I've found value in having 3 or 4 reliable but unrelated critique partners for my work - then when I hear the same comment/criticism about the same part/aspect of my work from these independent sources I'm more confident about making that change or staying the course etc.
Good post on a topic rarely discussed! Thank you!!
Yes, that's a great point! If multiple people are saying the same thing, it's something to look at. Or even if they're pointing at the same spot (with different diagnoses), it's worth considering what's going on.
Great post! And very relevant to me since my latest just got through beta reads last month!
I particularly like the "specify what you're looking for" advice - I should've done a better job of that! As a result, both my betas started moving commas around and essentially including copyedits along with the big-picture edits, and I had to awkwardly respond, "I'm gonna ignore most of this because my publisher has very strong opinions about where commas go."
I've one suggestion to add: Keep your editors separate if you have more than one. Then you can get edits from multiple people that don't influence each other! It softens the blow for some things (one person didn't get it, the other loved this part!) and highlights the real issues if they're brought up independently by multiple editors.
A friend I'm beta-ing for just sent Google Docs to two of us and told us you have at it. I definitely find myself noticing the other beta's points and vice versa.
Oh wow, sending something in a Google doc never even occurred to me! So thanks for mentioning that. I can definitely see how spotting someone else's comments while you're reading might influence your own reactions.
This is great advice, Jodi! I’m going to share this post with my upcoming retreat attendees!
Ahh, I'm glad! I hope they find it useful! <3
I've found value in having 3 or 4 reliable but unrelated critique partners for my work - then when I hear the same comment/criticism about the same part/aspect of my work from these independent sources I'm more confident about making that change or staying the course etc.
Good post on a topic rarely discussed! Thank you!!
Yes, that's a great point! If multiple people are saying the same thing, it's something to look at. Or even if they're pointing at the same spot (with different diagnoses), it's worth considering what's going on.
Absolutely!!
Great post! And very relevant to me since my latest just got through beta reads last month!
I particularly like the "specify what you're looking for" advice - I should've done a better job of that! As a result, both my betas started moving commas around and essentially including copyedits along with the big-picture edits, and I had to awkwardly respond, "I'm gonna ignore most of this because my publisher has very strong opinions about where commas go."
I've one suggestion to add: Keep your editors separate if you have more than one. Then you can get edits from multiple people that don't influence each other! It softens the blow for some things (one person didn't get it, the other loved this part!) and highlights the real issues if they're brought up independently by multiple editors.
A friend I'm beta-ing for just sent Google Docs to two of us and told us you have at it. I definitely find myself noticing the other beta's points and vice versa.
Oh wow, sending something in a Google doc never even occurred to me! So thanks for mentioning that. I can definitely see how spotting someone else's comments while you're reading might influence your own reactions.
This is definitely something I struggle with! I really appreciate the advice you shared here <3