How to Prepare Yourself for Feedback
One thing we writers are universally hungry for is feedback. We spend so much time alone with our story, obsessing over everything from our plot arc to the placement of that comma in chapter 3. We’re desperate for outside perspectives.
And we NEED those outside perspectives! We’re too close to our stories to be truly objective. Feedback helps us get out of our own heads and start to think about how a reader might experience our story.
But opening the door to feedback is a big step, one that many writers rush into before they’re really ready. Before they really know what they need from the people reading their work. This can leave writers frustrated, confused, discouraged, even paralyzed.
Critique groups, beta readers, and professional help are the three most common ways writers get feedback on their stories. Before you dive into one of these options, it’s good to pause and consider the strengths and the weaknesses of each so you can prepare yourself for the type of feedback they’ll deliver.
Critique Groups
Critique groups, or writers groups, are a common way writers get the feedback they’ll looking for. Typically, these groups involve exchanging pages with each other on a regular basis, then coming together to discuss those pages and share their feedback with each other.
What to Love About Critique Groups:
There is a level of accountability built into critique groups that can be great for writers. Deadlines for turning pages into the group can keep a writer on track. Critique groups can also provide camaraderie in a pursuit that can often feel lonely. Getting together for coffee or something stronger, discussing books and each other’s writing, can make a writer feel connected to a bigger community. And a steady stream of feedback from sharp-eyed critique partners can help a writer catch issues with plot or character earlier, before they’re fully baked in.
If you’re looking for ongoing support, this can be a great option.
What to Watch Out For:
Sharing pages as you write means you’re opening the door to other voices during your creative process. If you don’t carefully protect your authorial vision, you can end up with what I call a spaghetti code manuscript: a story that looks okay on the surface but, underneath, is a twisty mess (I wrote a whole Substack essay on spaghetti code manuscripts and how to better interpret and manage feedback on your manuscript – you can read it here.)
Spaghetti code manuscripts happen when you try to incorporate all of the feedback you’re getting, perhaps some of it conflicting. Instead of writing to satisfy yourself and your vision, you’re writing to satisfy all the voices coming at you. Let that go on too long, and you may lose sight of the story you set out to tell. I see this often in my practice, a writer who has so many voices in their head that they can’t tune into their own, leaving them paralyzed with indecision.
Another thing to consider: When people are only reading 5 or 10, or 20 pages at a time, all they can do is comment on what is in front of them. This can keep you stuck at the line- and scene-level when you need to be looking at the big picture.
And all that wonderful camaraderie? It can sometimes make it hard for people to separate you from your story. They love you, they support you, they’re rooting for you. And sometimes that colors how they see your story. Over time, they may end up more like cheerleaders than critique partners.
How to Prepare for Critique Group-style Feedback:
One of the most important things you can do before opening the door to your work-in-progress is articulate your authorial vision for their story. When you can articulate your vision (which means you know why you’re writing this story and what is it you’re trying to say), you can better evaluate the feedback you’re getting. Doing this work before you open the door to feedback keeps you in the driver’s seat of your story. Not sure where to start? My Inside Out Story Blueprint is perfect for writers looking to clearly articulate the heart of their story.
And remember, your critique partners are getting one small piece of the puzzle. They’re going to be focused on what’s in front of them, not the big picture. Recognize this limitation as you absorb their feedback, or you may be pulled down to the line- and scene-level along with them and start polishing scenes that aren’t working structurally. Always keep one eye on the big picture.
And it’s very true that a writer can outgrow a critique group and need to plant themselves in a new, more advanced pot. It can be hard to say goodbye, but see it as a positive sign of growth.
Beta Readers
While writers can bring in beta readers at any time, in general, when we talk about beta readers, we mean readers who are reading a writer’s full manuscript. The writer has reached The End, and now wants someone to read the full thing and let them know what they think.
What to Love About Beta Readers:
Because a beta reader is getting your full manuscript, you’ll avoid some of the mishaps that can come from critique partners only getting 5, 10, 20 pages at a time. They can take in the whole of your story, and give you feedback on what worked for them and what confused them.
And because you’re talking to one person at a time, rather than hearing from a chorus of voices all at once, you’re less likely to get conflicting feedback that could leave you spinning in Stuck Land.
For writers looking for one-time feedback, this can be a great option.
What to Watch Out For:
An important thing to consider here is your beta reader’s level of experience. If your beta reader has less writing experience than you, their feedback might not tell you what you need to know. If they haven’t figured out what makes a character arc work, then they may not be able to articulate to you if yours is working.
Another thing to look out for is overly prescriptive feedback, especially at the line level. A beta reader may cross the line from reader to editor, cutting passages or changing language because that’s how they would do it.
