Do Authors Actually Enjoy the Beta Reader Process?

Good or bad, I tend to go my own way. I suppose I trust myself more than I trust anyone else, which is why I'm puzzled by the whole beta reading concept.

Everyone tells an author that she absolutely needs beta readers. It's part of the process, you know. Step #whatever on the road to publishing. I once watched a YouTube video by a trade-published author, who detailed (minutely) how she visits a print shop and has bound copies made of her manuscript to distribute to her betas. What? I don't even make a print copy for myself!

Who are these people, and what makes them experts? Maybe if a beta was a successful author, I'd take their feedback to heart, but Joe Watermark from Pit Stain, Virginia? Who volunteered to beta read because he's retired with no hobbies and he's seen every episode of Blue Bloods thirteen times? That's the story expert?

Look, I'm well aware of my novel's weak points. A beta reader pointing them out won't solve the issue. If I could have fixed those spots, I would have.  

Aren't all the problems that beta readers ostensibly identify things that an author should figure out for herself? Isn't that part of the writing process? Plot holes? I rarely find any, and if I do (upon readback) I fix them. Confusing areas? Well, if they're not confusing to me, maybe Joe Watermark is just stupid. But to be serious, as the writer, I am able to zero in on anything that's confusing and clarify. Yes, I had one reviewer who kept getting lost in the narrative, but I'm not her therapist. No other reviewer expressed confusion.

I may be a failed author, but at least I don't dumb down my stories. To me, beta readers want a consensus. Do this, change that, I don't like this character, the ending should be different. Write your own book! 

If you recruit beta readers, they're going to find something to nitpick. They feel obligated. Can't just say, "This is great!" Then they're not doing their job. 

Even authors who provide a questionnaire to betas are signaling their insecurity. "What are your thoughts on Chapter 20?" Hey, if you, the writer, have doubts about that chapter, take some time to resolve them.

In the end, I view creativity as a one-person game. I don't like AI in music, nor do I like a songwriter writing to a free backing track they downloaded from SoundCloud. Yes, the playing on it is excellent, but it's not actually your song. I'd rather hear an amateur guitarist's rendition of my song than a slicked-back version of something I know I didn't actually create. Warts and all, my stories are my stories. Some people like them; some people don't. It's a game of chance.

I'm all for suggestions, but once I've drafted, edited, and polished my manuscript to a brilliant shine, it's a little late to ask me to go back and change it. It's done. 

It's entirely possible there's some aspect of beta reading I'm missing. And whatever helps an author, they should go for it. I'm not saying, don't do it. Just that it's not for me.