on Writers Helping Writers:

When I wrote book 2 in my The Fountain Series, The West Woods, I posted on social media to get Beta Readers, and had 61 people offer. *Facepalm*. I didn’t want to sift through 61 opinions on my book, but I did need a gut check from fans of the series.

Would they like it as much as Book 1?
Would they accept that Book 2 is a prequel?
Would they forgive my main character, Courtney, for the things she did in Book 1?

These were the worries I had. So, from the 61, I invited a dozen, including teens and adults who read Young Adult. (Fun fact if you write for Young Adults – Adults are the ones who buy the books, and also the ones who review them, because kids don’t have Amazon accounts, so you need to make sure your book satisfies them too!)

Now, if you are lucky enough to find Beta Readers, treat them like gold. They are not your proofreaders. They are not editors. And unless they are also writers, they may not have the skills to suggest how you can improve your book. The skill you need from them is being readers, and letting them react to the story you’ve written.