscript.

This list is based on one I found at https://writingcooperative.com/15- questions-to-send-beta-first-readers-please-steal-3ff9fa198b5

For a novel, I send my beta readers this list of questions I’d like them to answer after they finish reading the manuscript.

You can also use this list for memoirs and creative non-fiction books.

Please answer as many questions as you feel are relevant. There is no need to answer ALL of the questions (unless you want to)

1: Did the story hold your interest from the very beginning? If not, why not?

2: Did you get oriented fairly quickly at the beginning as to whose story it is, and where and when it’s taking place? If not, why not?

3: Could you relate to the main character? Did you feel her/his pain or excitement?

4: Did the setting interest you and did the descriptions seem vivid and real to you?

5: Was there a point at which you felt the story lagged or you became less than excited about finding out what was going to happen next? Where, exactly?

6: Were there any parts that confused you? Or even frustrated or annoyed you? Which parts, and why?

7: Did you notice any discrepancies or inconsistencies in time sequences, places, character details, or other details?

8: Were the characters believable? Are there any characters you think could be made more interesting or more likable?

9: Did you get confused about who’s who in the characters? Were there too many characters to keep track of? Too few? Are any of the names of characters too similar?

10: Did the dialogue keep your interest and sound natural to you? If not, whose dialogue did you think sounded artificial or not like that person would speak?

11: Did you feel there was too much description or exposition? Not enough? Maybe too much dialogue in parts?

12: Was there enough conflict, tension, and intrigue to keep your interest?

13: Was the ending satisfying? Believable?