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Stop Asking Beta Readers If They Liked Your Book

Stop Asking Beta Readers If They Liked Your Book

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 Stop Asking Beta Readers If They Liked Your BookWhen you give your manuscript to a beta reader, what do you want to know?Most writers want to know if the reader liked it. Did they connect with the characters or ideas? Did the whole thing work? There’s a much more useful way to approach beta reading.Your job as a writer is to create an experience for your reader. You want them to feel certain things, wonder about certain things, and understand certain things at just the right moment.How do you know if you’re pulling that off?On this week’s episode of #amwriting, KJ and I are both deep in revision and talking about how we’re testing our manuscripts before sending them out into the world.KJ hired a cold reader for her new thriller—someone who knew absolutely nothing about the story. Instead of asking for an evaluation, she asked her reader to record what she was thinking, wondering, and feeling as she went. Where was she confused? What did she think might happen next? When did the momentum drag? What surprised her?I’m doing something similar with my nonfiction book, Write Big: Stop Playing Small and Step Into Your Creative Power (I changed my subtitle!) I’ve had my book coach do a final read, and now I’m taking a group of writers through the process I teach in the book to see how it actually works for them. Are the questions landing? Is the process helping them get the clarity I intend it to give them? These are different kinds of books, but we’re both trying to answer the same question: Is the experience we’re creating on the page the experience our readers are actually having?Try this with your own writingChoose a chapter and ask yourself three questions:* What do I want my reader to know?* What do I want my reader to wonder?* What do I want my reader to feel?Then find a way to test those intentions with someone who hasn’t read your work before.The gap between what you intended and what they experienced is where some of your most important revision work may be waiting.And remember: Your reader is the authority on their experience. You’re the authority on what to do with that information.In this week’s episode, KJ and I get into the nitty-gritty of how we’re approaching these final stages of revision, what we’re learning from our readers, and how we’re deciding what to change and what to keep.Whether you’re writing fiction or nonfiction, it’s a chance to think differently about what feedback can do for your book.Listen to this week’s episode of #amwriting: Stop Asking Beta Readers If They Liked Your Book.#amwriting is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.You can buy Blueprint for a Book here, or take my $19 Blueprint for a Book video course, which includes the full text of the book plus 14 video lessons that walk you through the process.Books Mentioned* Playing the Witch Card by KJ Dell’Antonia * The Secrets We Hide by Karin Slaughter* The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amwriting.substack.com/subscribe
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