Having a list of questions to ask beta readers can help streamline the process and make it easier for both sides - readers know what you're looking for and how to respond, and you can compile all similar feedback to help you really pinpoint the parts of your story that need attention!

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Below, you'll find template questions I used when doing beta reader work on DARKWIND, the first book in THE STARCHASER SAGA. The first group is a template of the questions I used round by round (about every five-ten chapters) to figure out where the problem spots were. The second group is a template of questions I asked at the end to get the readers' overall feeling of the book.

Please feel free to adjust these based on your book and what you're looking for from your beta readers!

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General Round:

1.     What were your thoughts after reading these chapters?

2.     What was your favorite scene and why? 

3.     What was your least favorite scene and why?

4.     Do you have any predictions about what's to come?

5.   What do you think of (the main character) at this point? Do her motivations and choices make sense to her character? 

6. Any other thoughts?

 

Final Round:

1. Did the story hold your interest from the very beginning? If not, at which parts did it fall through?

2. Did you get oriented fairly quickly at the beginning to the parameters of the fantasy world? 

3.  Could you relate to The Main Character(s)? Did you find her goals and how she carried them out believable? 

4. Did the setting interest you and did the descriptions seem vivid and real?

5. At any point did the story lag or drag on?  

6. Were there any parts you found confusing or frustrating?

7. Did you notice any discrepancies or inconsistencies? 

8. Were the character voices and personas distinct enough that they did not all blur together? 

9. Did the dialogue keep your interest and sound natural to you, particularly given the story setting?

10. Was there enough conflict and high stakes, and were those tensions believable to you?

11. Did you enjoy the ending? Did things resolve too quickly, too slowly, or not enough? 

12. Do you think the writing style suits the genre? Were there any obvious anachronisms or modernisms? 

13. Did you feel that character choices made sense in the context of the characters themselves?