One of the best ways to find issues in your manuscript is to ask for feedback from others. Once you have that information, you can use it to find and fix problem areas in your story. A lot of authors understand this concept, but the process doesn’t always work for them.
Why? They ask the wrong questions.
Too often, authors ask yes/no questions or questions that can be answered with 1-2 words.
Did you like this book?
Did it keep you engaged?
Who was your favorite character?
These questions don’t give us enough information to self-edit our manuscripts. Instead, we need to go deeper, and that includes asking more specific questions (or including follow-up questions).
In my book How to Edit Your Novel: Practical Tips for Strengthening Your Story, I include many questions to ask your readers, then tell you how to process and apply the information to your manuscript. I can’t give you all the details here, but I can share with you some of the questions I suggest asking to get the most from your early readers.
General:
- Does the point of view flow well? If not, where did it stall for you?
- Does the point of view feel natural? If not, where did it feel unnatural to you?
- Were there any places where the point of view confused you? Where?
Characters:
- Who were your favorite characters? Why?
- Who were your least favorite characters? Why?
- Were there any characters you didn’t like? What didn’t you like about them?
Plot:
- Are there any places where the story dragged or was overexplained? Where?
- Did the action drag? Where?
- Were you bored with any scenes? Which ones?
Descriptions:
- Were there any places that felt choppy or confusing? Where?
- Were there any confusing places/descriptions? Where?
- Did anything about the story feel cliché or “done before”? Which parts?
Notice that each questions includes a follow-up. That follow-up is where you find the gold—get the specifics to help you find and fix those problem areas.
Still have questions? Let me know! karin@karinbeery.com
For more fiction-writing tips and advice, follow me on Facebook at Writing Now Editing, or sign up for my monthly newsletter and learn the easiest way to make a good impression with agents and publishers!