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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/36707
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

We have several questions on beta readers, including [this](https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/1529/where-is-a-good-place-to-find-beta-readers) one on how writers can find beta readers. How does it work from the other side? How can a non-beta reader make the "jump" and start beta reading?

There is a question [here](https://writing.stackexchange.com/questions/6533/can-i-improve-my-beta-reading-skills-to-aid-a-close-persons-writings) on how someone who is already a beta reader can improve their beta reading skills, but that's a different kind of opposite to my question. If a person more-or-less _already has what it takes_ to be a beta reader but they lack the social connections (e.g. they are unknown to writers, don't have provable experience, don't have any letters at the end of their name, etc.) to get that first beta reading opportunity, _how, generally, can that be overcome?_

Are there any best practices for getting "spotted" as an up-and-coming beta reader?

- Should one attempt to join and lurk around writers' groups, and, when asked, say that one is there to become a beta reader?
- Should one _become a writer_ and gain recognition as such as a necessary prerequisite to qualifying as a beta reader, even if writing is not one's goal or interest?
- Is there a formal qualification to earn that signals to writers that one is ready to start beta reading (e.g. a degree, diploma, certification, high score on a literacy test, etc.)?
- Are there organizations that one can apply to to be matched with an aspiring writer?

This is not intended to be a primarily opinion-based question, at least not any more than the questions we have here already about _finding_ beta readers. I'm asking about best practices, or typical practices if best practices do not exist.

If it is essentially impossible to become a beta reader of one's own initiative (e.g. if initial beta reading opportunities for readers with no beta-reading experience are typically only given out to people who find themselves in the right place at the right time, and identifying how to locate the right place and identify the right time is essentially impossible), that's an answer.

If the best practice differs by genre, that's also an answer. E.g., "If you want to beta read romance, call this number for placement. If you want to read SFF, call this other number. If you are primarily interested in mystery, you need to pass the National Advanced Examination in Mystery Literature with a score of at least 80%. If you want to beta-read children's books, you need to be a licensed public school teacher, school librarian, pediatrician, or child psychologist."

Original score: 27