David who is now writing under the name D.B. Jackson has been writing science fiction and fantasy for over 15 years. I met David when he and his family were living in a Australia a few years back. We’ve managed to catch up once at a Worldcon in Denver, which was very cool. Worldcons are good for that. (BTW next worldcon is in Chicago, called Chicon. Link is here.)
In very exciting news, David has a historical fantasy coming out with Tor in July. It’s called Thieftaker, which is set in Boston, August 26, 1765. Here is a link to David’s website.
Because I think the cover is very cool, I snaffled the image and put it here. I am hoping to get David back later for an interview about his new book.
1. How many beta readers do you have and how long have you used beta readers in your writing process?
Beta readers come in various forms. For the first few books of my career, my main Beta reader was my wife. She would read my books one chapter at a time — I’d finish a chapter, and she would read it, give me feedback, and tell me to get back to work. As I started my second series, she told me that she wanted to try reading one of my books the way my regular readers do: All at once when it was finished. She still gave me feedback as a Beta, but by that time, I was starting to turn to my agent as a first reader. And for the longest time, my main Betas were my agent and my editor at Tor.
Recently, I have been writing more books and stories before they’re contracted — I’ve written four books in the last two years that were not already sold, and so I’ve started relying on Beta readers more heavily than ever. I have a handful of people — all fellow writers — who I rely on for feedback. There are maybe three or four in all. I don’t like to share my work with too many people before it’s ready, and frankly I find that after a while feedback from too many people becomes counterproductive.
2. In what ways do beta readers assist you in developing your novel for publication?
Like my editor and agent, my Betas help me identify elements of my narrative, character work, and worldbuilding that don’t work. This is why I tend to rely on professional writers as my readers, because they know nearly as well as my editor, what kinds of issues can hold a book back. For books that are not yet contracted, this helps me polish so that my agent and I can make the sale. For books that are already under contract, my Betas can help me anticipate issues that my editor might otherwise identify, thus compressing the revision process and, ideally, speeding up production.
3. Do all your beta readers pick up the same points?
Definitely not. Well, let me qualify that. Sometimes my manuscripts might have problems that are so egregious, so obvious that everyone who reads the book notices. But usually my readers will give me feedback on different things. Just as every writer is unique, so too is every reader. We all notice different things; we all respond well to certain aspects of a book and find fault with certain problems. That’s one of the reasons why one Beta reader probably isn’t enough.
4. Do you sometimes target your beta readers to particular areas based on the experience you had with them in the past? For example, one reader is good at plot holes, another reader is good at grammatical issues and another might be good at style. Or do you take what comes?
I tend to gravitate toward readers who are good at noticing certain issues. I don’t necessarily choose one person for plotting and another for prose. But at this point I’ve been doing this long enough and have written enough books that I have a pretty good idea of what I’m good at and on which aspects of my writing I need feedback. So, for instance, I have a lot of confidence in my character work and in my voice. But I am less confident in my plotting, and so I tend to send my work to writers who I know are very good at weaving together narratives.
5. Do you always want the same thing from the beta reader for each novel? For example, when you have deadlines and only have time for high-level feedback?
What I want from a reader tends to vary more with the manuscript than with the reader. In other words, I usually have some idea of what might be the weak points in a manuscript, and so I might tell a Beta reader “Hey, I think that the plotting flags a bit about two-thirds of the way through the book. Let me know if you think so, too, and what I ought to do about it.” Or something like that.
6. How hard is it to find a good beta reader?
I think it’s pretty hard. Finding readers is easy. Finding people with the qualities I value in a Beta reader — that’s much harder. What qualities do I mean? Well, I want my Betas to be writers themselves, to understand that writing process and be willing to bring that experience to bear on my work. They also need to understand the market. They need to be able to articulate their criticisms clearly. And finally, I want my readers to be good enough friends that I can trust them to be honest with me about my work, and also trust them to tell me when they don’t have the time to read something. The last thing I want is to worry that I’m burdening a friend who has work of his or her own to do.
7. Do you have any advice for readers who want to be beta readers or even editors in the long run? For example, what type of commentary to you prefer?
I think the best advice I can give is to remember that when you’re reading for a friend or colleague, you’re trying to make his or her book as good as it can be on its terms. You’re not trying to turn his or her book into something resembling your own work. Rather, you’re helping refine someone else’s book. I’ve been very fortunate to work most of my career with the same editor. He understands my work and finds ways to improve my work without changing my voice or my artistic vision. That’s something that my Betas have managed to do, too. And that’s what has made their feedback so valuable.
Thanks for that interview David. I find it interesting that like Glenda Larke you are relying more on beta readers further down your career. Mind you, you do seem to be writing a lot lately. Four books in two years, why that’s just prolific!
Donna
Donna Maree Hanson, Author, Phd in Creative Writing 
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