Constructive Critique
Dear Maggie,
Is constructive criticism a good thing or bad thing?
Sincerely,
Reviewer in Riverside
Dear Reviewer,
Constructive criticism is a good thing, most of the time. Before my books are ever published, I’ve given them to a trusted group of beta readers with the express intent of gathering feedback, mostly in the form of constructive criticism. Over the years, I’ve learned to ask these readers for the kind of feedback I need in order for it to be useful as I edit my manuscript. Here’s a short list of the questions I ask beta readers to consider:
Do you know what genre this book is by the end of the first scene? It won’t do if my readers think they’re getting a cozy mystery and it turns out to be an epic fantasy! The first scene should provide enough of a feel for the genre that readers know what they’re getting.
Did the story drag anywhere, and did you find yourself skipping pages? This is no good. It means I’m info dumping and boring my readers. These are scenes that will need to be tightened up, moved around, or cut altogether.
Were there places where you were confused? Confusion is bad! Nothing will make me shut a book and never pick it up again faster than feeling confused. Suspense, mystery, cliffhanger scenes, all good. Confusion not so much. I trust the author to lead me somewhere interesting, and while I may not know where we’re going or how we’re going to get there, I am following along enthusiastically, and I don’t feel lost.
How did you relate to the characters? Were they believable, interesting? I never tell my readers how they should feel about the characters, but I am interested in their honest response to them. It may not be what I intended, and their perception matters.
Were there any major discrepancies or inconsistencies in timeline, character descriptions, or other major details? Sometimes, I just miss something and a careful reader will point it out. I’m very happy to fix inconsistencies before the book is published!
Were you satisfied by the ending? The ending should fit the story. This doesn’t necessarily mean it will be happy, unless it’s a romance of course, but the ending should leave the reader saying, “Wow, she nailed that ending.”
I’ll take this constructive criticism from my beta readers and incorporate it into my edits. Then, once I’ve taken the draft as far as I can, I’ll hand it over to my editor, and we’ll go through the process all over again! My editor is a professional. I trust her judgement and her industry knowledge. If she says to fix something, I am happy to fix it as I know it will make my story better.
By the time my books are published, they’ve been thoroughly, constructively criticized! I can only hope that readers receive them well and enjoy them. They certainly let me know through reviews. I’ll be honest, I don’t read any review below a three star. One or two star reviews usually mean the reader just didn’t like my writing, and that’s okay. I’ve done all I can to produce a solid, well-edited story, and I know it won’t be to everyone’s taste. On the other hand, three stars or more, and I know they at least liked the story, so if I read a consistent, constructive critique in my reviews of a particular book, I’ll pay attention. While I can’t fix it for that story, I might be able to use the information going forward. Thanks for the great question!
Do you have a question for me? Send it to maggie@msmaggieclare.com, and I’ll answer it here on the blog!
In other news…
Amy and I are back on a roll with the Author’s Buzz podcast. If you’re a new writer looking for advice on how to navigate the publishing industry, have a listen to our latest episode: Publishing Pathways. As always, we keep it real!
If you’d like to keep track of my adventures on the road, check out my blog FIVE THINGS which posts on alternate Mondays. For a photo journey, you can find me on Instagram @tabithalord and @msmaggiec.
