Beta reader or professional editor: which is right for you?

So, you know that old saying, “I do my best proofreading after I hit ‘send’”? Many years ago, I applied for a proofreading job, and my cover letter had a typo.

(I did not get the job.)

The thing is, there comes a point in the editing process where you have done as much as you can. You’ve almost certainly done an absolute blinder of a job of turning the raw, unfiltered words that poured directly from your brain onto the page into something special, something brilliant, something only you could write. But the more time you spend with a manuscript, the more difficult it is to see the woods for the trees.

Case in point: I once judged a competition entry in which the protagonist’s name changed mid-story, then changed back again. The rest of the prose was wonderfully rich and polished, but the author had evidently renamed the main character at some point in the process, switched it out manually…and missed one iteration of the old name, because their brain was so used to reading it that way that it didn’t look like an error.

What I’m saying is that there’s a point in the redrafting process where you need to call in another set of eyes. So, let’s talk about a couple of secret weapons that you can add to your writing arsenal: beta readers and professional editors. We’ll look at the difference between them, the types of feedback you can expect, when to use one instead of the other, and how to get the most out of whichever path you choose to take.

What’s a beta reader, anyway?

The term “beta reader” comes from software development, where a programme is released to a group of testers who look for bugs or technical issues that need to be fixed before the final product is launched. A beta reader has a similar role, except that instead of testing software, they’re “testing” your manuscript to look for errors, inconsistencies, character development issues, plot holes, and so on. They’re taking on the role of your story’s typical reader and offering feedback from that perspective.

A beta reader is usually a non-professional, but somebody who reads widely in your genre, so they have an experienced eye for what works and what doesn’t. Ideally, they’ll be able to share insights into the overall effectiveness of the story, their impressions about the characters, thoughts on pacing and readability, and help you catch grammatical errors and typos.

Beta readers may expect a reciprocal critique of their work-in-progress, or they may be happy with a thank you in the acknowledgements section of your published novel—or they may simply offer their services out of a love of reading the kind of work you write. The latter is very common in fanfiction circles, but it’s not unheard of for a fanfic beta reader to offer to beta read a favourite author’s original fiction, too. What a beta reader doesn’t expect is payment for their work.

Feedback from beta readers might incorporate:

- Impressions: Because a beta reader isn’t an industry professional, they may not be able to offer detailed insight into why a sequence isn’t working, but if multiple readers are telling you the same thing about the same scene, it’s worth taking the time to get to the bottom of the issue. For example, a beta reader might express that a character doesn’t feel relatable or that a plot twist seemed to come out of nowhere. While it’s more effort for you as an author to unpick the root cause of a sequence that’s not resonating as it should, remember that beta readers are engaging with your book very much as your audience will, so their impressions are worth a lot.
- Solution suggestions: Though less common, some beta readers may provide suggestions for improvement. This could include pointing out sections where they felt confused or suggesting alternative ways to develop characters or plot points. While this can provide valuable insights into potential revisions, remember that suggestions are how this particular reader would try to fix the problem, and it may not be how you as the author would choose to fix the problem—and that’s okay.
- Emotional impact: Beta reader feedback may highlight moments in the story that provoke strong emotions—laughter, tears, frustration, and so on. This lets you see how clearly your authorial intent comes across. (I’ve had a beta reader tell me that a character was annoying them intensely in a sequence in which said character was supposed to be bearing their soul—which was very much not in line with what I was trying to convey. Understanding why the character was getting on their wick in that moment helped me revise the scene so that it resonated in the way I intended.)
- Narrative effectiveness: Beta readers focus on how engaging and relatable your story is. They might highlight areas where the narrative seems to falter, or point out inconsistencies, plot holes, or gaps.
- Diverse perspectives: It’s common to work with two or more beta readers on any given story (as opposed to professional editors—that’s usually a 1:1 relationship). By gathering feedback from multiple sources, you’ll collect a range of opinions that reflect different viewpoints within your target audience. If one person reads a sequence differently than you intended, that could be an anomaly. If two or more people read that sequence the same way… you have some editing to do, it seems.

