A long time ago, I did a post on identifying quality beta readers. But assembling your A-team is only half the battle! In order to get the best feedback, the team needs guidelines (and a timeline) to make sure they’re giving you what you need, rather than just asking for their general reactions.

These are just a few suggestions; every project (and every writer) is going to have unique features and weaknesses, and therefore need different questions to give the writer the information they need to make their story stronger.

The Basics

These are questions you should already have the answers to, but it’s always good to double-check to make sure your intentions are coming across. Also, they’re good for warming up your beta readers for more in-depth analysis.

1. What genre would you say this story falls into?
2. For what age range would you recommend this story?
3. What other books/movies/shows might you compare this story to?

Character

These questions seem simple at first, but they can actually reveal a lot about what is or isn’t working in your story.

    1.  Who is your favorite character? Why?

Don’t panic if the answer isn’t your protagonist. After all, how many people can you think of who would say Harry Potter is their favorite Harry Potter character? This question can help reveal where your supporting cast shines and maybe point out where readers would appreciate beefed up subplots.

    2.  Who is your least favorite character? Why?

Hopefully the answer is not your protagonist! In a perfect world, your readers will respond to this with a character they love to hate, not one who annoys or disinterests them. If readers are disliking a character you meant to be likable, it could indicate that character needs further development.

    3.  Which character can you relate to/identify with most? Why?

This answer might surprise you, but it will give you ideas about where you can up the stakes emotionally. If people can identify with a character, they’ll feel their successes and failures all the more keenly.

     4.  How does the protagonist change over the course of the story?

Unless you’re using a flat arc for your protagonist, they should be changing and/or learning something over the course of the story. These changes/lessons are what build themes.

Plot

These questions can reveal a bit more about the mechanics of your story.

1.   Was the world-building interesting to you? Does it feel naturally introduced? Does it ever feel overexplained?

You want readers to enjoy their visit to your world, not feel stressed out by struggling to keep up with it or bored by a scenic tour. These answers also have the potential to point out areas that can be cut or reworked to make slow scenes more active. Speaking of…

2.  Were there any parts of the story that felt slow, or you felt you were losing interest? Any parts where you felt you couldn’t put it down?

This question could give you insight to how well your story is paced. Maybe your climax and conclusion feel too rushed and need to be filled out, or maybe there’s some exposition scenes that need to be cut or reworked to get to the action faster. And answers to the last part of the question can tell you which sequences may be your strongest.

3.  Were you bothered by any questions left unanswered? Was there anything you didn’t understand?

You want your readers to leave your book feeling satisfied. Not everything has to be resolved per se, but by the end of the story you need to have answered the dramatic question (will the protagonist achieve their goal or not) and any loose ends should be purposefully left, not left because you forgot them.

4.  What would you say are the themes of this story?

If the answers to this question don’t quite line up with the character arcs you’ve written or your protagonist’s goal, you may need to take a closer look at your story’s underlying structure. Theme and character should work cohesively to make your story resonate with readers as strongly as possible.

For Fun/Inspiration

These questions can help break up the deep thinking you’re asking your beta readers to take on in regards to plot and character, and they may provide some surprising insights you can build on!

1.  Did you have any favorite lines, or quotes that struck you as particularly funny/clever/pretty?

Are people chuckling at your wordplay? Maybe you can find places to play with that more. Is there a quote that really resonates with multiple readers? Maybe that’s a key to your theme, or at the very least a t-shirt idea you can keep in your back-pocket for marketing.

2. Who would you cast in the movie version?

How are people picturing your characters? Perhaps a physical description needs to be made clearer, or maybe the suggested actor will help really crystalize the essence of a character for you as you edit.

As I said before, this list is just a starting point. Every project is different, and every author has different concerns. What do you hope to find out from your beta readers? Develop questions that will get them to explore those needs, along with some of these basic structure notes.