Beta Reading Services & Rates

Why hire a paid beta when there are so many people willing to read for free?

It's always wonderful to get something for free, and beta reading is no exception. However, many authors have found that beta reading is often a hit-or-miss situation. Either your betas give great feedback, general "I love it!" feedback which is essentially useless, or they disappear, never to be heard from again. Many writers have also mentioned how difficult it is to get their betas to finish in a timely manner.

Paid beta readers WILL read your manuscript.

They WILL provide feedback that's useful, and they WILL meet your deadline.

I provide paid beta services at the rate of $1.50 per 1,000 words for fiction, and $2.00 per 1,000 words for nonfiction, with a $50 minimum fee. I read the full manuscript through twice and will answer any questions provided by you if there are specific items you wish to have addressed. If you don't have specific questions, I will provide a writeup of my impressions as a reader and as an editor. No changes will be made to the actual draft. 

I encourage you to have a variety of beta readers—include writers and non-writers. Find people who read in your genre and a few who don't typically do so. Find some free readers, certainly, but don't be shy about investing in a paid reader. Variety is the spice of life, after all.