Feedback from readers…

Is a good/bad sandwich.

I have gushed repeatedly about my amazing beta readers—and they are wonderful—but there’s a flip side to critique. My emotions are not limited to the very real gratitude that I feel and the excitement to make changes. Most creative people would agree that critique is hard. Putting forward our work is not easy. I know from experience that feedback from readers and writers improves my work. But the emotions that go along with that process… ugh. It’s frustrating to learn that the problem you thought you fixed is still not quite resolved. It hurts when someone thinks you should cut out something you love about the book.

Here’s the advice I have been telling myself lately:

• Yes, constructive criticism still hurts sometimes, but take in the whole good/bad sandwich. Don’t only focus on the things that aren’t quite right. Remind yourself of the things readers loved about the characters, world-building, and overall story.
• Sorting through conflicting opinions is tricky. Trust your gut when you pick a side.
• Don’t overcompensate. You are not here to please readers. You are here to tell your story in the best way possible to connect with readers and keep them engaged throughout. So don’t necessarily make the change they suggested. Look at the root of the problem they had and brainstorm ways to fix it, always leaving the option on the table to do nothing about that piece of feedback.
• At the end of the day, some beta readers didn’t end up being a good fit for a particular story. But that happens sometimes. Remember the reviews you’ve read of published books where the reader clearly wasn’t a good fit for the book you loved. Like when that author wrote about a bunch of kids training at a magical school and one review basically said that reader always gets bored with chapters about kids training and making friendships. Well then… There’s nothing that author can really do about that personal preference, especially since that core part of the story was right there in the book description. They didn’t say the pace was slow or a plot detail was unrealistic; they said they don’t like that kind of thing. Every book is not a good fit for every reader. If the feedback you receive is similar, ignore it and move on.

Fingers crossed that the rest of the feedback coming in will continue to help me grow as a writer and that I continue to have the right attitude about the process.