Author skills
What Is an ARC Reader?
Build up new fans by inviting people to read your work.
If you are starting out as an author, it won’t be long before you hear people talk about things like ‘alpha readers’ and ‘ARC readers’. So, who are these people, and what role could they play in your writing career?
This is a quick, no-nonsense explainer.
Alpha Readers
An alpha reader is the first person (or small group of people) to look at your book. They do so when the book is unpolished — possibly even unfinished. Their role is to give you honest feedback that will allow you to polish up your draft. Often, close friends and family members take this role.
- On the basis of alpha reader feedback, you might make changes to the structure of the story, change the ending of the book, or delete an entire subplot.
Beta Readers
A beta reader picks up your book a little later in the process. By this stage, it is ‘finished’ — but it’s at a stage where you still have time to make minor changes. The goal of sharing it with beta readers is to get some feedback on how well they enjoy the story, and to do so, you want to have completed at least an initial edit and proofread.
- On the basis of beta reader feedback, you might add or delete a scene, or tweak the presentation of a character that didn’t get as good a response as you would have liked.
ARC Readers
‘ARC’ stands for ‘advance reader copy’, meaning that an ARC reader is getting the finished book prior to its release. Sometimes, people use the term ARC readers interchangeably with beta readers. However, it is often used for a more specific role: giving out free copies of your book once it’s ready for publication.
By this stage you have often got the book cover, and the publication date will be close. Rather than feedback, therefore, authors are often hoping to generate some buzz about the new release, as well as hoping that at least some ARC readers leave a review soon after launch day.
- Even if their role is not mainly about feedback, ARC readers often provide invaluable tips, point out errors or typos, and give you a sense of the book’s strengths and weaknesses.
Tips for authors
- Make sure that alpha readers are people that you trust, and who will be frank and honest with you. There is no point in alpha readers who are scared to criticize the book!
- You don’t need lots of beta readers, but they do need to really know the genre. A good beta reader is very valuable as you develop your book, so treat them nicely!
- You want as many ARC readers as you can, because the more you have, the more reviews (hopefully 5* reviews) you’ll get on release. Try the website Booksprout to help you build an ARC team (also called a ‘street team’).
I hope that was a helpful summary of the role of alpha readers, beta readers and ARC readers.
Are you using alpha readers, beta readers, and ARC readers in your author career, or do you plan to? Drop a comment to let me know!
p.s. you should get my posts direct to your inbox. Do that here! Also, if you’d like to experience Medium yourself, consider supporting me and thousands of other writers by signing up for a membership. It only costs $5 per month, it genuinely supports writers, and you have the chance to make serious money with your own writing as well! By signing up with this link, you’ll support me directly with a portion of your fee, it won’t cost you extra. If you do so, thank you so very much!
