Beta Readers

Now, one thing you might want to think about are the people who are going to be reading your draft. You definitely want someone else's opinion, because you're the writer, and that will distort how you read and judge your book. You need someone from the outside, even if it is just your parent or a close friend, you do want to get someone to read it, though you should probably get someone who will judge honestly.

If you're one of those people who have lots of friends eager to read and review your book, well, I'm jealous. None of my friends went beyond the first few chapters. That might seem like they didn't like it, but usually it is just because they have other things to do.

You probably don't want someone reading your first draft. Trust me, when you'll get to editing it, you'll thank yourself for not letting someone else take a look at it. Now, I'd say it's when you don't start changing major things during your later revisions that you should get someone else to read it.

And one last thing, don't mention that someone liked your book in a query letter. It means nothing to an agent/publisher, and of course if you asked someone they're not about to say your book is horrible if it actually is.