Beta reading for short stories

Beta reading is an excellent way to develop your craft as a writer. Feedback on your own story shows you which parts resonate and which aren't hitting the reader the way you intended.

Giving feedback is just as useful as getting it. You help another writer, and reading their story closely shows you what keeps you engaged and what puts you off. Once you know that, you'll notice it the next time you edit your own work.

On Fiction League you can swap short stories with another writer for private, honest feedback. You share a story with up to four questions you'd like answered, and your partner reads it and answers each one. It's free, and it's made for short fiction of up to about 8,000 words.

What is a beta reader?

A beta reader is someone who reads a draft of your story before you send it out and tells you honestly how it came across.

Once you've written a story, you can't read it the way anyone else will. You know where it's going and what the narrator is keeping back, so you can't tell whether any of that comes across on the page. A beta reader comes to it cold, and can tell you where their attention drifted and whether the ending landed.

That's different from an edit. A beta reader isn't there to fix your sentences. They're there to tell you what it was like to read the story, which is the one thing you can't find out on your own.

Questions to ask your beta reader

Ask a reader "What did you think?" and you'll usually hear "I liked it." That's kind, but it doesn't tell you what to change. Specific questions get specific answers, so on Fiction League you ask up to four of them, a sentence each. Your reader answers each one, then adds anything else they noticed.

A few vague questions, and what to ask instead:

• Instead ofDid you like it?

  TryWhere did you stop wanting to know what happens next?

• Instead ofIs the ending good?

  TryDid the ending feel earned, or did it come out of nowhere?

• Instead ofIs the twist clever?

  TryDid you guess the twist before the last page?

• Instead ofIs it too long?

  TryWas there a scene you'd have cut?

It helps to ask about the parts you're least sure of, since there's not much to learn from asking about the bits you know work. And keep each question to one thing, so your reader isn't left choosing which half to answer.

How beta reading works on Fiction League

Once you reach League 2, switch on "Open to beta reading" and add a line about what you write. Other writers can then find you and send an invite, and you can invite anyone who's listed. An invite lasts 14 days. You can decline without the other writer being told, and stop them inviting you again if you'd rather.

When an invite is accepted, either of you can share a story. Paste it in, or pick one of your tournament entries once its tournament has finished, and add your questions. Your partner's answers stay private as a draft until they send them, and then you can send one reply. There's no chat, just the feedback and the reply.

You can have one story waiting with each partner at a time, and share the next once their feedback is in. You can have up to ten partners, so if you'd like more than one opinion on a story, share it with two or three of them.

Who the readers are

Everyone you can swap with has reached League 2, which means they've finished at least three tournaments or won one. Along the way they've read and voted on other writers' stories blind, without knowing who wrote them, so they're used to reading closely and deciding what works.

It also means you can't start straight away. You'll need to reach League 2 yourself, by finishing three tournaments or winning one. Tournaments are free to enter, and your stories are read and voted on by other writers while you get there.

Privacy

Nothing you share is public. Only your partner can read it, and we won't publish it or use it for promotion. If something is reported, a moderator may look at it.

Either of you can end the partnership at any time. Your partner then loses access to your stories, and you keep yours, with any feedback, in My stories. You can also withdraw a story at any time.

Common questions

Is beta reading on Fiction League free?

Yes, like the tournaments.

How long can my story be?

Up to 50,000 characters, which is about 8,000 words. That's long enough for most short story competitions and magazines, and flash fiction is welcome too.

Can I share a story I've entered in a tournament?

Yes, once that tournament has finished. You give it a title when you share it, since tournament entries don't have one. You can also paste in anything else you've written.

How do I find a beta reader on Fiction League?

Reach League 2, then open the Beta reading page. It lists the writers who are open to beta reading, most recently active first, each with a line about what they write. Invite one, and once they accept you can share a story.