#book feedback

[woodpengu]

To the fans of ACoTaR...

I urge you to read The Black Jewels by Anne Bishop, the books Maas ripped names and ideas directly from. Not "took inspiration" from, definitely yoinked verbatim.

[unless content of an SA, pedo, or like behavior is triggering, then please don't subject yourself to reading the book; instead, seek out a synopsis or summary or video essay]

I read Black Jewels first (it came out first) but didn't give ACoTaR a try until too many people hounded me about not giving it a real try. So I did... and now - though it's not without flaws - I won't be swayed from deeming Black Jewels superior.

ACoTaR... ripped too much from too many places and left me a mighty disappointed bibliophile. Please stop recommending it to me.

[As a note: I read and enjoyed Throne of Glass, wishing it had been given more attention in the development stages, so it's not author bias; don't eat me]

[jebmungall]

About Antiphon: Fire and Stone

Antiphon: Fire and Stone is a fantasy novel I recently published. I’m quickly learning that writing the story was the fun part. Promoting it has been much less fun. Nevertheless, it’s a work that I’m proud of. Recently updated cover art for Antiphon: Fire and Stone featuring Kord Maratha It is set in the world of Irden, a world in a state of transition. While medieval fantasy is still…

[iwillreadyourbook]

YES, I WILL ACTUALLY READ YOUR BOOK.

I’m a self-published author who loves beta reading! And I’ve always loved giving feedback to my fellow authors.

For any up-and-coming authors looking for feedback, my DM’s are open!

SOME NOTES:

1. I work full time and write my own work under a pen name. So if you aren’t paying me, don’t expect any sort of concrete timeline.

2. You do get expedited service if you pay for it. You’ll have to ask me for my pricing.

3. No personal queries/DMs. I’m taken and I just like beta reading. Let’s keep it to that.

[purple-raspberries]

A thing!

Context: Latter goes on a walk on a morning during his family’s stay at Howdy’s and spots Quincy making snow castles. Quincy, excited to see someone new, invites him over and the topic of poems comes up and eventually this scene happens. Latter reciting his poems to Quincy who then gives some feedback.

——————————-

Did I (not)suddenly imagine a friendship between Latter and Quincy? Yes.

Is there potential for a ship? …….perhaps. Mentally I’m taking that really slowly as I get used to Quincy being a character and figuring out what they might be like as a person. Orientation and their preferred partner (or lack thereof) being one of those things.

[writingwithfolklore]

Questions from Beta Readers are Rhetorical

You know when people leave you questions on your work during the feedback process like, “why is she doing this?” or “who is this again?” or “how does this relate to what was just said?” You’re not meant to reply back and answer those.

They aren’t asking because they want you to explain it to them—or at least, that’s not very helpful to the actual work. They’re asking because something in the manuscript is unclear. Most readers won’t have the benefit of having you next to them to answer questions as they go—the work has to hold up on its own. If something is unclear, it should be addressed in the text, it’s pretty useless if it’s addressed only in your answer back to your beta reader.

So actually, when people ask me questions about my manuscript, I don’t answer them at all. I go back into the work and try to clarify, and then I have them read it again. If they have the same question, it means I need to try again until the confusion is cleared up.

Sometimes the people I edit for reply back with paragraphs of explanation, and I tell them that it’s great that they understand it, but I don’t need or want them to explain it to me afterward. I was asking the question so they knew what exactly was unclear to me (a bit more helpful than saying “this is confusing”). I want the understanding to come from just reading the piece.

That being said, some beta readers might want you to chat about it further with them—it’s up to you guys! But if you don’t also address the question in the work, you’re not doing yourself or your piece any favours.

[filurig]

so i might be making a picture book about my blorbos for uni...

