Useful Books

Recruiting beta readers when you have a large audience

The way to leverage a large list is to let people opt in to read at their preferred level of polish

Words by Rob Fitzpatrick
Part of
Beta reading that works

There's nothing wrong with inviting beta readers one at a time, even if you have thousands of followers — especially for the first couple of rounds. But at some point you'll want to open up access to a larger group, as your beta reading naturally transitions into early marketing. The way to do this is to poll your audience and let them tell you whether they want to read a messy draft right away, or a more refined version later on.

Here’s a simple script you can send to your subscribers or followers:

screenshot of an email asking readers whether they'd like early access to a messy draft, later access to a nearly-finished book, or just an update when it's published

Big news! I’m working on a book that helps with [PROBLEM]. It’s still early days, but I’m looking for beta readers.

If you’d be up for that, hit Reply and let me know your preference:

  • “I’m ready to read it now! It’s okay if it’s incomplete, with some rough edges”
  • “I’m definitely interested! Let me know when it’s been through a revision or two”
  • “Let me know when you publish it!”

The responses to this request will get you eager readers for your next round or two, interested readers for your final rounds, and the beginnings of your book launch list.