Should Betas Sign NDAs?

I’m sending my manuscript out to beta readers in a few days. Three, to be exact.

I want to scream. Instead, I’m going to ignore my urge to run for the hills by diving into a (very controversial) topic: NDAs.

I’ve seen a lot of discussions online about beta readers and NDAs. Should I have my readers sign NDAs? Will I be seen as rude if I do? What happens if they say no?

A few brave writers have asked these exact questions on Reddit, only to find that most redditors get viciously angry at the thought. Most responses I’ve seen include one of the following sentiments:

1. Why do you think your work is worth protecting?

2. Why do you feel entitled to making someone stay quiet?

3. Word of mouth is a good marketing strategy, why aren’t you using that?

4. If you trust your readers, you shouldn’t have to use NDAs.

5. (My personal favorite) I wouldn’t want to beta read if someone made me sign an NDA. That makes me feel like they don’t trust me.

Now, before I start arguing with those ideas, I should make it very clear that I’m “pro-do-whatever-makes-you-comfortable”. If you want to have readers sign NDAs, do it. If you don’t, skip it. It’s really that simple. However, that comes with a huge caveat: I’d still recommend an NDA.

Why am I so pro-NDA? For one, I had a friend who lost their entire manuscript to a beta reader. She sent it to the reader, and the reader uploaded it to KDP to sell. (I have to admit, as a writer, that hurts worse than watching Amy burn Jo's book). If she’d had an NDA, she would have had recourse for getting it taken down.

It’s more than just that horror story, though. NDAs can protect you in an instance where a beta reader ghosts you. Another friend of mine sent his manuscript to beta readers, only to have one reader ghost him. He never heard from them again, but because he made readers sign an NDA, he knows that reader can’t sell his book. It’s peace of mind in a bad situation.

With that in mind, here's what I have to say to those Reddit thoughts:

1. Because I’ve poured myself into it, and I think that I’m worth protecting.

2. It’s not entitled to expect respect when I share my art for free. You are more than welcome to give me your honest opinion when you read my story, but I do need to ensure that nothing happens to my manuscript.

3. Word of mouth is a great marketing strategy, and when I reach the marketing stage, I look forward to utilizing it. However, my manuscript is currently not market-ready, and I don’t want my marketing to be influenced by opinions about a raw, unedited draft.

4. I do trust my readers, but that doesn’t mean trust is fool-proof. As the old saying goes, Trust but Verify. I trust that my readers won’t leak my manuscript, but I’d like to verify that's the case by having documentation to prove it.

5. I wouldn’t want someone to beta read for me if I can’t trust them to sign an NDA. To me, that signals that you have ill-intent regarding my work, and that makes me uncomfortable.

When I was going through the process of prepping for beta reading, I went through great lengths to ensure that my experience would be as pain-free as possible. (Beta reading is still painful, but I wanted to mitigate negativity where I could.)

Here’s my (almost) fool-proof method for beta reading:

1. Find people you trust. They don’t have to be friends, necessarily (though, it’s easier if they are). They could be a writing colleague, someone from work, a family member, anyone. As long as you can trust them to give you honest feedback without entirely wrecking your sense of self, they should work.

2. Ask them to sign an NDA. If they tell you no, then remove them from your beta list.

3. Send them the NDA. Make sure they sign it with their REAL NAME (this is important if they write under a pen name).

4. Store the NDAs together.

5. Send them your beta package.

6. Wait for feedback (and spend the entire time in a mess because you’re terrified they’ll hate your story).

Personally, I made all (except one) of my readers sign NDAs. They were excited to do it, because they recognized what my story meant to me. (The singular exception was my best friend who I’ve known since birth. If I’d asked her to sign, she would have; I just got tired of paperwork.)

At the end of the day, if you feel more comfortable having readers sign NDAs, do it. It’ll weed out the people you can’t trust.

Good luck with your stories!

(and wish me luck with my betas)