[trobedtism]

thinking about mike hanlon. mike hanlon, who stayed in derry for twenty-seven years out of a sense of duty, yes, but for the most part, out of his love for six losers who didn’t even remember he existed. the six losers who made him feel like he wasn’t an outsider for the first time in his life. six losers who helped him realize that it’s important to be tough, sure, but that it’s also okay to be soft too. it’s okay to care for the creatures that no one else does. (no matter what your grandfather says.) the six losers who defended him, who accepted him immediately and without hesitation. who showed him the “inexplicable warmth of friendship.”

and how that warmth vanished for the others when they left derry. but it never vanished for mike.

thinking about how mike hanlon must have ached, wanting to call them so much during the near-three decades apart, but knew logically that he couldn’t. because he knew they’d think It was back. knowing that they forgot him, not of their own volition, but because of the wretchedness of derry’s curse. it’s comforting some nights, but other nights mike can do nothing but stare at the photos the seven of them took in that photo booth.

mike hanlon being the outsider again, trapped in derry without the friends that gave life its meaning. and still staying, because of the immeasurable love he had for those friends. because of an oath he made to protect them.

and because of him, they all get a happy ending. he finally gets to leave his childhood home, his trauma, and make his own adventure, his own life. knowing that his friends are always there for him. and they’ll never forget again. all thanks to mike and his love.

he deserves everything 😭💛

[heretoobsessstuff]

“we’re all gonna miss major Cleven, sir”.

Major Cleven John thought bitterly. Gale. Sweet beautiful Gale. Gale who was there. In the cockpit. Fighting for his life while John was sleeping next to a random woman. Gale who was falling from the sky. Living his last moments. Losing blood. In pain. Scared and cold and alone. While John was here in London. Drinking and coaxing a random woman to spend more time in his bed. Where was Gale now? His Gale. Laying on the dirt and mud somewhere? Lost in some distant German field with no one to look for him? His ocean blue eyes forever closed? What had become of him? Of his Gale? Was anything even left of him?

John felt sick with anger. His thoughts ran wild with no one to tame them. I should’ve never left him alone. I should’ve been up there with him. Protecting him. Looking out for him. It was supposed to be me and him left up in the sky. Not me in London and him lost somewhere I can never reach. It’s all my fault. I failed him. I failed him. Grief clawing at his throat. Suffocating him. His eyes stinging with unshed tears and the lump he had swollen down a hundred times with the alcohol. He needed to go. Avenge Buck. Or find him. Or join him. Wherever he was.

“Don’t worry Kenny” he said. Jumping into the Jeep. Hands shaking. “I don’t even feel it”.

[mikiib]

Pomni Possessed by Bill Cipher >:3c What do you like better? With or without the shading?

I, uh... Couldn't stop at just ONE outfit. First one was my original color pallet, then I tried to make a yellow suit - inspired by Playdough (the clay). I changed the eyes back to white because it was just- TOO MUCH YELLOW. Then lastly for all my fellow showtime shippers- "How do I look, Caine?"

[whumblr]

I've been more seriously considering publishing Home Is Where The Hurt Is lately. I'm in the very early brainstorming stages, so don't pin me on anything.

Some years too late but hey. I never really knew where to start and dismissed publishing a little because to me, it doesn't feel like a book or a novel. It's a series. A combination of short stories, tropes, strung together by a little red string of plot and characters.

But now I'm thinking, why not? Self publishing is easier than ever and it would be a very nice project for 2025 to set up.

I'm trying to get inspiration for a cover rn and looking for an editor (who doesn't automatically reject half of the book because it's just plain glorious violence ^^') but the cover is harder than I thought...

Don't mind me, I'm just thinking out loud here, airing some thoughts, and in the first stages of gauging interest. I know some people have already shared their interest (and I love those, like, 3 people dearly ^^) but I'd like to hear some more thoughts.

I'll keep you all updated where I am in the process and once I'm starting everything.

[littlecrow4]

How we feeling about this??? Good? Bad?

Part of a fic I’m writing

[squoobest]

this pleasant étoile shows up at your door

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I read ur twst chars analises a lot,n I just wanna say I really love how u write em!!! I like ur nuanced interpretation, how they r very detailed,thoughtful, n objective, even tho its not about ur favs or even ones u dislike, also made me realize how good twst writing can be. So if I may ask, which of the cast do u think is the/one of the best written char(s) in the game?? N vice versa if u may, like ones u think need improvement :^]

[Analysis masterlist here! I believe it’s currently full so I’m working on putting together a second one :>]

First of all, thank you very much for enjoying my analyses ^^ I try very hard to research and to put myself in the shoes of each character I’m writing about, and I’m glad that it seems to show in my writing.