When should you work with a beta reader?

I’ve been lucky enough to work with some phenomenal beta readers throughout my career, and I can tell you this: they may not be professionals, but beta readers provide invaluable insights that have significantly enhanced my work. I almost killed my MC one time by inadvertently walking him out into lethal weather—turns out, my understanding of how dangerous snow can be is limited by the fact that the kind of snow we get in Northern Ireland is usually a bit rubbish. A beta reader caught that for me, before I embarrassed myself with a colossal narrative misstep in public.

Generally speaking, there are two main points at which writers tend to look for beta readers:

After a couple of initial redrafts have tidied up the raw material of the first draft into the beginnings of a coherent narrative, but before beginning any major revisions (you’re looking for an early assessment to drive the direction of the next round of edits), or
Once you’ve got the work as close to polished as you can get it, and you’re looking for some honest feedback from a new set—or sets—of eyes so that you can understand where the narrative’s strengths and weaknesses lie

And it may be that working solely with a beta reader or readers is sufficient to get your MS to where it needs to be. Beta readers very often know their stuff, and if the stuff they know is the stuff you need to know, then you might not need to bring in a professional editor at all.

Alternatively, your beta reader or readers might flag up some thornier issues with the manuscript that you’re not sure how to handle. Or you may receive conflicting critiques—one reader loved a particular sequence; another found it boring and wondered why it was there. A third didn’t mention it at all, and a fourth was surprised to discover that the other three had any strong opinions. To you, it’s a pivotal moment in the narrative, and now you’re racked with indecision: keep it? Cut it? Edit it significantly?

This is where you may want to engage the services of a professional.

“A professional editor is an industry expert. They use their knowledge and expertise to help authors refine their manuscripts for clarity, coherence, and overall quality. The feedback that you get from a professional editor will be focused, clear, and actionable, explaining how and why a sequence falls short of where it could be.”

What does a professional editor do?

A professional editor is an industry expert. They use their knowledge and expertise to help authors refine their manuscripts for clarity, coherence, and overall quality. The feedback that you get from a professional editor will be focused, clear, and actionable, explaining how and why a sequence falls short of where it could be.

Look. I’m an author as well as an editor. I know how close we are to our manuscripts; it goes with the territory. But that closeness makes it difficult to identify weaknesses or areas for improvement. Editors have distance. An editor wants the very best for the story in front of them, but because we have no skin in the game, we can be objective in a way that an author just can’t. That objectivity lets us pick up on everything from tiny scuffs to broader problematic trends across the narrative as a whole that can help you make substantial improvements to your MS.

Manuscript evaluation: Editors assess manuscripts thoroughly, identifying strengths and weaknesses. They offer insights that authors might miss because of their closeness to and familiarity with their text.
Detailed feedback: The feedback from professional editors tends to be more comprehensive than that from beta readers. When we offer impressions, we’ll be substantive in unpacking where those impressions come from, and we’ll be able to suggest specific revisions designed to improve that aspect of the manuscript.
Clarity and coherence: Professional editors make sure your ideas are articulated clearly and logically. The words came from your head, so there’s an excellent chance that you know what you meant. (From personal authorial experience, I know that it’s not necessarily a given that I’ll know what I meant on re-reading, but there’s a decent chance. At least 95%, I’d say.) A professional editor will be reading with a view to whether or not what you meant is what’s actually coming across. That way, you don’t have to worry about whether or not your reader will pick up what you’re putting down when it comes time to set your book free upon the world.
Constructive criticism: A professional editor will provide honest feedback on what works well and what does not, and we’ll explain why. While I do worry a great deal about not upsetting authors, that manifests itself in how I frame my constructive feedback: it doesn’t stop me from providing the feedback. I’m not going to be brutal with you, but I am going to tell you the truth.
Specific revision suggestions: Discovering an issue is only the first step and, while the decision about how to address an issue will always be yours, often an author will need more than an overall impression—”this scene feels as though it lacks tension”—in order to understand their next steps. A professional editor will always suggest actionable changes. For example, “this scene feels as though it lacks tension” will be accompanied by specific instances of where that tension fails to manifest, and suggestions for potential strategies to amplify the emotional stakes.

