Choosing the right professional feedback for your fiction
A look at how beta reading, manuscript assessment and developmental editing stack up against one another
An overwhelming assortment of free or relatively inexpensive opportunities exist for fiction writers to learn about the craft of writing and to gain support in getting their writing done. Classes, courses, webinars, workshops, writers’ groups, conferences, online forums and communities, blogs and social media are available in abundance. What’s harder to find is free or inexpensive feedback on what you’ve written – quality feedback of the ‘I’ll read your novel slowly from start to finish and think deeply about how you could improve it’ type.
Every writer needs feedback to realise the potential of their book. Even when you know the building blocks of good storytelling, putting theory into practice can go wrong. And though you’ve lived and breathed your story while writing it, you’re not well placed to decide whether readers will find it satisfying.
If you don’t have a network of trusted writing buddies to exchange manuscripts with, if you don’t want to wait around to see if you’ve won a competition that offers manuscript development or mentorship as the prize, and if you don’t want to start querying agents and submitting to publishers and let rejections be your guide, you can engage professionals to help you.
The three main forms of paid feedback you can seek for your book are:
• Beta reading (here I mean a professional service, not the arrangements writers make with fellow writers)
• Manuscript assessment (also known as manuscript appraisal, manuscript critique or editorial assessment)
• Developmental editing (also called structural editing)
These three services overlap in hazy borderlands. Read a description of any of them and you’ll see plot, characterisation, point of view, pacing, tension, dialogue, theme, setting and voice mentioned, and big picture featured. Unless you have the time and budget for all three services, you’ll need to decide which one or two will be most beneficial to you and your book.
If they all lie on the same feedback spectrum, what are the differences between them? Largely, the differences lie in (1) the lens through which the service provider is looking at your novel, (2) the level of detail they’ll provide about how you handled each storytelling element in your manuscript and (3) how much guidance they’ll give you on what’s still left to do.
Given that a written report is the primary output of all three services, how can you gauge how much ground each will cover? The assumption that if you pay more, you’ll get more, should apply here. But unless you get all three services for your book – from the same person – this will be hard to measure and confirm. To be fair, it’s difficult for service providers to explain exactly what they’ll do for you; novels are creative works, and each one is unique in what it needs and the amount and nature of feedback it will elicit.
Beta reading is appealing. It can be a fast, budget-friendly way of getting unbiased (even if subjective – readers have their preferences) feedback. You’ll find out quickly if there are any deal-breakers in your story, but you may receive mostly generic comments that are hard to convert to specific improvements in your manuscript.
Developmental editing can be invaluable. It’s more than feedback on your manuscript – it can help your development as a writer. It can be the difference between your book getting noticed by an agent or a publisher and never making it out of the slush pile. But it offers no guarantees of publication. If you find it hard to afford, you’re not sure whether your book needs it or you’re unconvinced of the value an editor will provide, developmental editing is a risky investment and a daunting prospect.
Manuscript assessments, which can be seen as a hedge-your-bets option between the first impressions of a beta read and the deep insight of a developmental edit, feel safe. But they aren’t as well defined in purpose and perspective (reader enjoyment? commercial viability? good writing?) as beta reading and developmental editing, which may lead to an inconsistent service across providers. The written report that is the output of a manuscript assessment is correspondingly risky in terms of the amount and detail of feedback you’ll receive. With beta reading, you can’t expect too much; with developmental editing, you should expect a lot. Manuscript assessments have more scope for being varied, and underwhelming.
Manuscript assessments are usually but not always conducted by an editor. Other publishing professionals and experienced authors also offer them. If someone who does or did work in the book industry provides your manuscript assessment, they may include an informed opinion of its potential position in the marketplace. This is a huge advantage of an assessment over a beta read because it’s one thing for readers to like your novel and another to get it into their hands. However, regardless of what the words ‘assessment’ and ‘appraisal’ imply, there’s no real standard against which your book is being compared. Publishing is a fickle industry and no one can tell you whether your book will get picked up by a publisher, except the publisher who offers you a contract.
