Itās been months in the making, but I finally sent my first draft to beta readers. In this video, Iām sharing what itās like sending your novel to beta readers for the first timeāalong with all the nerves, doubts, and āwhat have I doneā moments that come with it. If youāre a writer working on your first draft or getting ready for feedback, youāre not alone in feeling this way.
I talk aboutā¦
– how I prepared my manuscript for beta readers
– what I included when I sent it out
– what Iām hoping to learn from my beta readers
– my fears about getting feedback on my first draft
āBook Cover Design Courses:
āBook Formatting Course (print & ebook formatting):
āWriting Stickers:
āMerch & signed books:
āNewsletter:
PLANNERS – – – – – – – – – –
āMy Writing Planner:
āMy Novel Outline Planner:
āMy Book Launch Planner:
ā2026 Writing Planner (paperback):
ā2026 Writing Planner (printable):
NON-FICTION BOOKS – – – – – – – – – –
āHow Your Book Sells Itself:
āGrow Your Author Platform:
āBook Sales That Multiply:
āSecrets to Selling Books on Social Media:
āPlan a Profitable Book Launch:
FICTION BOOKS – – – – – – – – – –
āRead a free book, Change of Flight:
āSparks in Iceland:
āMeet Me at the Summit:
āLet the Rubble Fall:
āThe Trail to You & Me:
āEssence:
āI am Mercy:
āShe's Not Here:
āMr. Moon's Big Move:
FIND ME ONLINE- – – – – – – – – –
Content for writers: @mandilynnwrites
Content for readers: @authormandilynnbell
MY FAVORITE TOOLS- – – – – – – – – –
āFind KDP keywords and categories, PublisherRocket:
āSend ARCs on NetGalley:
āeBook Formatting, Kotobee Author:
āSocial media graphics, Canva:
āMusic in videos, Epidemic Sound:
āEmail software, Kit:
Mandi Lynn published her first novel when she was seventeen. The author of multiple books, Mandi spends her days continuing to write and creating YouTube videos to help other writers achieve their dreams of seeing their books published. Mandi is the owner of Stone Ridge Books, a company that works to help authors bring their books to life through cover design and digital book marketing. She is also the creator of The Book Launch Planner, a planner designed to help authors publish and market their books. When sheās not creating, you can find Mandi exploring her backyard or getting lost in the woods.
DISCLAIMER: This video and description contain affiliate links. By purchasing a linked product or service, Mandi Lynn will receive a small commission at no additional fee to you.
Title: Sending My Book to Beta Readers (Here's What I Included)
Search terms: writing vlog, author vlog, send to beta readers
#writingtips #indieauthor #selfpublished
So I was a beta reader this time around for project Italy, I wanted to say thank you for letting me read the first draft of the book, i actually just finished the last form today, and I really loved it! ā¤ļøI canāt wait to see it in print and get it on the kickstarter!
Out of curiosity for the kickstarter version will there be an annotated version? I got the annotated version of Sparks in Iceland and absolutely love it! I canāt wait for the kickstarter!!!! ā¤ļø
Ah! So glad you loved the story!!! For annotated copies, Iām not 100% sure if Iām doing them yet. I think Iām going to do a poll and see what people want to see from the Kickstarter!
That purple is a good color on you
Thank you!š
My book is in pre-launch too, but I havenāt 20 followers yet. Iām going to go follow yours, if youāre interested in a swap, I would love that, itās been difficult to find people to swap with since i only do clean books and most of the novels there are spicy, so Iām actually doing more swaps with board games than I am books.
Yeah I had the same problem with my last Kickstarter. I ended up abandoning traditional Kickstarter swaps and did newsletter swaps with closed door romance authors.
Iām not at the point of being ready to arrange swaps yet but feel free to send me your Kickstarter link on Instagram: @authormandilynnbell
wait how do i even find a beta reader (net galley is out of my budgetš)
I just read about booksirens but i dont have any experience with them, but they are cheaper than net galley
If you build a friend group of writers on a social platform you can often find a free beta reader there. What are you writing?
I didnāt use Netgalley (thatās ARCs). I just send out a newsletter asking for beta readers and people filled out a form to apply. Then I picked betas based on who fit best.
Cute baby!
Youāre wearing a Juneau sweatshirt š„¹ thatās my hometown ā„ļøšļø
So cool! We got to visit last year on a cruise!
I’m happy to see you up to working with adjusting to 2 kiddies and postpartum! Keep up the great work, Mandi!