Profiting from Reader Feedback
November 18, 2009 by Maria Keckler
Filed under Editing and Revision, The Whole Nine Yards
Last month I worked night after night to finish two sample chapters for a publisher interested in my book proposal. Faithfully, I toiled away—writing, crafting, rewriting, revising, writing, and rewriting some more.
I was done. What I mean is that I had taken the writing as far as I could. I read what I had written—several times—and knew that although the writing was good, something wasn’t right—I just couldn’t put my finger on the problem. I even tried to put on my writing teacher hat: What would you say if you were a student? I had nothing. I decided it was time to send the writing to my faithful group of volunteer readers—a few family members and friends who have agreed to read my work and give me their honest critique.
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With three days to spare, four of them stopped what they were doing to give me their impressions. “Give it to me straight,” I said. They did—generously—and they were right on! Long story short: their fresh perspective restored mine, and I was ready to return to the drawing board to produce a better product.
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Readers willing to review your unpublished work can be hard to find outside a formal writer’s critique group, especially if they are not active writers themselves. Yet, I believe they can be a writer’s secret weapon because they represent the public who will potentially read your article or book—without a writer’s lens. With their help you can discover early if your message has the power to dazzle or frazzle.
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If we want to have profitable feedback from our readers, however, we need to do our homework first to empower them and give them the tools to help us:
Remind them you are not perfect
You may think this fact is self-evident, but I have found that when it comes to writing, family and friends tend to feel intimidated to tell us what’s wrong with our writing—after all, we are the writing experts, right?—or so they think. But we know better. For that reason, every time I ask someone to read my writing, I emphatically remind them: “You have to forget that I’m a writing teacher and a writer—after staring at my own writing for hours, I can’t see the problems or errors any more—I count on your fresh perspective to help me get back on track.”
Remind them they are experts
This is particularly important, especially if your readers are not writers. They may feel unqualified to give you feedback, so I remind them that as avid readers, they are experts. I also tell them that I’m not looking for help to improve grammar and punctuation. I tell them that I am interested in “what” they think works or doesn’t work—not “how” to fix it—that’s my job.”
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Of course, these readers can only be your secret weapon if you have taken the time to choose the right people. I value avid readers who enjoy good writing (whether they know it or not). I value those who have demonstrated wisdom and discernment. I value people unafraid to articulate their opinion.
Give them Guidance
If you simply ask, “What do you think?” you may get a simple, “It’s good” or worse yet, “It’s OK.” I have found that non-writers often don’t know how to articulate a critique that will help me move forward. Writers, on the other hand, can often go too far and try to tell you “how” to fix what is not working, inadvertently taking you in the wrong direction. While you may want this type of help (when it relates to an entire article), sometimes it isn’t helpful because the reader does not have a full understanding of the project as a whole (if they only read one chapter of a book). Here are some sample questions I ask my readers:
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- Did anything inspire you…make you laugh or cry?
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Give them Value
The input I get from my readers is far more valuable than I can afford to pay. Sometimes, however, we can make those people feel unvalued, especially when writing deadlines are looming on the horizon. Here are some ways to give your readers value:
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- Do not defend your writing. Be quiet and listen. Write down their comments and really ponder what they have shared.
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Sometimes a formal critique group is not helpful for certain writing projects. Nurturing a faithful group of readers has been a writer’s gift for me. Give it a try. It may just be what the writing doctor ordered.
A Final Thought:
Getting reader feedback is not for the faint-hearted, especially if readers are willing to be brutally honest. Sometimes, after getting a critique, you may feel like you need to start from scratch and desperately need an extension. My advice: there’s a time to craft and chisel a piece of writing; there’s a time to start all over; but then there’s a time to make good use of a critique and let the writing go, trusting that your editor will make you look even better than you are.
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Questions for you: Do you get reader feedback on your work? Has the experience been profitable? Share your comments below.
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This is a powerful post, Maria. I've never seen anything like it. I mean, who tells us how to be a critic/friend? I'm so glad God got you through that creative exercise, and I'm sure there will be many others ahead. Your story cannot help but pour out, and it's a good thing, because so many need to hear it!
Thank you, Dawn. I have appreciated your input, so my hat is off to you, my friend.
Thank you, Dawn. I have certainly profited from your input, my friend.
Hi Maria, Wow what passion you have for this dream to share with others your thoughts and to inspire. Thank you in advance for all those who will be blessed my your endless hours of work to do your best. I will have to get with you sometime over a cup of Tea, ok. Maybe after Christmas.
God's blessing you and I thank him for you. I've been so focused on so many other things I have set aside my writting dream but perhaps next year I can find time to work on it.
Thank you, Sherry. Timing is important and you'll have time to get back to it, I know.