Beta readers are often the first people to read a story, and that they help to polish stories into finished products.
A good beta reader is usually paid and serves a key purpose in the writing process. There are many online resources to find Beta readers Fiverr for instance. Choose ones that suit you and your budget.
One should never enlist friends or family as a beta reader. Typically, such readers will only say nice things. What an author needs is honest feedback on how the story hangs together.
There is often a blur between Alpha and Beta Readers. Sometimes only a beta reader is used to review a finished manuscript BEFORE it goes into formal editing and (eventually) publication. The Alpha Reader can often be used to review a first draft. Alphas should approach your work as a writer-reader, someone to help you find the holes and disjointed edges.
Grammar and typos are not important especially at the Alpha stage. They should be looking at the big picture. What’s working? What feels weak? What makes sense in your author’s head may not translate to the page? Alphas will help you find the major points to strengthen, and the weak points that may not need to be there.
Take time to talk with your alpha (or beta) reader, take some time to consider their feedback and make revisions. Remember that you are the author, the artist, the creator, and have the final say. If your alpha says to make a drastic change that goes against your gut, consider working with that issue to strengthen it. Listen to your readers but go with your author instincts and tell YOUR STORY.
Like alpha readers, Beta Readers are also looking at the big picture, but they approach the work as casual readers.
While they can be fellow writers, you’re looking for people to read your work as an average reader, not as if they were writing the book themselves or analyzing your craft. They should come to the text blindly, without being primed. You’ll want to ask these people what they liked and what they didn’t.
Who needs them?
All writers do.
Even great writers such as T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound shared their writing with each other. Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Gertrude Stein read each other’s work. And you’ll find a similar circle in most any program. The author created the story and lives in it. What all authors need are people who don’t live in the story and tell us what they see on the page.
This is how we find out what we are trying to achieve, and what is working.