If we’re talking about the main 22 NRC students + Grim… (I’m not counting blank slate Yuu, NRC staff, Halloween characters, RSA students, and NPCs because they have such limited lore + vignettes and I feel it wouldn’t be fair to compare.) Honestly, I feel like they’re all written pretty decently, with perhaps the caveat being that there’s more content weighted toward the OB boys due to their significance in the main story and irl marketing. Some other characters, like Jade and Rook, are purposefully more mysterious as part of their characters.

I guess if I had to point out some weaker characters, I’d say they’d be Jack and Epel? I feel like those two are pretty… one note… 😔 What do we know about Jack? He’s strong, loyal, likes to exercise, is disciplined, is a tsundere… What do we know about Epel? He wants to be cool and not cute, he YEEHAWS, he likes apples, he’s really close with his family… You can see this reflected in the core of Epel’s dream; he wants to be tall and muscular, which is very simple when put next to the other dreams.

Of the two, Epel is worse off because he actually had a character arc in book 5 where he begins to accept that beauty and femininity can be a strength and isn’t something to be ashamed of. However, almost ALL the vignettes and side content outside of the main story have Epel exclusively talking about how tough and cool he wants to be + rejecting cute/girly things, which sort of negates the main story development and feels like he has regressed so much. I get that maybe he wouldn’t change his mind right away or do a 180, but it still creates a strong whiplash. Jack is at least consistent. Sort of stale, but consistent.

Those two aren’t flat or anything, but it feels like they hinge on the same handful of traits in every appearance and whenever we learn anything new about them, it’s just the same thing we already knew before but said slightly differently. I’d like to know more about Jack and Epel outside of these areas.

P.S. SORRY TO THE JACK AND EPEL STANS IN My AUDIENCE OTL

[physalian]

The Dos and Don’ts of Giving and Receiving Constructive Criticism

Some of these should be painfully obvious and yet. They come from experience.

Receiving feedback:

Do

Understand that a criticism of a character’s thoughts, actions, morality, and choices are likely not a criticism of you as an author, unless the character is an author insert

Understand that they are being paid to critique how successfully you told an entertaining story, not pander to your trauma dumping

Understand that critiquing a book’s success as an entertaining story means that how much you yourself connect with or love a character or scene or plotline is irrelevant if it doesn’t make a compelling narrative

You might have written your book for yourself. Your editor is a different person with their own human biases and perspectives. If you just want to pay someone to stoke your ego, make that 100% clear up front.

Stand up for yourself and clarify where necessary if some details were overlooked or if explaining outside the narrative can better contextualize anything confusing or lacking detail.

Stand up for yourself in what feedback you are expecting, and what degree of criticism you’re willing to endure. An editor can let more or less of their own views show depending on what you ask for.

Stand up for yourself if your editor delivers inadequate or useless feedback. You’re paying them for a job, and you deserve to have it done properly.

Try to separate dislike of a book from dislike of yourself. It’s not easy, but the goal is to fix your book that you’ve already spent a lot of time writing, and they’re only trying to help.

Remember that your author insert is subjected to the same level of criticism as any other character, and that you asked for this.

Keep an open mind and be prepared for feedback that you don’t like, because you can’t please everyone. Your editor should be able to tell you whether or not a scene or character, or plotline works separate from their own personal tastes.

Don’t

Argue with your editor over their religiosity or lack thereof and insist that adhering to genre expectations means they “worship the god of [genre]”. (really, argue with your editor over anything like this, e.g. their own sexuality, religiosity, gender, socioeconomic status).

Argue with your editor while still expecting more work from them as if your aggression will in any way positively impact their perception of your book.

Insult your editor’s intelligence for not understanding your jargon and attempts to sound smarter than you are.

Get mad when your editor sees right through your BS and calls it like they see it, specifically your self-insert Mary Sue protagonist.

Insist that the solution to better understanding your book is for that editor to do extensive homework on your niche topic. If it’s a niche book for niche audiences, hire an editor who’s already knowledgeable about that niche topic.

Equate a bad review and opinion of the book with unprofessionalism. These can overlap, but they are not interchangeable.

