{"id":784,"date":"2024-04-07T00:43:38","date_gmt":"2024-04-06T23:43:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewriteword.co.uk\/?p=784"},"modified":"2024-04-09T20:20:53","modified_gmt":"2024-04-09T19:20:53","slug":"beta-readers-vs-editors-do-you-know-the-difference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewriteword.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/04\/07\/beta-readers-vs-editors-do-you-know-the-difference\/","title":{"rendered":"Beta Readers vs Editors: Do you know the difference?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"784\" class=\"elementor elementor-784\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-38d860e e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"38d860e\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d4298b6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"d4298b6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.23.0 - 05-08-2024 *\/\n.elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title[class*=elementor-size-]>a{color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-small{font-size:15px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-medium{font-size:19px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-large{font-size:29px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xl{font-size:39px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xxl{font-size:59px}<\/style><h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Beta Readers VS Editors<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-48a9013b elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"48a9013b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.23.0 - 05-08-2024 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-804 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/thewriteword.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/scale-2635397_1280-300x167.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"167\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thewriteword.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/scale-2635397_1280-300x167.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thewriteword.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/scale-2635397_1280-1024x569.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thewriteword.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/scale-2635397_1280-768x427.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thewriteword.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/scale-2635397_1280.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Image by <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/users\/qimono-1962238\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=2635397\">Arek Socha<\/a> from <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=2635397\">Pixabay<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\">What\u2019s the difference between a beta reader and an editor?<\/p>\n<p>I admit, when I first started writing I had no idea. In fact, the name beta reader was alien to me.<\/p>\n<p>As I started my editing journey, I discovered I\u2019m not the only one who didn\u2019t know the difference.<\/p>\n<p>While most understand that a beta reader is free and you pay for an editor, many seem to get rather hazy when explaining why.<\/p>\n<p>So let me lay it out for you in the simplest terms&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>If you want to know if your story is any good, get a beta reader.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to make your story better, get an editor.<\/p>\n<p>Now, I can hear your cogs going as you think, \u201cBut, a beta reader can give me advice\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And yes, they can, to a degree, but let\u2019s break it down a bit.<\/p>\n<p>Your first beta readers\u00a0will usually be friends\u00a0or acquaintances. They are not likely to tell you your story is rubbish, so then you look online, where you can find any number of avid readers ready to tell you what they think of your book. If you are lucky, you will even get some honest ones.<\/p>\n<p>I won\u2019t deny these are brilliant people. After a few good beta readers, you will know if your book is engaging and if any bits are boring or don\u2019t make sense. If\u00a0your characters are likeable. And some will even spot some plot holes. But normally, that\u2019s about as far as it goes.<\/p>\n<p>So how does that differ from an editor?<\/p>\n<p>When you hire an editor, they won\u2019t just read your book and give an opinion. They will go through it with a fine toothcomb. If someone\u2019s eyes change colour halfway through, they are trained to spot it. Are you describing someone\u00a0walking? We will tell you to change it to the active verb, walked.<\/p>\n<p>An editor with tell you how to stop using passive voice; they will spot plot holes and inconsistencies.<\/p>\n<p>Are you changing point of view during a scene? We will let you know. Could a sentence be reworded to make your book flow better? We will tell you how!<\/p>\n<p>And that\u2019s just scratching the surface.<\/p>\n<p>When you hire an editor, you have to be open to changing things.<\/p>\n<p>Is it easy? Hell no!<\/p>\n<p>But will it improve your book? Most definitely!<\/p>\n<p>So, what it comes down to is, how good do you want your book to be?<\/p>\n<p>Do you need beta readers?<\/p>\n<p>Without a doubt! They are invaluable to finding out if you have a good story.<\/p>\n<p>But do you need an editor?<\/p>\n<p>If you want a book that\u2019s going to shine.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, you do!<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"pld-like-dislike-wrap pld-template-1\">\r\n    <div class=\"pld-like-wrap  pld-common-wrap\">\r\n    <a href=\"javascript:void(0)\" class=\"pld-like-trigger pld-like-dislike-trigger  \" title=\"\" data-post-id=\"784\" data-trigger-type=\"like\" data-restriction=\"cookie\" data-already-liked=\"0\">\r\n                        <i class=\"fas fa-thumbs-up\"><\/i>\r\n                <\/a>\r\n    <span class=\"pld-like-count-wrap pld-count-wrap\">    <\/span>\r\n<\/div><div class=\"pld-dislike-wrap  pld-common-wrap\">\r\n    <a href=\"javascript:void(0)\" class=\"pld-dislike-trigger pld-like-dislike-trigger  \" title=\"\" data-post-id=\"784\" data-trigger-type=\"dislike\" data-restriction=\"cookie\" data-already-liked=\"0\">\r\n                        <i class=\"fas fa-thumbs-down\"><\/i>\r\n                <\/a>\r\n    <span class=\"pld-dislike-count-wrap pld-count-wrap\"><\/span>\r\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Beta Readers VS Editors \u00a0 Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay What\u2019s the difference between a beta reader and an editor? I admit, when I first started writing I had no idea. In fact, the name beta reader was alien to me. As I started my editing journey, I discovered I\u2019m not the only one [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_glsr_average":0,"_glsr_ranking":0,"_glsr_reviews":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[22,16,12,19,29,17,28,25,20,24,23,27,21,26,15],"class_list":["post-784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-advice","tag-authors","tag-beta-reading","tag-books","tag-bookshelf","tag-editors","tag-hobbies","tag-life","tag-manuscripts","tag-proofreaders","tag-publishing","tag-reading","tag-story","tag-work","tag-writing"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"thewriteword.co.uk","author_link":"https:\/\/thewriteword.co.uk\/index.php\/author\/thewriteword-co-uk\/"},"rttpg_comment":10,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/thewriteword.co.uk\/index.php\/category\/blog\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Blog<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Beta Readers VS Editors \u00a0 Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay What\u2019s the difference between a beta reader and an editor? I admit, when I first started writing I had no idea. In fact, the name beta reader was alien to me. As I started my editing journey, I discovered I\u2019m not the only one&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewriteword.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewriteword.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewriteword.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewriteword.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewriteword.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=784"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/thewriteword.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":813,"href":"https:\/\/thewriteword.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784\/revisions\/813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewriteword.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewriteword.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewriteword.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}