Overly Vague Feedback:

Let’s say you have someone read your writing and then the time comes around for their thoughts on it.

“So, what did you think?” you ask.

“Oh, it was great!” they reply.

“Thank you! Do you have anything you would like to see changed?”

“No, I loved all of it!”

“Okay, well I would love to hear any feedback you had,” you reply, hoping they might suggest what scenes they like best or if a character is too annoying.

“It was a great story, good job!”

End scene. So, yay! They liked it, but you have no idea if they are just saying that because they are afraid to ask you to change something, or if they genuinely like the story but still don’t have any other tips to offer. Especially if the beta reader is afraid of giving criticism, asking questions about specific aspects of the book is more helpful than leaving it up to them. Good questions to ask include: Who was your favorite/least favorite character? What was your favorite/least favorite part? What genre do you think the book is? What was the most exciting part? Which character did you relate to the most?

Asking these questions in a casual conversation will also help the beta reader to feel more at ease and answer more honestly.

“Just Right” Feedback:

The “just right” feedback is in the middle of overly harsh and overly vague. The reader will tell you what they did like as well as what they didn’t. What should you do when you get this kind of feedback? Savor it, write it down, whatever you do consider everything they said!! Make sure to remember who gave you the feedback as well so you can possibly have them beta read for you again. There isn’t much else to say about this feedback other than its ideal for the beta reader to give and the author to work with.

Overly Critical Feedback:

This feedback is probably the least fun to receive. You shared your beloved writing project with someone and they tore it to shreds. However mad or sad this criticism can make us feel we shouldn’t pull a Jo March and cut our ties/friendship with the person who gave us this feedback.

Maybe the beta reader didn’t realize how critical they were being, or maybe they had a bad day. We also must realize that not everybody is going to love our writing, and that’s okay. Some people like all kinds of genres while others primarily like historical fiction or sci-fi. Take a deep breath and look back on how far you have come as a writer. All the tossing and turning at night trying to fix plot holes blossomed into pages of your very own story, how cool is that?

Grudgingly, this feedback should still be taken into account and considered. Don’t lose hope in your ability as a writer, instead, listen to the wise words of Dory and, “just keep swimming.”

Some final notes on this topic:

• having a set of questions for beta readers to keep in mind while reading is a great idea, regardless of what category they fall under

• thank the readers for taking the time to look over your writing

• beta readers don’t have to be writers so make sure you get a range of opinions

• Even as the author you can ask yourself beta reader questions as you write!

Over the course of this week, I should hopefully compile a list of beta reader questions and release them under the ‘For Writers’ page so be on the lookout for that! On a completely different topic, A Heart Adrift, the short story I am writing just passed 5,000 words! It’s already come a long way since December and it’s so exciting to see more plot pieces come together. Thank you for reading and have a fantastic and restful weekend Readers!