How to Find and Work with Beta Readers: Everything Fiction Writers Need to Know

There comes a point in working on a novel when you’ve done everything you know how to do. You’ve revised. You’ve edited. You’ve read the damn thing so many times you can practically recite whole sections from memory. And that’s exactly the problem. You’re too close to see what’s working and what isn’t, or to make impactful changes.

Enter the beta reader.

This week on the Write It Scared podcast, I sat down with mystery and thriller author and professional beta reader K.A. Wilde to talk about what beta readers actually do, when to use them, how to find the right ones, what to ask them, and perhaps most importantly, how to sort through their feedback without feeling like you have to change your entire freaking book.