Mermaid Muse

I am trying to conserve my typing strength for "The Mermaid and the Unicorn" editing right now. (It's due to Alpha readers on the 15th, which is already a week later than I'd originally hoped). Thankfully I've got this little mermaid come all the way from Florida to be my muse. :)

What's an Alpha reader and how is it different than a Beta reader? I like this definition:

"Beta readers, as you know, help authors refine their work by identifying where things aren’t working, clumsy language, and various other problems in a manuscript.  Alpha readers also help authors, but their focus is more specifically on the story, plot, and characterization.  Alpha readers are the first readers: they provide the first feedback to an author on whether a story is working." ~ From UndiscoveredAuthor