While waiting for beta reader feedback on Dragon Scales, my alpha reader for all my manuscripts came across this delightful screenwriting podcast that details the three stages of dealing with beta reader, or critique partner feedback. Screenwriters call it "getting notes," but it is spot-on for how I process feedback.
Stage 1) F--k you! What I'd call the "Did you even bother to read the darn thing?" phase.
Stage 2) F--k me! The, "Apparently I can't write sh-t" phase. This is the one I tend to get stuck in.
And finally, where I'm at now: Stage 3.
Stage 3) F--k it! The, "I've got to fix this sh-t!" phase, which they much more diplomatically refer to as the "What's next?" phase.
They're screenwriters and honestly just listening to how often they get notes and get told to rewrite stuff, sometimes by committee (!!), was totally encouraging and what I needed to pass into Stage 3 for this latest round of feedback on Dragon Scales.
For me, Stage 1 involves opening the overview emails from my beta readers and feeling kicked in the stomach. It's irrational, I know each and every one of them approaches the manuscript with the absolute best intentions, but I have to just sit on their feedback, wait a week (or month -- whatever it takes!) and re-read their feedback when I'm mentally capable of processing it. By then, I'm far enough removed from the sting to see the merit in their points, usually all of them. Every. Single. One.
Then, Stage 2 kicks in.
Stage 2 is the self-doubt, "I'm never going to get this right," "I can't write anything" wallowing stage. That can take me a while to move on from. A week, a month, a few months. Whatever it takes. (Tip: work on something else while you're wallowing in this stage!) Eventually I realize the MS is not going to rewrite itself. I'll still have the same darn manuscript with all its faults, and a crap-ton of work to do to it, if I do nothing with this wonderful gift, this truly excellent feedback I've been given. I've never been one to shy from rewriting so eventually I enter Stage 3, which I call "out-stubborning my manuscript."
Stage 3 involves biting the darn bullet, opening the actual line comments and reading them. I take a day, print out the comments from every single reader, and go over the feedback, using a master file, page-by-page. In this case, it was a cartridge and a half of ink's worth of printouts. Phew! And another reason to slash the word count. ;-)
The picture above is what my beta reader feedback for Dragon Scales looked like. I asked for feedback from trusted critique partners back in August. By the end of September, I had five (5) full manuscript reads of feedback to draw on for rewrites, and one partial.
This is truly excellent, and I can't thank all my beta readers enough! Carol, Ryan, Phillip, Jenny and Liz -- you are all awesome! You gave Gracie and Zora so much love, I'm humbled. Thank you a zillion times.
I really want Dragon Scales to shine before I query it, and these folks want the same. Were they harsh? Yes, but I feel confident they were constructively so.
Did I go through Stages 1 & 2? Definitely. It helps that the feedback came in staggered, so I went through these stages, periodically, with each set of feedback. (Sorry, team! I did /do. But I love every single word you provided me to think about.) Good news is, I'm in Stage 3 now. The question is, "What's next?"
For me the answer's simple: rewrite.
The purpose of a beta read, at this stage, is not to validate what I've written. I love praise as much as the next author, but what I needed at this stage in my writing is to make this MS shine, so an agent will request it and hopefully ask for an R&R.
That's kinda depressing, right?! That I'm hoping for yet another rewrite?
But that's the reality, if I get any requests for it, at all. And as this is not my first rodeo querying, I know the dangers of querying a MS too soon, before I've gone through this whole process, so … yeah. I'm revising with a few rounds of feedback before querying.
This is actually the second round of beta reads on Dragon Scales, but the first on this version. The first round went well. I passed through all three stages and rewrote the sucker from page 1. Readers of that earlier version liked & expressed enthusiasm for the story, but pointed out structural issues with the storytelling that I had to do a deep-dive into plotting to figure out how to fix.
A few of my current beta readers read Dragon Scales for the first time, but several had read it last time and were able to comment on how I'd addressed the issues they'd raised then, adequately or not.
Now I sit down with a print-out of each person's comments and mark the ones I want to implement in the master file, page by page. You may choose to do this with electronic copies, but I prefer to see the comments on paper. I have to deal with them that way. I can't throw a tantrum, pretend I don't see them, or "accidentally" delete them.
I really am appreciative of all the hard work that went into this. And I can't stress the importance of paying it forward. For several of these beta readers, I've read and critted 2+ manuscripts. You have to do a lot of reading, and critiquing, to find your people.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
Now, rolling up my sleeves and digging in!
