Alphas, Betas, and CPâs, Oh My!!
The writing world is full of esoteric terms and weird abbreviations. If youâre a part of writing Twitter, you see a LOT of them.
An event is coming up shortly called #CPMatch, hosted by Megan Lally (link). Maybe youâve heard of a CP before and are wondering what to expect from a CP before you participate in this event on the 15th!
Whatâs a CP?
In writing, CP stands for Critique Partner. The key word here is âpartner.â Most often, they will critique your work, and you in return will critique theirs.
Finding a good CP can be difficult. Not everyone is great at giving thoughtful, fair feedback on their first try. And, of course, you may find yourself matched with a very nice person who just isnât a good fit for your project.
To avoid this: if you think youâve met a good partner, I recommend swapping your first two chapters. The first chapter is often the most polished, and sometimes there will be a drop in quality in chapter two. Maybe thatâs exciting for youâyouâll be able to give a lot of notes and may help your new CP completely overhaul their story. However, itâs best to be very open with one another about what sorts of changes youâre comfortable making, and how intense you expect your critiques to be.
Another note: you have to be passionate about the manuscript (MS) you read. If itâs not your cup of tea, you will be spending a lot of time and mental energy thinking about this book that you arenât crazy about. Itâs the same reason an agent will sometimes reject saying âItâs just not for me.â
Itâs far better to tell your potential CP âThank you for thinking of me, but Iâm not a good fit for thisâ instead of reading their whole MS only to give half-hearted comments.
The key to a healthy CP relationship is lots of communication. If youâve found a potential CP, be clear with them about what sort of feedback you hope to receive. If youâre on a time constraint, give them lots of notice. Donât be that guy who says âRead this in two days and give me a ten page report.â Remember, youâre reading and critiquing each otherâs works FOR FREE. Youâre doing one another a service. Be kind, be understanding, and be patient.
Donât commit yourself to something you donât have time for. Just because CPmatch is coming up doesnât mean that your draft OR your calendar is ready to commit to reading for a CP just yet. Donât rush into this partnership. Make sure that you are able to give back and give good help to your CP, who is helping you in return!
 Whatâs an alpha?
An alpha is an alpha reader. Theyâre someone who reads your first draft even while you are still writing it. Usually, this means they are someone you trust, and someone whoâs there to cheerlead you or ask prompting questions. Maybe they want to know what happens to side character. Or maybe theyâre there just to tell you âI love this idea and youâre executing it so well!â
You donât always need an alpha in your writing process.
Sometimes you can write better if you know you can write a full draft without anyone seeing it. And sometimes a friend reading and saying âwhen can I get the next chapter?â helps nudge you along and actually finish your draft!
 Whatâs a beta?
Betas read your finished draft. Unlike a Critique Partner, you donât have to critique your betaâs work in return.
You decide what expectations you have of your betas. Itâs best to be upfront in general about what you expect of your betas; for example, if you are looking for general thoughts, compliments, critiques AND compliments, or notes on a specific element (like character, narrative voice, tory structure, or a plot element you arenât sure about).
Some tips:
Be careful about choosing your betas â and how many! Getting a flood of feedback can be overwhelming. Iâd recommend maybe 5 beta readers to start out. That way, your feedback will be varied, and if you see consistencies between betasâ comments, youâll know what you definitely need to fix in your story. If you end up revising from your betasâ feedback, you can ask your original betas if you can send it again, or maybe you can find a new group of five to try your MS out on.
Rememberâbetas are reading YOUR BOOK! If you are sending your book to new people or acquaintances, make sure you can trust them and that theyâll be kind to you. Itâs nice to have a mix of people whoâve read your previous work AND people who have never read this iteration of your MS before.
Give your betas a generous deadline. Just like I said for CPsâyour betas are real people with busy lives. A deadline is nice to have (because sometimes you may NEVER get your notes back), but make sure that it is fair and clear from the beginning. I gave my betas around 6 weeks to read and give feedback, but I let them know that if that wasnât possible or they needed some wiggle room, I was happy to give it.
Be open-minded. You will get some feedback you donât want to hear. You will get some feedback you totally disagree with. You will get some feedback that may even hurt. You never have to apply any feedback you donât want to. HOWEVER, itâs best to reflect on feedback before tossing it to the side. Sometimes a suggested change will actually lead to a stronger story, even if itâs a difficult change to make or may go against your original creative vision.
GOOD LUCK! I hope you are soon able to find the perfect teammates for your MS! Here again is the link for #CPMatch, and feel free to contact me on Twitter at @catbakewell if you would be interested in joining my ongoing Slack Group for querying and revising writers.













