Once an author has completed their manuscript and decided that they want beta readers to provide feedback on it ahead of publication, they can book the Hidden Gems Beta Reader service.  This service connects authors with beta readers of their genre that will read their unpublished manuscript and provide feedback on it via a questionnaire made up of questions that the author provides designed to drill into the areas that they want feedback on (or even more general, open-ended questions).

Authors already familiar with our ARC program will see many similarities in how the Beta Reader service works, but there are also a number of differences so it is recommended you read through this question (and the rest of the FAQ) carefully before ordering.

Before you can even start the booking process though, you must have an author account in our system. This account gives you access to your Author Dashboard, which some authors may have already signed up for in order to be able to view or edit their ARC or Newsletter orders.  If not, you can quickly sign up for one – it only takes a moment, and all it asks for is for you to create a username and password. 

The reason this account is required before booking is that your dashboard is a much more integral part of the process for the Beta Reader service than it has been for ARC or Newsletter orders.  It not only allows you to view or edit your existing orders, but allows you to create/edit your questionnaire, view your results, rate the readers that participated and even block or request them from participating in any of your future beta reading jobs.

Once you have an author account, you can select a date from the booking calendar and begin filling out your order form.  One other major difference you may notice between this service and the ARC is that you do not pick your genre first, before booking your date.  Instead, you book your date and then select up to 3 different genres that your book may fit into.  And of course, you can still also further define your book through a more freeform sub-categories field.

Because of all of the factors that go into determining the price of the beta reader service, as you fill in the various fields, your final price estimate will automatically update at the bottom of your order form so that you can see it before clicking to complete your order and pay your deposit.  If all of your info stays as entered, this will be your final price.  However, as some info may change by the time we send out the sign up for your book, that number may change.  It’s important to note, however, that while it may change to a higher or lower amount due to changes to your info that you make (for example, if you originally indicate wanting to ask readers 15 questions but then later decide to ask 12 (which would make your price lower) or 20 (which would make your price higher), any changes that come from us would only make you price lower (for example, if you asked for 5 beta readers but only 3 signed up).

Also note that unlike the ARC, the deadline to get in all of your updated info AND book files is 3 days prior to your scheduled date.  This is because beta readers get the sign up information about your book 2 days prior to your scheduled date, and included in that info is the amount that they will be paid for completion of the questionnaire for your book.  That amount is dependent on the details of your order and book, like number of questions and number of words, and thus we have to have all of that information finalized before that email goes out.

It is up to the author to make sure that these deadlines are met, and failure to meet these deadlines means that your service may be cancelled and no refunds are given for your deposit as it was used to hold your date and prevented others from booking it.

These dates will also be noted on your booking confirmation email (make sure to whitelist us if you haven’t already, as it is all too common for emails to be lost or hidden to overly aggressive spam filters) and on your order edit forms. 

Once potential beta readers sign up, they will be sent the book and the questionnaire which they have until the due date (determined by how many days you allowed on your order form) to submit their completed questionnaire.

The day after your due date (or earlier if ALL questionnaires have been submitted early) you will be sent an email with an excel file of the questionnaire answers.  These answers will also be available via your dashboard.

At this point the job is complete, however authors are highly encouraged to rate the beta readers that participated as that helps us monitor whether or not the readers continue to provide useful feedback to authors.

Sample timeline:

Here is an example timeline for a book scheduled for May 10^th that is allowing readers 10 days to read before completed questionnaires are due.

• May 7^th – All book info must be entered into your order, questionnaire questions must be completed and submitted, and book files must be uploaded
• May 8^th – Details of your book are emailed to all beta readers signed up to at least one of the genres you entered on your order form
• May 9^th – Final invoice is sent via Paypal based on your book details and reader sign ups
• May 10^th – Selected Beta Readers can download your book and fill out the questionnaire answers when ready (this counts as day 1 of the 10 days they have to read)
• May 19^th – This is the final day that readers can submit their completed questionnaires
• May 20^th – Questionnaire responses and wrap up will be emailed to author