What you give your beta to read should be as close as possible to a finished product (the exception to this would be a situation where you're stuck and your beta has agreed to read what you have and see if they can give you some tips on getting past the sticking point.) That means that you've spellchecked it, looked over the punctuation for errors, read through for correct grammar and missing words (you might be surprised how often words get deleted and not replaced in the rewriting process.) Engaging a beta to, at least in part, look over and recommend corrections to spelling/punctuation/grammar does not mean you're off the hook to get those in as good a shape as possible before sending it on for their review. Not only is that just the decent thing to do, but the more polished it is when you hand it over, the quicker your beta will be able to get it back to you.
This Tumblr post is a FABULOUS place to start, when thinking about how you're going to work with a beta.
Some things you're going to need to negotiate with your beta:
- Timeframes - how long it will take them to provide feedback. Be reasonable in your expectations. Also, if you have requirements as far as when you need to publish - i.e., submitting for a challenge by a particular date, or if you have a regular schedule on which you like to post updates to a WIP, for instance, you need to get the draft to your beta far enough in advance for them to be able to meet your deadline. If that kind of regular update is something you like to do, for that matter, you probably want to tell a prospective beta from the outset - some people don't like to work that way, with the additional pressure of your existing schedule. In any case, you cannot expect to toss a chapter at someone and have them read and comment on it in just a day or two - unless, of course, that was your agreement. If that's the case, mazel tov, because that's a miracle worker, but generally I wouldn't ever expect someone to meet that kind of deadline.
- Scope of review - are you looking for strictly surface changes (proofreading for punctuation/spelling/grammar), or something more in-depth, like characterization, story flow, word choice? Some people even want a beta's insight into possible plot direction for future chapters. Personally, I'm not really comfortable with that depth of involvement - it's their story, after all, but if that's what you want and you find a beta who's willing to bounce ideas around with you on that level, that's terrific. Whatever works for you.
- How you're going to share/access the work; how comments/edits will be made. Given that the kind of technology people have varies so widely, including software, this can be complicated. You can email an attached document, or collaborate online via any of a number of online document sharing services. My preferred method of sharing documents, both as a beta reader for other people and also when I share a story with a beta, is to put everything on Google Drive (Google Docs) and set the document access to "anyone with the link/can comment." My beta can comment but not edit - the comments appear in the margin. PDFs can be commented on in a similar way using Adobe Reader (version X and up) or one of the other PDF utilities available, like Foxit or PDF-XChange. Most are free to download.
Potential concerns about working with a beta:
I don't want to work with a beta because they'll change my story.
From conversations I have had, a lot of people seem to be concerned that a beta is going to change - or want to change - their story. That is not the role of a beta. They may make suggestions about ways to polish your story, and that may include making some changes. But the key is this - you don't have to do anything your beta says. You can even ignore all their suggestions about punctuation/spelling/grammar changes, although I wouldn't really recommend it - after all, you agreed to work with this person, and that kind of change isn't really something subjective, so you should probably trust their judgment, or find someone else whose judgment you do trust.
The bottom line is - it's your story. If your beta doesn't like a word choice, or your herd of wandering commas, or ANYTHING about your writing - you can leave it exactly as it is. But if you trust your beta to have your best interests at heart - take their suggestions seriously. Try it their way and read through that section again. Does it improve the flow?
If your beta tries to get you to change your story in a way you're not comfortable with, or becomes unhappy with you because you decide not to make a change they suggest, then perhaps you should find a different beta.
Can I 'fire' my beta?
If it turns out that your beta reader doesn't give you what you need (their proofreading skills aren't as sharp as you need, they aren't comfortable with your subject matter, you can't reach a compromise on response timelines, WHATEVER) it's perfectly acceptable to recruit a second reader, or a third, or a twenty-fifth, although I imagine it would be confusing to try to keep all of them straight. You can 'fire' your beta, or maintain your relationship with them for the things they do well for you.
Do I have to give my beta credit?
I ran across this one recently (not personally, but in something I read) - where the author stated that her beta reader wanted co-author credit for the editing advice they'd given. Unless the other person actually contributed to creating the story - had the idea, wrote the words, etc. - they aren't entitled to credit as co-author. Your thanks (usually included in the author's notes) for their service as beta should be enough.
Be kind to your beta
Your beta is a volunteer and receives nothing in return for providing you that service than your (publicly-expressed at the time your story goes live) undying appreciation and the enjoyment of getting first look at your story. In light of that minimal pay, please respect that your beta also has a life. If you've come to a mutual agreement about timelines and your beta finds they are not able to meet them and notifies you about that, you have a couple of choices: you can adapt your mindset and wait for them, or you can get someone else to read the work. Assuming the delay issue is temporary and you'd like to maintain the existing beta relationship, that can be a stopgap until they're available again. What I hope you don't do is freak out on your beta.
If you have agreed-upon timelines and your beta is not meeting them and not communicating, then maybe you need to look at terminating that relationship. For that matter, if timelines continue to be an issue, even with communication, you have every right to look for someone who can meet those timelines. It doesn't have to be a hostile situation - sometimes life gets out of hand, despite best intentions. As I said before, part amicably and move on.
Questions? feel free to send me a PM.
-- subversivegrrl