Depending on how your book journey turns out, a manuscript assessment might not be cost-effective. Your assessor might recommend a developmental edit, or you might decide for yourself a couple of drafts down the track that you need one. The assessment will then have cost money that you could have put into the edit – which could have helped solve your book’s problems earlier, thus saving you time as well as money. Conversely, if you know for sure you’re going to skip developmental editing, getting two or three beta reads (i.e. more than one person’s perspective) rather than one manuscript assessment could give you a better indication of how agents and publishers will react to your book.
The comparison below might provide clarity if you’re uncertain about which type of feedback service you’d like to go ahead with and may also be useful during your search for a provider.
The fiction feedback comparison
Who is the service best suited to?
Beta reading: (1) Writers who want fast, light feedback to check they’re on the right track; (2) writers who feel confident about their work but are looking for areas they could fine-tune before they submit to agents or publishers; and (3) writers who want a range of feedback (i.e. not just from one person)
Manuscript assessment: (1) Writers who want reader feedback but prefer it to come from a professional in the book industry or an experienced (published) author; (2) writers who would like a developmental edit but are unable or unwilling to pay for it; and (3) writers who are at a stage where they are less concerned with improving specific aspects of their story than they are with gaining insight into how their book, overall, will be perceived by publishers
Developmental editing: (1) Writers who plan to self-publish their book (they won’t get any investment in its sales from agents or publishers, and the other forms of feedback might not cover everything); (2) writers who hope to be traditionally published and want to give their book the best chance of acceptance, no matter the cost; and (3) writers who find self-editing/revision difficult (because they’re inexperienced writers or just stuck) or who find making specific improvements from generic feedback difficult
What’s the purpose of the service in a nutshell?
Beta reading: Feedback on how a reader experiences your book and engages with its characters, plot, etc. – what they think is and isn’t working and whether they enjoyed reading it
Manuscript assessment: Feedback (objective, as far as possible) on the strengths and weaknesses of your book, and on where on the path to publication it lies
Developmental editing: Hands-on editorial assistance (combined with a reader’s overall impressions) to improve your book through a detailed investigation into its structure, content and style
Is the service provided by a professional editor?
Beta reading: It often is, as an extension of an editor’s services, but doesn’t need to be
Manuscript assessment: Yes, or a current or ex book industry professional (e.g. agent, commissioning editor), creative writing tutor or experienced author
Developmental editing: Yes
Will I receive a written report?
Beta reading: Yes
Manuscript assessment: Yes
Developmental editing: Yes – some providers opt for detailed manuscript annotations only, but they seem to be outliers
How long will the report be (i.e. reflecting amount and detail of feedback)?
Beta reading: Varies by provider – some use a template reader’s report of questions they’ll answer during the read, which they might share with you beforehand
Manuscript assessment: Varies by provider – some specify the chapter-by-chapter nature of their report (which assures you of some detail), while others only mention big picture feedback
Developmental editing: Varies by provider – the report won’t (and doesn’t need to) cover everything if you’re also getting detailed feedback in manuscript annotations, it will be a summary plus an explanation of overarching or complex issues
Will the manuscript be annotated?
Beta reading: No – some services may do this, but it’s outside the scope of beta reading
Manuscript assessment: Varies by provider but generally no – though they might refer to parts of the manuscript (by page number) in the report to illustrate their points
Developmental editing: Varies by provider – the editor is helping you sometimes down to the paragraph level, so it seems it would be easier for both parties if they annotate the manuscript where specific problems are located, but a detailed report could do the job
Will practical suggestions on how to fix problems be offered?
Beta reading: No – this is outside the scope of beta reading, although good readers will say why they liked or didn’t like something rather than just saying they liked or didn’t like it, and generous readers with ideas might offer them
Manuscript assessment: Varies by provider – some state they provide suggestions for the ‘how’ of implementing the feedback while others don’t mention this
Developmental editing: Yes – the editor provides practical guidance on how to fix problems, though they won’t fix them for you, and, of course, the writer retains creative control
Will commentary on genre, target audience, comparison titles, alignment with trends, commercial viability and market appeal be provided?
