The MVPs of Feedback

Football season has captured the country, and baseball play-offs have begun. In post-game discussions, we often hear about the Most Valuable Players who took the game from good to great. For writers, it’s crunch season for a lot of those year-end goals. And that means it’s time to line up the MVPs of feedback.

When that manuscript is complete and polished, you need to seek out feedback. But not just any feedback. You want to orchestrate the most valuable feedback that can take your work from good to great and make it ready for the eyes of agents and editors.

To make the most of your feedback, try to assemble a team with diverse talents. Consider the positions you need to cover, and choose your readers with careful attention to their strengths.

Eagle Eye Ida

We all know someone who can spot a typo from a mile away. They catch lapses in verb tense or point of view. They notice when you slipped up and omitted the quotation marks or when you changed your spelling of Catherine to Katherine.

It’s nearly impossible to spot all the mechanical errors in your own writing. You’re too close to it, you’ve spent too much time with it, and your brain knows what it’s supposed to say. Find yourself an Eagle Eye Ida and trust that those pesky mistakes will be found.

Literary Lucy

Ah, the English teachers of the world. Some of them are literally English teachers. Some of them may have missed their calling. But these are the people who read with an eye for craft.

These are the readers who like to immerse themselves in the beauty of language. They absorb metaphors. They pick up on symbolism. They love literary devices.

These are the readers who can tell you what’s working and what’s not in the artistry behind the story. Recruit a Literary Lucy to help you elevate the craft of your writing.

Questioning Quinton

Have you ever been in a book club with someone who asks a lot of questions? Do you know that person who likes to ask, “Yeah, but what if…?” And likes to say, “But couldn’t you also interpret that as…?”

You don’t have to follow every interrogative trail Quinton blazes, but it’s good to know what questions your readers might ask. So find someone who likes to ask those questions, and then weed through them to figure out which ones might really make your work more clear and engaging.

Detail Dan

Many people don’t notice when you wear a different pair of shoes with that same outfit or when you used culantro instead of cilantro in that last batch of salsa. However, the Detail Dans will notice. And they’re not afraid to point it out.

These are the readers who can spot a minor inconsistency or barely noticeable plot hole. They’ll let you know if your lactose-intolerant character orders a latte without specifying a milk alternative. They won’t be afraid to point it out if the rhododendron mentioned in chapter 2 is referred to as a tea olive in chapter 26.

The Detail Dans of the world serve an important purpose. Value their feedback and allow them to assist you in cleaning up plot holes and inconsistencies.

Target Tim

Picture your target audience. Just who do you think will pick this book up off the shelf, settle into a cozy chair, and spend an afternoon turning page after page? Got the picture? This is your Target Tim.

Knowing your target audience is important. Therefore, getting feedback from a beta reader who fits the target profile is essential.

If your target audience is between the ages of three and five, you don’t want to find out if the humor works on a 30-year-old. If you’re writing a romance novel, you might not find the feedback you need from the neighbor who usually only reads nonfiction.

Keep in mind that if your Target Tim is school-age, you might need to put out a call to teachers who are willing to preview the work and decide if it’s something they’d like to share with their students.

There you have it: the winning line-up of feedback. Know your readers and understand exactly what you wish to glean from their commentaries. You may even want to supply targeted questions that address the specific strengths you find in each member of this team. And by all means, be gracious with your gratitude!

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Of course, once you have gathered your feedback, you need to run it through your colander of professional intuition. Decide what to keep, and let the rest go. The end goal is to elevate your craft and polish your work until it shines. Find your Feedback MVPs, and you’re on your way to a winning manuscript!