Hardcover Lover Confessions (8)

Welcome back to Hardcover Lover Confessions, everyone! I know, I know... it's been a while since my last HCL Confessions post, but remember I said I'd only post them when the occasion felt right? Well, that's kind of how this post came to be - I felt like I needed to address this issue.

I'm sure you're all familiar with how these confessionals/discussion posts work. I get an idea. I write a post with my thoughts or confessions, and then you (like everybody and anybody) can join in and discuss your thoughts with me and the other commenters and bloggers.

I'm encouraging all of my followers to join in and discuss your thoughts on each topic with me and with the other bloggers/people who leave comments. Don't be afraid to reply to a comment made by someone you've never spoken to before! Don't be afraid to leave a comment at all, even if you've never commented on any of my posts before. I can promise you that all of my followers are kind and outgoing, and that you might even make a new friend after commenting.

HCL Confession on Beta Reading

This post has been brewing for a while now, and it's just now coming to fruition for me. So please forgive me if this post is a little rough. You might know by now that when I get fired up, I get really fired up. I'm just passionate about things, and I guess this is one of those things.

A few weeks ago, I saw something online about readers charging authors for beta reading services. The lovely people of the book blogging community voiced their concerns, and it looked like it was dying off. I think I even retweeted a few of the Tweets about it, me taking the side of not charging. But then I started noticing links being posted everywhere on Twitter and on blogs about the very same thing. Uh oh...

So I guess that I charging authors for beta reading services has become a thing. Um, no! Like hell no! That is just wrong!  I can't even believe that this is happening. I'm very against this idea of amateur bloggers charging authors to read a draft. Beta readers should not be paid because they aren't typically professionals. In my opinion (and a quick internet search shows that a lot of people agree with me on this one), beta reading should be a free service provided to an author by peers and/or friends. Up until recently, I really thought that the established definition of beta reading was free service done by peers. (Correct me if I'm wrong on that.)

Simply put: Beta readers are "typically unpaid" for their services.

Why, Erin? Well... because it's the right thing to do! Would you charge your friend to read over a draft of their final paper? No. You would read it and give suggestions and feedback for free because you know that your friend would most likely do the same thing for you. (Hello... that's why you often see blurbs on book covers from other authors - peer reading. ) Keep in mind, most beta readers are not professional editors who have gone to school and studied the ins and outs of grammar and publishing. A beta is getting a first look at a rough to slightly edited and revised piece of literature and is giving feedback based on what's been written.

Have you beta read, Erin? The answer to that is yes, but I don't do it often. When I first started blogging, a college friend of mine sent me an ARC of one of his books. I read it, and reviewed it. A few months later, he contacted me again to beta read a short story that he will be publishing in the future. Even though I had never beta read anything before, I knew that my reading of something could help my friend in the long run. I kindly read his story and gave him feedback as to what I liked and didn't like and how I felt it matched up with the book it would be a companion to. That's it. End of story. Short and sweet.

So do I think it's wrong that bloggers and reviewers are charging for beta reading services? Yes. A million times yes, especially if you aren't a professional editor. It's not often that I think I should tell people what to do, but in this case, I just can't even deal with the fact that I'm seeing bloggers and reviewers trying to charge authors to beta read. Leave it to the pros. If you're interested in beta reading, please do it the right way; don't charge.

What Do You Think?

I want to hear from you! Did  you know about beta reading and beta readers before reading this post? Have you ever beta read something? Do you agree with me that beta reading is a free service or have you charged an author to beta read their work?

Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions with me and everyone else, but please be courteous to everyone. Any and all rude or harassing comments will be deleted.