Beta reading: No
Manuscript assessment: Varies by provider – feedback along these lines is not always mentioned in service descriptions, but this type of feedback is a key reason to get an assessment
Developmental editing: Not necessarily – the editor is focused on making your book the best it can be regardless of what’s out there in the publishing landscape, but they will use their expertise to inform their comments, for example by considering genre conventions and reader expectations
Will advice on what’s the next step (i.e. revision, copyediting, submission) be provided?
Beta reading: No – the reader may have some thoughts on this, but it won’t necessarily be professional advice
Manuscript assessment: Yes – ‘What’s next?’ is the major reason for getting an assessment
Developmental editing: A post-edit rewrite is inherently the next step after a developmental edit, but the editor may advise you on whether the book is ready for submission after that, or whether it would benefit from copyediting first
Will grammar, punctuation and spelling be corrected?
Beta reading: No
Manuscript assessment: No – but the provider might point out presentation being an overall problem, if it is
Developmental editing: No – but the provider should point out major or recurring problems that are impeding readability
What stage should my manuscript be at?
Beta reading: Early but not first draft – you should (1) have taken your book through enough drafts of self-editing/revision that you can’t see what else you could improve on your own and (2) still be willing to put in the hard work to do a major rewrite if the feedback leans that way
Manuscript assessment: As for beta reading – or if you’ve had unpaid beta reading done (e.g. by another writer), after that
Developmental editing: Typically as for manuscript assessment, but can be any stage where you’re stuck
Can I raise specific concerns about my manuscript for the provider to look at?
Beta reading: Yes, within reason – beta readers don’t spend a long time with your manuscript and they often have a set list of questions to answer about your book in their reader’s report
Manuscript assessment: Yes
Developmental editing: Yes
Does the service accept partial (i.e. incomplete) manuscripts?
Beta reading: No
Manuscript assessment: Not usually, but you could enquire
Developmental editing: Not usually, but you could enquire
Is there the opportunity for a discussion (online call) about the feedback?
Beta reading: No
Manuscript assessment: Maybe – not usually advertised
Developmental editing: Varies by provider – if yes, there may be an additional cost; also, consider how you prefer to receive feedback to act on later (you may want to record the discussion if the feedback is not included in the manuscript or report)
Is the service conducted anonymously?
Beta reading: If it’s an individual provider it can’t be, but if a team of readers is involved, it varies by provider – you may or may not know who your reader is, and they may or may not know who you are (names may be removed from manuscripts)
Manuscript assessment: Providers with a team of assessors (e.g. writers’ centres) might provide an anonymous service, but unless you’re a well-known author, there’s not much bias involved in knowing a stranger’s name (well, there shouldn’t be); note that even if the assessor doesn’t need to know who you are, you might want to know who they are (i.e. that they have relevant expertise)
Developmental editing: No
How much does it cost for an average (80,000–90,000 word) book (Australian dollars)?
Beta reading: Low to mid hundreds, usually calculated as a per word rate
Manuscript assessment: High hundreds to low thousands, usually calculated as a per word rate
Developmental editing: Around 2,000 – most providers advertise a fee based on number of words, though some say they will provide a quote that takes into account both word count and the manuscript’s complexity
What’s the time frame?
Beta reading: Varies by provider – 2 to 4 weeks from booking is a guide
Manuscript assessment: Varies by provider – 6 to 8 weeks from booking is a guide
Developmental editing: Varies by provider – while the service might need to be booked weeks or even months in advance, once a slot is secured, turnaround time shouldn’t be more than 2 weeks
There are no right or wrong answers about the type of feedback you need for your fiction. Agents, publishers and readers are unlikely to be concerned about the route your book has taken to get to them as long as it’s good by the time it does. So go for what suits you best as you take your novel through its developmental stages.
Interested in learning more about what beta reading is and about working with unpaid beta readers (e.g. in informal reciprocal arrangements made with other writers)? See this post for all the details.