OLD POST ALERT! This is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date. Please click on Start Here on the menu bar above to find links to my most useful articles, videos and podcast. Thanks and happy writing! – Joanna Penn
A few weeks ago I talked about the editing and beta reader process in order to make your book the best it can be and now I have received my own feedback from all my beta readers on Prophecy, my next novel.
This is the hard part but it's critical because the more eyes you have on your manuscript before publication the better. They have to be the right eyes but you definitely need to improve the manuscript before it's published and you can't do it alone. I had several published authors as well as readers of my genre do a beta-read plus an expert on art history as I use a lot of this in the book. I've also had a structural edit for the whole book.
So I have a whole lot of constructive criticism to work through now and this bit is always difficult. But why is it so important?
You have to develop a thicker skin as an author because you will get criticism
If you're going to ‘ship' your work i.e. get it out the door and into the hands of readers, you have to take criticism. So it's better to catch as many issues as possible at the beta reader stage so that criticism you get later is because the wrong reader has read the book, rather than your plot has huge holes or grammatical issues.
Criticism in book reviews definitely hurts so it's good practice to get some before you make your work public.
I currently have 58 reviews of Pentecost on Amazon.com averaging 4 stars. 4 of those reviews are 1 star and 2 are because it's not Christian enough (and I never claimed it was!) I don't like those reviews but I have no influence on them, I can't do anything about that. I just have to take that criticism and try not to let it affect me. I counteract those comments with the 45 4 & 5 star reviews instead. We have to remember to focus on the positive and not just see the negative.
Taking feedback from beta-readers
Here's my post on the beta reader feedback for Pentecost. You can feel my depression! I'm happy that I have improved since last year and haven't repeated the same mistakes this time. The comments are still difficult to take but I know they will help the finished product. You know I like to share the hard parts as well as the triumphs, so here's my method for dealing with beta-reader feedback which can feel like criticism.
(1) Thank everyone sincerely for their help, offer to help them with anything and make sure you credit them in the book. This is a great service we all need as writers.
(2) Read through the notes everyone has sent and then let it settle. Do not react. Do not try to justify why you did whatever you did. Take the feedback without reaction.
(3) Bawl your eyes out, then self-medicate with chocolate and/or wine. You thought you were finished but actually, you still have a way to go. You're probably sick of the book but you have to go through it again. Ouch. After you have drowned your sorrows, go to the gym and play a lot of really loud music. My tracks for getting over these feelings (and here I show my age and how uncool I am!): Tubthumping by Chumbawumba (I get knocked down, then I get up again…), It's my Life – Bon Jovi, Don't Stop Believing by the Glee cast (am I losing readers yet?!) , Hold On by Wilson Philips and other such classic feel good tunes!
(4) Re-read the feedback with a critical eye. Have the same things been said more than once? For example, two of my beta-readers pointed out that the first sentences of my chapters start the same way which becomes jarring. Great feedback and easy to fix. I'm taking that to heart. But only one of my readers said that the theme of eugenics on top of the rest of the plot was ‘too much'. The others all said it was a good extra layer so I'll be leaving that in. I had been having some doubts about my ending although most loved it. One of my beta readers had a suggestion that will also ease my own concerns so that will be changed. But overall, most of the comments will not take much to fix, this is not a complete rewrite for me (thankfully!) but it will add more depth and fix the issues that the readers found.
(5) Create your hit-list of what needs to be changed so you have a map of the rewrites. It's also good to have a list of everything even if you're not going to change it, so you can use it as a learning experience, so I collate everything into one document organized by scene.
**At this point, I'll add a comment on versions and backing up as some people still struggle with this. At the end of every day, I save my WIP into a new document with the date on it and I email it to myself on Gmail which stores documents and is easily searchable. I also save to my drafts folder and back up externally. Then when there is a first draft that is saved as Draft_Date and so on through the multiple drafts. I have Draft_BetaRead_Date which is the version I sent to the beta readers and I will have the other drafts right up until the end. I always date them so I can trace back changes. This might be a little over the top but be sure to keep your drafts in case your change your mind later and back up somewhere other than your home computer – just in case!
(6) Go through the book again making the changes that you've accepted need to be done. Some may be big and others may be small. All are important. This is basically your final draft so it needs to be right. BUT/ don't let this become an excuse for not finishing the book and releasing it to the public. You must ship your work if you want to be a professional writer. It's a risk but if you don't do it regularly, the ‘flinch' gets worse and you'll never publish (read about the flinch here).
(7) Re-read in print or a different format other than your screen, and then give it to the copy-editor for the final run. They will pick up any typos, grammar issues and final mistakes. Make those final changes and you're finished. Yes, you really are!
There will always be more you can edit but you need to stop somewhere.
That's why deadlines are critical for perfectionist writers. I always planned on getting Prophecy out in 2011. It might be Dec 31st but I will have it out in ebook format and working back from that deadline has driven all my work.
How do you deal with beta reader feedback and criticism? Curl up and die or hack away and make those changes? How do you know what to change and what is your own voice and not for negotiation?
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1 2 3 Next »Being a person who is, perhaps, overly amused by silly people saying silly things I went to read the reviews that said it wasn't Christian enough.
One of them contained this line, "This book alludes that God might need to imbibe rocks with the power of his Holy Spirit in order to change the course of human events."
I am now in possession of an image in my head of a vaguely Moses-like figure sitting in a beach chair on a beach accompanied by an amorphous glowing blob both of whom are drinking a nice tall glass of rocks.
