When I finished my manuscripts, I sent it off to a few people to read first — friends, family, a colleague or two. It felt like the responsible thing to do. What I didn’t do was tell them what to actually look for, so I got a stack of “It’s good!” and not much else.

For most of us Kenyan authors and writers, the first instinct is the same: send it to the people closes to you, rather than strangers from an online writers’ forum. There’s nothing wrong with starting there. Writers Guild Kenya’s self-publishing checklist asks authors directly whether they’ve shared their manuscript with at least three close friends or associates and acted on the feedback before moving forward. Other Kenyan self-publishing guides list a friend or family member who shares your interests as a legitimate first beta reader, right alongside writing groups and online critique communities. So yes: friends, family, colleagues, and neighbours genuinely are beta readers. They’re just not the only kind, and, as I learned, not always the most useful kind on their own.

But how you brief them and work with them can make the difference between a manuscript that flops quietly and one that actually lands.

Besides just shoving the manuscript in their face, what should you ask them?

Here’s what you need to know.

What a Beta Reader Actually Is (And Isn’t)

A beta reader is not your editor, and they’re not your proofreader. Their job is to read your manuscript the way an ordinary reader would. For enjoyment, engagement, and honesty tell you what worked and what didn’t.

They are not there to fix your grammar, restructure your chapters, or polish your prose. That’s the work of a professional editor, which comes later. I confused the two roles myself when I was starting out. I expected a line edit, my beta readers gave impressions and gut reactions, and we all walked away a little frustrated. It’s one of the most common mistakes new authors make.

Before You Send Anything: Get Your Manuscript Ready

Don’t hand over a first draft riddled with unfinished thoughts and placeholder notes like “[fix this later]” or “[insert market scene description].” Beta readers can’t judge pacing or character arcs if they’re constantly tripping over incomplete sections.

Before sending your manuscript out, do this:

• Finish the full draft. Beta reading works best on a complete manuscript, not fragments. Partial manuscripts make it hard for readers to judge pacing and payoff.
• Do a self-edit pass. Fix obvious typos, tighten repetitive scenes, and make sure the story flows from beginning to end without gaping holes.
• Format it cleanly. Use a readable font, clear chapter breaks, and consistent spacing. A messy Word document signals to your reader that the work isn’t ready, and it colours how seriously they engage with it.
• Decide on your feedback format. Will readers comment directly in a Google Doc, mark up a printed copy, fill in a questionnaire, or have a phone call with you afterwards? Decide this upfront so you’re not scrambling to collect scattered WhatsApp voice notes later.
• Specify what kind of feedback you want, before they start reading. Should they flag grammar and typos as they go, or are you only after content and story feedback at this stage? Say so upfront, otherwise you’ll get a mixed bag that’s hard to act on.
• Point them to the parts you’re unsure about. If there’s a chapter, character, or plot twist you’re not confident about, tell your reader before they start. You don’t have to wait for them to stumble on it, asking directly gets you a more useful answer.

Finding Beta Readers in Kenya

I used to think beta readers just meant whoever. I’ve since learned that’s a fine place to start, but it’s not the whole picture. The people who love you most aren’t always the people best placed to tell you the truth about your book. Good beta readers, I’ve come to realise, are found a little more deliberately than that.

Here’s where to look, beyond just your inner circle:

• Fellow authors: a reciprocal arrangement, where you beta read for someone else in exchange for them reading yours.
• Writer’s groups and workshops: full of people who read critically and already understand story structure, pacing, and character.
• Online writing communities: Kenyan writing Facebook groups, Twitter/X literary spaces, and WhatsApp writing circles are increasingly active and full of people willing to trade beta reads.
• Book clubs: members read widely and can tell you honestly whether your book would survive their monthly picks.
• Target readers outside the writing world: if your novel is aimed at young professionals, teenagers, or rural readers, find a few people who genuinely fit that profile. They’ll tell you the truth about whether the book works for the audience it’s meant for.

Aim for 3 to 5 beta readers, and don’t let all of them be people who already love you. Fewer than that and you might just be hearing one person’s taste. More than that, and you’ll drown in contradictory feedback.

If you do include friends, family, or colleagues in that mix, go in with your eyes open. People close to you may soften their honest reactions because they don’t want to hurt you, or they may not read widely enough to spot craft problems. That’s not a reason to cut them out entirely. It’s a reason to also bring in one or two readers who don’t already love you, and to ask your close readers directly for honesty, which I’ll get to below.

What to Ask Your Beta Readers to Look For

Give your beta readers direction. Left completely open-ended, most people will only comment on typos, because that’s the easiest thing to spot. Point them toward the things that actually matter at this stage:

• Story and plot: Did the story hold together? Were there parts that dragged or felt rushed? Did the ending feel earned?
• Characters: Did they believe in the characters? Did anyone feel flat, inconsistent, or hard to root for?
• Pacing: Where did they lose interest, if anywhere? Where did they not want to put the book down?
• Setting and cultural authenticity: If your book is set in Kenya, does the world feel real? Are the details of place, food, transport, language, and daily life accurate and specific, rather than generic?
• Dialogue and language: Does the dialogue sound like how people actually speak? If you’re mixing English, Kiswahili, Sheng, or a local language, does the code-switching feel natural rather than forced?
• Emotional impact: Did particular scenes make them feel something… laugh, tear up, get angry? Or did the big emotional beats fall flat?
• Clarity and confusion: Were there points where they had to re-read a passage to understand what was happening?
• Believability: Are there plot points, character decisions, or details that felt implausible or inconsistent?

Questions to Ask Your Beta Readers

Structured questions get you far more useful feedback than “so, what did you think?”.  Here’s a solid set to adapt to your own project. Add anything you’re personally wondering about, and don’t feel obligated to use every single one.

Opening and general impressions

1. Were you gripped from the beginning, or did it take a while to get into the book? If you were gripped, what made the opening intriguing? If not, what would you have done differently?
2. Who do you think this book is for? Would you recommend it, and to whom?
3.  Did you find the book dragging in any places, or did you struggle through any specific chapters?

Ending and reflection
4. How did you feel immediately after finishing the novel?
5. What are your thoughts on the ending?
6. What would you say the message of this novel is? What lingering thought did it leave you with, if any?
7. How does it feel saying goodbye to these characters and this world?
8. Do you still have any questions that feel unanswered? Do you feel they need to be?

Story and structure
9. Was there anything in the book that didn’t make sense to you?
10. Do you wish anything in the novel had played out differently?
11. Is there anything you wanted to know or hear more about? Anything you’d rather have known less about?
12. Did you notice any major plot holes or inconsistencies?