Beta Reader’s Questionnaire
This questionnaire is designed to assist beta readers in critiquing any issues identified during their reading of In the Beginning… A Prequel
Your Reaction.
- Did the beginning draw you into the story and leave you wanting to know more? If not, what seemed to be missing?
- Does any part of the story drag? Which part?
- If you skipped parts to get to "the good part," what parts did you skip?
- Do I over-inform anywhere? (Also known as “info-dumping.”)
- Did any part make you think, "Are you serious?", or "As if..."? Which ones?
- Did the ending leave you satisfied; yet leave you still wondering about the characters? If not, what went wrong?
- This is the sixth book, actually the prequel, in a series that follows the same characters and uses a continuously evolving plotline. Aside from that, did the story leave any unanswered questions? If so, which ones?
- Which part of the story was the best?
- Which part of the story was the worst?
Clarity.
- Did you understand every phrase/term I used? (If I used a phrase or word made up for the genre, did I make it clear in the surrounding text what that made-up term meant?)
- Have I explained enough so that someone unfamiliar with this genre (international espionage/geopolitical intrigue) would understand everything they read?
- Was I clear about how the Dogs could be genetic freaks?
Flow of the Story.
- Given that there are several subplots mixed in throughout the narrative, do the scenes lead logically into the next?
- Is there enough downtime between intense scenes to allow build-up to the next?
- I didn’t use flashbacks – would that device have helped? Where in the story?
- Do I repeat whole scenes that don’t need to be repeated? If so, which ones?
- If you could change any scene or scenes in the story, which ones and why?
- If there was one scene you could remove from the story, which one and why?
- Was there a nice clean scene-break or chapter break between each change in point of view?
Visual Perception.
- Can you see every action clearly in your mind like a movie?
- Could you see what the characters clearly looked like?
- Could someone who was not familiar with the genre see what the characters looked like clearly?
- If you went there in real life, would you recognize the locations?
- How do the settings work with the story?
- Did you have to reread any part of the action sequences to understand who did what?
- Was the inclusion of a Cast of Characters in the front of the book useful?
- Did I forget to describe their clothes, their hair, their eyes, any other distinctive feature that pertains to a specific character? Which ones?
Other Sensory Perceptions.
- Did I misuse any other senses during the story? A scent that is unfamiliar? A touch done wrong? A sound misheard? A taste that is off?
Dialogue.
- Does the dialogue sound realistic? If not, what are the problems?
- Could you see what the characters were doing while talking?
- Could you see where the characters were while they were talking?
- Is the dialogue or character’s voice believable and consistent?
The Characters.
- Do the characters act realistic?
- Do their reactions seem logical & realistic?
- Could you feel the emotions between the characters?
- Did the characters seem “in character?” Did any act out of character? If so, which ones and how?
- Would different characters have worked better for this story?
- What character did you like best, empathize with the most, and why?
- What character did you hate, least empathize with, and why?
- Did any character get on your nerves? Who and why?
- Does any one character get in the way of the story? Who and why?
- Was there a character that would have made the story better by being left out? In other words, if you could remove one character from the story, who would it be and why?
Description: In 2 or 3 sentences, please describe this novel. This helps me frame the description of the published book from a reader’s viewpoint rather than the author’s.
Any additional comments?