Beta readers or launch team members?
Do you know the difference between beta readers and launch team members? Here's what they do and how you can expect them to support your book.
I was recently asked to be a book beta reader, only to discover that the author was actually recruiting volunteers for a launch or street team.
Not long after that, an email from another author showed that she was using “beta reader” and “launch team member” interchangeably.
But a beta reader and a launch/street team member aren’t the same thing. They serve different purposes.
Here’s what you need to know so you don’t confuse the people you recruit for the important tasks involved.
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What’s a beta reader?
Beta readers, known collectively as a “beta group,” help improve the manuscript before the book is finished.
You typically ask beta readers to read the close-but-not-quite-there-yet manuscript for specific details.
For fiction, ask about specifics that concern you. Consider plot, character relatability, story plausibility, whether anything was confusing, and so on.
Nonfiction beta readers can serve different purposes, so they fall into two categories:
- Subject matter experts
- Target audience members
Subject matter experts read for content accuracy and to see if you’ve overlooked anything important. Depending on the book, you might recruit several expert beta readers, sending each only the table of contents and chapter(s) relevant to them.
Nonfiction target audience readers provide feedback on things like:
- Were they confused at any point?
- Did you go into enough depth in each chapter?
- Did they feel satisfied that they learned enough about the topic?
- Did they expect to see something that wasn’t in the book?
What’s a launch team?
A launch team, also known as a street team, writes reviews and shares information about the book online. Your launch team kicks in after the book is done, but before it’s released.
You provide team members with a pre-publication copy of the final book as well as the team “rules.” They will read the book, write an honest review, and post that review on retail sites as close to publication date as possible.
You also ask them to help launch the book by sharing book announcement images and text that you provide. They can do that with email or on the social networks they use.
Depending on the situation and relationships, some of your beta readers might volunteer to be on the launch team, too.
One is a critic, the other, a reviewer
Beta readers critique early versions of the manuscript, helping you make it as good as possible. You might end up doing more than one round with beta readers.
Launch team members don’t see early versions of the book. Because they’re reviewing the manuscript after it’s been edited and proofread, they critique the book differently than beta readers will.
Beta readers read and comment for an audience of one: the author. Launch team members read and review with other book readers in mind. Their goal is to help readers decide if they will like the book.
Note, too, that while it might not be too late to fix an errant typo when you’re at the launch team stage, you’re past the point where you will re-structure the entire book based on a single team member’s feedback.
But if a few team members provide the same “this doesn’t work” feedback? Consider postponing your publication date so you have time to fix the problem.
Should you skip the beta readers?
Authors often ask if beta readers are really necessary.
The answer depends on a number of factors, including your writing experience and comfort level with the topic or genre. For example, if I wrote mysteries and was trying historical romance instead, I’d probably want beta readers.
A professor with in-depth knowledge on the nonfiction book’s topic might not need a content review, but could benefit from feedback on readability.
A professional writer with a subject specialty might feel confident skipping the beta reader process altogether.
Be honest with yourself when deciding
That said, be honest with yourself. If your pattern is to be overly confident (admitted no person ever . . .), factor beta readers into your schedule. If you’re unsure of your writing ability, positive feedback from a beta group will boost your confidence.
The last thing you want to do, though, is skip beta readers because you think they’ll slow down an arbitrary publishing schedule. Make time for anything – anything – that will help improve your book’s quality.
You want your book to be as good as you can make it. Beta readers can help with that. Launch/street team members can help share that good news with others.
If you’ve recruited beta readers or launch team members, please share your best recruiting tip in a comment.
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Excellent piece. A wonderful roadmap for prospective betas and launch team members to understand their roles. I will be passing this along. Thanks, Sandy!
I’m glad it was helpful, Sonia. Thanks for the feedback, and for sharing this with others so we can help more authors.
Sandy
Thank you, this was VERY informative!
I’m so glad to know that! Thanks for the feedback!
Sandy
Love your spot-on distinction between “critic” and “reviewer.”
Thanks, Cat! : )
Sandy
This is helpful, particularly since I now realize how important it is to begin building an informal street team long before the book goes to press. And I’m sure one needs both betas and a street team even if being published traditionally. Thanks!
You’re so right, Gabi! We’re asking launch/street team members to do quite a bit, so for the most part, members need to be people we have relationships with already. That takes time. And, as you’ve noted, all authors need this kind of help, regardless of the publishing model they use. Authorship really is a business, right?
Thanks!
Sandy
These are great points and questions! What if your problem is you have to choose between one or the other, because your pool for both is so small? :/
Margaret, my answer depends on what you’re writing. Fiction or nonfiction?
Sandy
Fiction! Of the historical variety 🙂
I would go with beta readers. It’s possible that they’ll also write a review when the book is finished.
Sandy
I’m guilty of this myself! Thanks for sorting out the differences. I especially appreciate the detail you added about outlining the team “rules” for the street team. Now off to figure out those parameters as I am suppose to rally my street team very soon.
I’m so glad it was helpful, Dawn! Good luck with your launch! I hope all goes smoothly!
Sandy
Thanks for recycling this gem. Very timely for me. For a few reasons, I have been working on the final draft of my nonfiction in relative isolation. Once that’s ready, I’d appreciate fresh eyes and minds. But everyone is swamped with their own work and lives. Appreciate suggestions on how to reach out to “strangers” and ask for their time and insight.
Appreciate your ongoing contributions to our improvement…
PJ
Hey PJ, how you approach them depends on what you need but for a nonfiction book, consider using beta readers for individual chapters relating to your beta reader’s expertise, rather than for the whole manuscript. You’ll have better success that way. And flatter them. That’s almost a given when you’re asking someone to do something because of their knowledge and expertise — if they didn’t have lots of both, you wouldn’t be contacting them, right?
In general, when you write nonfiction, you want to be plugged into that topic’s community. Maybe you can do that going forward, rather than working in isolation?
Sandy