Types of professional edits

There are three main types of professional edits available:

Developmental editing

This is (predominantly) what I offer. A development edit is holistic and focuses on content and structure. It will address any issues with the plot as a whole, and it’ll look at overarching character development, pacing, and narrative arcs. It’s designed both to stress-test your MS for weaknesses—and also offer suggestions for enhancing the overall flow of the manuscript.

Copy editing

This is what I say I don’t offer, but which actually ends up sneaking in as part of my developmental editing services because I can’t not help you fix grammatical and syntactical errors; it’s just part of who I am. A copy edit will look at refining language and formatting by correcting grammar, punctuation, and style inconsistencies.

Proofreading

This is the final error check before publication. A proofread looks for typos, spelling mistakes, and formatting errors to guarantee that the manuscript is polished and publication-ready.

When should you work with a professional editor?

There are a few things to remember if you’re on the fence about hiring a professional editor:

Hiring a professional may improve your chances of landing a publishing deal, but it can’t guarantee it
The costs are significant, and there’s no guarantee that you’ll recoup them even if you do land a deal
Many agencies and most publishing houses are going to put your work through a professional edit after signing you anyway

With that said, there are definitely circumstances in which hiring a professional editor makes sense.

Consistent feedback from beta readers

If multiple beta readers consistently point out problems or confusion in the story, it might be time to get a professional’s perspective—especially if you’re not sure how to address the issues. On that note…

You need actionable strategies to guide your revisions

It could be that your beta readers are struggling to identify specific areas for improvement. Maybe the feedback you’re getting is broadly positive, but with notes like, “I just wasn’t really feeling it in places?” or “I couldn’t tell why they’d even want to be together—sorry!” or “I enjoyed this but I found the central mystery a bit hard to follow,” and you need to translate that critique into lists of scenes that need work and a clear sense of what that work might look like. In some ways, this is a good (if frustrating) place to be, because something is working well in your MS—and an editor can help you pinpoint the strengths as well as the weaknesses, so that you know what to keep as well as what to edit.

You know you struggle with punctuation or grammar

It shouldn’t be the case that perfectly good stories get rejected on a technicality, but, alas, agents and publishers don’t have the time or resources to devote to manuscripts that are in need of significant revisions in order to be ready for publication. You may get them to overlook a few typos or misplaced commas on page one if your hook is strong enough, but you’re very likely to lose them by page two if not before.

Harmonising feedback to get the most for your MS

Navigating the world of writing can feel like a balancing act. The “incorporating feedback” stage is no different.

Beta readers and professional editors brings their own unique flavours to the table, enriching your manuscript in different ways. Beta readers are your story’s first fans, offering heartfelt impressions that highlight emotional engagement and audience connection. Their insights show you what resonates with readers and guide your crucial early revisions.

On the other hand, professional editors offer structured expertise, focusing on clarity and coherence. They help refine your language and address any content weaknesses, ensuring your manuscript shines brightly when it reaches its final form.

You may not need to use both. The more experience you gain as a writer, the more your perspective will shift on your words, and the more structured your editing process will become. You’ll reach a point where beta reader feedback will be all you need to put the final, finishing touches on your work—and it’s possible to get to this point without ever engaging the services of a professional editor. Sure, it takes time… but so does every skill worth learning.

Remember, this journey is not just about polishing your manuscript; it’s also about growing as a writer. So take heart in the process, trust your instincts… and enjoy the collegiality that comes from working with others who share your passion for storytelling.

What’s the most useful feedback you’ve had from a beta reader or editor? Let me know in the comments!

Beta reader or professional editor: which is right for you?

Table of Contents

What’s a beta reader, anyway?

When should you work with a beta reader?

What does a professional editor do?