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Sooner or later the time will come when I might need a beta reader to look over my novel. I have never tried that sort of thing on a large scale, but experiences with acquaintances and friends to whom I had given some of my writings are enough to make me believe that it would perhaps be wiser to actually pay strangers to read my work. Not only will the later be less concerned with hurting my feelings, they will also be more likely to take their task serious. All too often have I seen friends acting all excited and flattered when I gave them my manuscript, only to find out later that they merely read a few pages and then forgot about the rest. That kind of hurtful insincerity can actually harm a friendship. It seems far safer to me, therefore, to entrust people other than friends and family with such a job. What experiences, if any, have you had with beta readers? 

"Do not harden your heart for fear of pain. Love does not tread where it cannot leave its footprints." — Tehtena, Queen Makeda's Sister