I love reviews! I'm glad you enjoyed that one :)
How much feedback should you consider if you're just starting out? I'm in that exact position right now with the book I'm creating. I'm also trying to bang out a few short stories at the same time. I feel that by doing so will eventually leave me open for too much criticism.
Do you think it would be better to focus on just one short at a time and do a few chapters for edits, or breeze through the shorts just to show my development?
Getting feedback on short stories is different to feedback on a book, and possibly even different editors might help. I personally think you only get an edit or beta read once you're happy with everything, although if you want to pay for someone professional to go through it, that might be useful at an earlier stage. However, I really think that we often find ourselves circling back and improving the writing only once it's finished, so if you submit too early, you haven't got the whole picture. Showing your development seems unnecessary to me - your finished work is your development. But as always, that's just my opinion!
Another really useful post - thanks. I'm still working on the draft for my beta readers. I fortunately have a a few people willing to read for me - I really need to set a deadline. I've been writing this first book for almost two years now - and it's largely due to the editing addiction! I completed my first nano within the month however, so I know its possible if I just restrict the revisions till the arc is down. I'm learning as I go. :D X
Yes, editing can go on forever but it's important to remember to ship, as Seth Godin puts it. You have to get the work out the door sometime. Definitely set a deadline and work to that. Even if you miss slightly, you'll still make it sooner than if you don't set one! I really believe that when we make space for the next story, it will come through, so you have to clear the decks by getting this one out the door!
Mmm...Chocolate sounds good to me right now.
Chocolate is always good...
Thanks for sharing a peek into your process Joanna, it's very insightful.
One thing I want to highlight is the notion that critiques should be welcome at all stages of writing. That's a fallacy. You can't write your best work if you're also being critical of it. So take the time, as a writer, to do the work required and come up with something you feel is at a "ready" stage, then pass it off for review. Remember that you WILL get negative responses, but those are there to help you improve, not to rip you apart.
It's hard, but if writers follow your outline I think they'll be alright (especially when it comes to the wine and chocolate part).
Thanks Tanner, I agree. One should only submit a book/ some writing for criticism when you are happy with it yourself and you're ready to take feedback. I don't do it until I have the whole book ready as an end to end read and I have redrafted as much as I can myself.
Great advice in here Joanna! A few weeks ago, I received feedback on the third draft of my novel and it was very hard to take at first. It is a great thing to read it once and then go have your pity party. Mine lasted about a week but after that I went back and dove right in. I think we all have to remember that it's okay to be upset about critiques. We just have to feel them, work through them, have some chocolate (or cheesecake!), and get right back to work. In the end, it will only make our books even better.
I feel for you Margaret and I have some serious rework to do. I think I have only managed 30 pages today. Ouch. But still, everything makes it better and we'll be happier in the long run. I think we need to keep learning with every book too so there will always be marks on the edited page!
My first book was a short story collection. Each of the stories had been out to beta readers and I listened to the feedback and suggestions for improvement with a degree of excitement. I even surveyed the beta readers, although with mixed success (read about that here: http://blog.taleist.com/2011/10/13/how-to-survey-your-readers/)
What I wasn't prepared for was the onslaught that came back from the editor I engaged. The whole manuscript with red pen all over it. I was fine with the fact that there are two verbs I am pathologially incapable of conjugating, and that my reasonable spelling is not up to publishing standard. But there was so much else. "This story doesn't fit in this collection", "This ending is weak and undersells the first half", "Readers won't get this character". It went on. And on.
After my "Day of Chocolate", the message behind all the red pen came through - the book wasn't ready to be published, but could be. In fact, the editor was confident it would be - he actually liked it. I just had to do the work. Each story's revision went onto my kanban board, and off I went. With varying degrees of surgery, the three stories that were on life support were resurrected, and the others polished over and over again.
I haven't had to endure any "constructive" reviews in the public domain yet, but as the book bubbles up reviewers' "to read" lists, that might come. Stocked up with champagne and chocolate to cover all eventualities.
That's great Dave and well done you for facing up to the red pen. I am doing this now as well since I have a full copy edit as well as beta reader feedback to work through. I don't have a single paragraph without marks and in some places there's not even a line that was left untouched! But that's why we use professionals - to help us shape our book into something more polished. It's impossible to get to that level alone. I am confident that my book will emerge, like yours, much better for the editing! I'll join you for the bubbles & choc!
I'm actually about to go into the rewrite process myself, so thanks for the tips. :D Just thinking about going through my book again is daunting, but I really want to cut through it and make it better to be critiqued again.
It's definitely daunting Hiroko. Make sure you've had a break before you tackle the big edits. I had almost 3 weeks while my beta readers read the book without reading it again. That helps to get some perspective. Try to enjoy the polishing process!
Another great post Joanna. I agree that criticism is tough because it can feel so personal. The trick lies in not giving up. Another trick is knowing whose advice you can afford to ignore -- and whose advice you must heed.
I was once told that I cannot write and that my English is beyond help (that was 2005). It did not crush me. It made me a better writer and drove me to be better at English!
oh Jesse - that is terrible! That person was not a good critique partner :( I'm so glad you didn't listen. I spent many years believing I wasn't creative because of a comment I had at 15 from my Dad about a piece of pottery that wasn't great to be honest - but I didn't bounce back from that for 15 years! I have found my kind of creativity now in writing but any kind of criticism can hurt us a lot.
Probably the best post I've ever seen on criticism and how to take it. Thanks! Off to share on Twitter!