Get your book in front of real readers before you publish.

One place to find beta readers, share your manuscript privately, and collect their feedback.

Already have readers?
Send them a private link. They never make an account.
Need readers?Beta
Our reader community is just opening. Post what your book needs and we will connect you as readers join.
Free to startYour manuscript stays privateYou keep all rights
The BetaShelf feedback dashboard for a manuscript, showing its cover, three readers, a 4.7 out of 5 average rating, and a summary of reviews, inline comments, and chapter responses

Beta reading without the spreadsheets,
email chains, and scattered notes.

Three steps, start to finish. Most authors send their first link the day they sign up.

01

Upload your manuscript

Upload your DOCX, PDF, or TXT file. BetaShelf reads your headings to find the chapters, and turns the book into a private reading experience your readers can open on any device. If a chapter comes out wrong you can rename, split or merge it in a click.

A manuscript split into four chapters inside BetaShelf
02

Invite your readers, or find new ones

Already have beta readers? Give each of them their own private link and they start reading without creating an account, on any device, with nothing to download. Need readers? The reader community is opening now, in beta.

What a beta reader sees when they open a share link: an invitation to beta read, the book cover, and a Start Reading button
03

Watch the feedback come in

See who is reading, what chapter they are on, and who finished. Highlights, margin comments, chapter ratings, and answers to your questions all land in one dashboard, private to you.

Reader reviews in the feedback dashboard, each with strengths, improvements, and general comments

What comes back

See your book through
your readers’ eyes.

Not another writing app. BetaShelf is built for what happens after you have a draft.

Margin comments

Readers respond to specific lines and passages while they are reading, not from memory afterwards.

Chapter ratings

See how readers rate pacing, characters, dialogue, and impact, chapter by chapter through the whole book.

Reader progress

Know who started, where they stopped, and who finished.

Reader questions

Ask the questions you actually need answered before your next revision.

Private reading

Your manuscript is never publicly listed. Only readers you invite can open it.

Reader community

Beta

Don’t have beta
readers yet?

BetaShelf is building a community of readers who want to discover indie books before they are published. It is new and growing, so tell us the genre and length you need, and we will connect you as readers join.

For readers

Discover books before they’re published.

Tell us the genres you love, what you enjoy reading, and how quickly you usually read. Authors looking for readers like you can invite you to beta read their manuscripts. Free for readers, always.

Join the reader community

Already beta reading for an author? You do not need an account to read their manuscript. Just open their link.

The whole arc

Beta reading is only
the beginning.

When your manuscript is ready, keep moving without starting over somewhere else.

01

Beta Reading

Collect private feedback while you are still revising.

02

ARC Campaigns

Give advance readers a polished copy before launch day.

03

Reviews

Point finished readers at the platforms where a review helps you most.

04

Publish

Export a publication-ready EPUB or print PDF for KDP.

One book. One workspace. From beta draft to publication.

A hand-drawn shelf of books with a trailing plant
“Built by a writer who needed this tool herself.”

Every feature exists because she needed it for her own manuscripts, or because a writer like you asked for it. Read her story

Your manuscript is safe

We built this for writers who are
protective of their work.

Private by default

Your manuscript is only accessible through a private share link that you generate. No one can find or access your work unless you explicitly send them the link. Revoke it anytime.

You own everything you upload

We never claim rights to your manuscripts, your feedback data, or any content you create on BetaShelf. Full stop.

Never used for training

Your manuscripts are never used for training or shared with third parties. Your words stay yours. Period.

No data selling. Ever.

We don’t sell, rent, or share your personal information or manuscript content with third parties. Our business model is subscriptions, not your data.

Delete means delete

Remove a manuscript and it’s gone. Delete your account and all your data is deleted immediately and permanently. You stay in control.

Encrypted in transit and at rest

Your manuscripts are stored on encrypted infrastructure. All data is protected with TLS encryption in transit and AES-256 encryption at rest.

Read our full Privacy Policy , Terms of Service, and Refund Policy.

Questions

Frequently asked
questions.

Simple pricing

Start free. Upgrade
when you need more.

Beta reading, your author page, and selling your book direct are free forever.

Free

$0

forever

  • 1 manuscript
  • Up to 5 beta readers
  • Margin comments and ratings
  • Author page and book page
  • Sell a digital copy and get paid your way (PayPal, Venmo, Gumroad...)
Get started free
Most popular

Single

$6

/mo

or $49/year · save 32%

  • Unlimited beta readers
  • Review campaigns & analytics
  • Subscriber collection
  • KDP Export (EPUB and PDF)
  • Read aloud with text-to-speech
Get Single

Unlimited

$10

/mo

or $99/year · save 17%

  • Everything in Single
  • Unlimited manuscripts
  • Marketing Kit (social templates)
  • All writing & analysis tools
Get Unlimited

Lifetime FounderLimited

Everything in Unlimited, forever. Pay once, never renew. Only the first 100 authors.

Your draft is ready

Start with your first
five readers. Free.

Upload your manuscript, invite your readers, and start collecting feedback today. No credit card required.

Your manuscripts stay private. You keep all rights. Always.