There are times during beta reading where you may feel like you’re at a standstill because you’re not actively adding words. But remember: Your book is not at a standstill. It is being read by actual readers who are seeing how good of a story you have. It’s being worked on, just not by you. You should use this time to make progress, be creative, and get ahead of your future self. Being proactive now will bolster your overall writing career.

Being an editor and being a writer are two entirely different brains. Writing thrives on creativity and fearlessness; editing demands clarity and correct use of spelling. It’s much easier for other people to edit your work than you edit yours. They haven’t read it as much as you have, are less attached to it, and can make those harder calls that you know you should but just can’t. And believe me, I struggled. Hence why the book my beta readers have is 165k, instead of the 150