I Need Advice: How to Communicate with Beta-Reader
So, the title is a little misleading but I had no idea how to word it otherwise lol. I'm on the second round of editing my novel and recently connected with someone who is also a writer. We exchanged the plotlines of our novels and since we both seemed really excited about them, decided to become writing buddies. We exchanged the first few chapters of our novels and while I've read and made notes on their chapters and sent them back fairly quickly, I have yet to get mine back and its been a little over three weeks now. I text them about a week ago and asked if everything was okay and they text back and explained that their life has been really hectic, they've been working a lot, and that they would get my chapters and notes back soon. I understand completely and want to give them space, however, its been about a week now and I've heard nothing from them but radio silence.
Any advice on where to go from here? We have become friends and I loved their work and want to read more and be a part of their process and from how they sounded, they felt the same about my work. Should I just forget everything and move on or should I reach out again? If so, how do I do so without sounding desperate or pushy? Any advice helps. Thanks.
Posted Mar 10, 2026, 11:22 AM UTC