Forget that your book is probably meant for leisure and entertainment, and your audience is under no obligation to read “until it gets good,” when they can go do literally anything else. Your first job is to entertain, if you write fiction.

Giving Feedback:

Do

Pay attention to your client’s wants and needs and expectations. If they’re more sensitive to bad feedback, do your best and stay as objective as possible. You can’t please everyone, either.

Helpful feedback includes an explanation of why an element needs work and how it can be improved. Saying “I hate this” with nothing else helps no one and just makes the author feel bad with no direction of how to make it better.

Communicate beforehand how much of your own personality your author wants from you. Do they like personal opinions and your personal reactions to the text, or do they want it as impersonal as possible and solely focused on the structure of the narrative? This might avoid a mess.

Remember to leave notes of where things worked well to balance the criticism. Even a simple “this is good” highlighting a line or a paragraph or two helps keep authors motivated to keep writing. I firmly believe that no book is completely unsalvageable.

Make it painfully clear with no room for debate that criticism of a character is not criticism of the author, unless it's an author insert, in which case the author absolutely asked for it.

Make it clear that you are just one person and these are all suggestions, not laws.

Don’t

Let your own personal opinions cloud your judgment of whether or not someone with different tastes could enjoy the book.

Unless given permission, get too personal with the narrative and reach beyond what’s written on the page.

Do more than what you’re paid for. You’re an editor, not a therapist for the writer’s trauma dumping.

Forget to wrap up all your thoughts in a condensed format that the author can reference, as opposed to endlessly scrolling through the manuscript trying to summarize your points for you.

Walk away with absolutely nothing positive to say about the manuscript. Even if it’s awful on every front, the writer still tried and that deserves merit.

This is from my personal experience beta and sensitivity reading, and dealing with other beta and sensitivity readers. We are all human and these jobs are not one-size-fits-all and there aren’t really hardline rules as every author, editor, and manuscript is different with different needs.

Just some things to keep in mind.

But also, for the authors who do write self-insert Mary Sues: You are in for a very rude awakening if you expect anyone other than yourself to adore your book with zero criticism. If you really just want someone to proofread and look for typos, tell them.

[writingwithfolklore]

Your Beta Readers are Always Right

              That’s not to say that you take every single recommendation or piece of feedback that they give you, but rather that you shouldn’t argue with your beta readers. They are always correct, because they will (should) always give you their honest thoughts and interpretations of your work. To call them wrong would be to call them lying… And unless you’ve run into a super evil beta reader who is trying to discourage you through lying about what they think of your work, why would they lie to you?

              If one beta reader hates your work but five others love it, that’s not to say that one person is wrong. This is data. No matter what you or others say, that beta reader’s feedback still stands on its own. It says, maybe this book isn’t for everyone—if I was the writer, would I address this? No, because no work is going to please everyone, and 5/6 is pretty good.

              If someone thinks your MC is annoying (and they aren’t meant to be)—that’s what they honestly and truly think. It’s your job to decide if that’s an issue you’re going to address or not. If 9/10 people say that, maybe that’s a good hint that you should go back in.

              I’ve given feedback that has caused people to explain specific parts of their work to me as if to say, “no—because look at this.” I’ve read the same thing they’re giving me—I still think what I originally thought. I wasn’t lying, and I’m not going to think differently from reading the same thing twice. Does that mean they always have to take my notes? Absolutely not—it’s up to them to decide whether the problem that I see is worth addressing. Just because I might put down a book for some reason, doesn’t mean that everyone would, and doesn’t mean that the book needs to cater to what exactly I like.

              I hope this makes sense! What’s the most helpful note a beta reader has ever given you?

[pannathottafughoe]

Right, so I don't know if this can be said for the Japanese version, but whenever I revisit the English translation of Purple Haze Feedback I always find myself pleasantly amused by the prose.

It is surprisingly well-written for a light novel based on an obscure character from the side-quest JoJo part.

The prose is dry and straightforward in an entertaining way that's fitting for Fugo’s POV. It's how I imagine he sees the world. It's lowkey but you can palpably feel just how done he is with everything and everyone. Fugo's annoyance is the undercurrent of the entire novel. I feel like after every interaction he's staring sarcastically into the camera like they do in The Office. God I love this book.