When I’m reading for pleasure, I’m quite an analytical reader and driven by how a piece of writing makes me feel. I naturally comment as I read.

‘That’s a beautiful sentence.’

‘Hmm. Let’s go back and check that…’

As a beta reader it’s a combination of the attention to detail and the emotional reaction that makes the feedback as effective as it can be for an author. You can tell the author what you liked, what you found confusing and if you found any inconsistencies in the manuscript. The next step is to describe why a scene or character made you feel the way it did, as your interpretation of a character or event as a reader may be different from the one the author intended and it can be changed, if necessary, in self-editing.

There is always going to be a level of subjectivity to any feedback, for instance different readers will resonate with different characters and plot points. It’s always worth asking, if the author doesn’t specify, if there are any aspects of the manuscript they would find particularly helpful to have feedback on.

This feedback can be used as the basis for self-editing or before passing the manuscript to a developmental editor.

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