Writing and manuscriptsLesson
How to send a book to beta readers
From Share, create a reader link and send the address. Your reader opens the draft with no account, leaves a note on a sentence, and you place it in Comments.
In short
In the editor, click Share, open the Link tab, and click Reviewer links, then Create a link. Your reader opens that address with no account, leaves a note on a sentence, and you place it from Comments.
A beta reader needs the draft before you order a proof, and a file in email comes back as notes you have to hunt for. A reader link opens the book in their browser, with no account, and attaches their note to the sentence they mean. You read that note in the editor and choose whether it becomes a comment. The manuscript stays as you wrote it until you place the note.
Creating the address is included on Publisher, Studio and Founders' Lifetime. On every plan you can open Share and look at Reviewer links. A reader who already has the address opens the book with no account and no plan of their own.
Send a reader link#
Open the Link tab
In the editor top bar, click Share. In the dialog, click the Link tab. Reviewer links is on that tab. It is a read-only address for someone who does not sign in, separate from an invitation.
Create the reader link
Click Reviewer links. Under Who is this for?, type a name you will recognize later. Leave Let them leave notes checked, and leave Expires in on 14 days. Click Create a link. The dialog shows The link — copy it now. Click Copy, then send the address. The dialog cannot show that address again.
Leave a note on a sentence
Your reader opens the address. The book title and your name are at the top. They select a sentence, click Quote the selected text, type Your name and a Note, and click Send to the author. The note is listed under Your notes on this chapter. Your manuscript is unchanged.
Place the note
Stay in Write. Click Comments in the bar under the top bar. The panel heading reads From reviewers, with the new note under it. Click Place. The note’s words become a comment on that sentence, and the list says Nothing new.
Turn a link off#
In Share for review, under Active, click Revoke. The dialog asks: Revoke this link? The reviewer loses access immediately. Confirm, and that address stops opening the book. Notes already sent stay until you click Place or Dismiss.
When the draft is ready to print, read How to export a print-ready PDF.
Common questions
Does a beta reader need an account?
No. They open the address in a browser and read the draft without signing in. You do not send them an invitation or a password.
Which plan includes a reader link?
Publisher, Studio, or Founders' Lifetime. Creating the address and regenerating it need one of those plans. Opening Share, and reading a link someone already sent, do not.
What if I closed the dialog before copying the address?
Click Regenerate on that link. You get a new address, and the old one stops opening the book. Copy the new address before you close the dialog.
Can they read the draft without leaving notes?
Yes. Clear Let them leave notes before you click Create a link. They can still read. A link you already created keeps the choice you made then.
Is this the same as getting reviews on Amazon?
No. This is a private draft for people you choose, before the book is for sale. It does not post a review, a rating, or anything public.
Try it on your own book
Open a book in SmartKDP and follow the steps above. It takes about 5 minutes.