Writing 101

How to be a Fantastic Beta Reader

Beta Readers
Proofs of each of my novels

Beta Readers help make my novels better. How? They bring another pair of eyes to my writing which can catch:

Spelling errors I can’t see anymore because the text is so familiar to me and my editor.

Structure issues – making sure my story flows and doesn’t feel too rushed or too slow.

Strange wording that doesn’t make sense – either too wordy or phrases a common reader wouldn’t understand. Being a Southern girl, sometimes the phrases common in my life mean nothing to someone not born and raised in the South or even in my family!

Factual errors – I haven’t had EVERY job or experience I write about and Beta Readers can catch mistakes in careers, facts about dogs, or even places I haven’t been.

Consistency mistakes – saying it’s October at the beginning of the chapter and it’s September by the end, or having a character with blue eyes at the beginning of the novel, but brown toward the end.

Beta Readers are an important part of the writing process and I have been blessed with some fantastic beta readers…

But, it can be hard to find good beta readers and it helps to know what you need to look for:

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Grace Series, Marketing, Writing 101

Be Consistent

It’s important to be consistent in your brand, in your promises, and the way you promote. I created a media kit for my first novel using photoshop and decided to keep the same format for the second and third novels. Promoting three novels means a lot of behind the scenes work and learning ways to save time, especially since I work another non-writing full-time job.

Consistent Example: Cover Pages

Consistent

The images and color schemes change slightly to match the book cover image. The consistency is in the layout and size.

Let me walk you through my media kit process for all three novels.

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