Writing.Com General Discussion

Generally speaking, I wouldn't advise hiring betas on Fiverr or paying editors, though this is only my personal philosophy and you're free to discard it. You may be able to find good ones, but paid betas, whether they realize it's what they're doing or not, will often (but not always) be too nice, because—after all—you're paying them, and they want to get good reviews. If you do have the disposable income to hire a paid beta or editor, definitely do your homework and find one worth the investment.

I'd recommend seeking out critique partners, not paid editors or beta/alpha readers. Critique partners are usually serious authors/aspiring authors who are peers and who are aiming for the same path as you. (If you're aiming for traditional publishing, look for authors who are aiming for that, too. If you're hoping to self-publish, seek out serious aspiring indie authors.) The most important part of having a critique partner is that you generally share work with each other. Receiving critique is a helpful and useful learning experience, but giving critique teaches you at least as much. I'd argue it teaches you more. To that end, it might not be a bad idea to join (or create) a critique group here on WdC.

(Plus, it's free, and if you're aiming for traditional publishing, you shouldn't be paying for anything, ideally. Money should flow toward the author.) If you're aiming for independent/self-publishing, it's a bit of a different matter, since the author often puts a little more of their own resources behind a book in order to get a bigger slice of the earnings pie at the end, but CPs are still valuable if you're aiming to self publish!

There are serious critique groups here on WdC, of course, and I recommend them wholeheartedly, but you might also have luck on sub-Reddits like r/BetaReaders. If you're aiming for traditional publishing, r/PubTips is a good one, as well—you can post your query letter and get incredibly useful feedback.