How to Prepare for Beta Reader-style Feedback:
Again, start with articulating your authorial vision. Put yourself in the driver’s seat.
Next, take your beta reader’s level of experience into account. Ideally, they’re a little bit further down the writing road than you are. But if they’re not, tailor your expectations. If your beta reader is a little greener than you, know that you may have to read between the lines of their feedback to divine what’s working and what’s not yet working. Or maybe your beta reader isn’t a writer, but reads everything under the sun. They might be great at talking about your plot and theme and characters, but lack the language of craft. That’s okay, as long as you know that going in.
Also take into account how long you’re willing to wait for feedback. Reading a whole manuscript is a big ask, especially when your beta reader is busy living their own life. I’ve seen writers hand off a manuscript to a beta reader, only to be still waiting on feedback six months, even a year, later. Talk about a reasonable timeline for feedback with your beta reader up front, so expectations are clear.
Most importantly, help your beta reader understand what kind of feedback you want. Give them a short (!) list of questions you have, like, does my protagonist’s character arc feel like it resolves? Or, were there any holes in the story logic? Or, did the magical system make sense? These are things that are hard to see as the writer, because you’re too close to it. Your beta reader can give you an outside perspective. But try to keep the list questions short, maybe 3-5 at most. You want to give your beta reader some direction, but you also want them to feel free to notice things on their own. If all they’re doing is trying to answer all your questions, they might miss something important that’s not even on your radar.
Professional Help
Professional help can come in the form of critiques from editors and agents, usually as part of a writing conference. And it can be developmental editors, either independent or part of a company that provides developmental editing services. And it can be book coaches.
For writers who want expert-level help, this can be a great option.
What to Love About Professional Help:
When it comes to critiques from editors and agents at conference, the benefit is obvious. You’re getting feedback from the gatekeepers themselves. You can see how they evaluate your first pages, what catches their eye, what stops them in their tracks.
Developmental editors and book coaches are trained, experienced professionals who not only know how to assess a manuscript, they can help you form an effective revision plan and even coach your through your revision.
And expert-level help can get you to a finished manuscript more quickly than critique groups and beta readers can.
What to Watch Out For:
Again, with editor and agent critiques, they’re only looking at 5 or maybe 10 pages (or sometimes even just 1!), and while a pro can discern a lot from those opening pages (which is why it’s so important to get them right) they’re still only getting a tiny piece of the puzzle. I’ve had an agent give me some dead-on feedback, and an editor give me feedback that made me wonder if we were looking at the same pages. You never know.
When it comes to developmental editors and book coaches, anybody can hang up a sign and call themselves a developmental editor or book coach. They might be good at it; they might very much not be. There’s no dev-editor-book-coach police out there, scanning for opportunistic scammers or the plain inept.
How to Prepare for Professional Help:
When it comes to editor and agent critiques, listen, gratefully, to their feedback but remember to sit in the seat of authority on your story and take in their feedback in light of what you know about your manuscript that they don’t.
If you’re thinking about working with a developmental editor or book coach, do some legwork to make sure whoever you work with has some legit credentials. Do they carry any certifications in developmental editing or coaching? Did they come from the world of publishing with a raft of experience? Do they have solid testimonials, or a roster of clients they could put you in touch with?
(In case you’re wondering, I have an MFA and I’ve earned additional certifications in developmental editing and book coaching from Author Accelerator, an organization dedicated to professionalism and integrity in book coaching.)
The other thing to consider here is that agents, editors, developmental editors, and book coaches often specialize. If you’ve writing a harrowing horror story, an agent or editor or book coach who specializes in romance is probably not going to be a good fit. So look at what genres they edit and/or coach. One resource here is the Author Accelerator directory of editors and coaches, which you can find here.
Strike a Balance
The tough thing about writing is that it’s a Yes/And. Yes, we need community. And we need thoughtful isolation. We need cheerleading support, and clear-eyed, honest feedback. We need to be open to hearing feedback from others and trying things that might make our story better, but not so open that we let other people tell us how to write our story. Writing a book is not an exercise in people pleasing.
The key is to strike a balance.
Knowing your authorial vision and sitting in the seat of authority on your story will give you the confidence to be open to feedback.
Knowing what type of feedback you’re looking for can keep you from wasting time in a situation that isn’t a good fit for what you need at this moment.
Preparing yourself ahead of time for feedback can help you get what you need without letting others’ voices drown out your own.
And if you’re considering pro-level help, but aren’t sure if it’s the right fit for you, I’m always happy to jump on a free call and chat about your project and help you find the right path for you.
Till next time…
Happy writing,
Erin
