Revising our work

[ckatt]

I came across this article from last December on SFWA.org that I think relates a good approach and has some good advice.
Filtering Feedback: Strategies for Overcoming the Revision Doldrums

I'm wondering how you all approach the revision process and how you deal with feedback from beta readers. I tend to focus on the good first and then look for feedback on areas where I know I'm deficient. Lastly, I look at all the feedback I think is rubbish and see if there's still something I can get from it.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I look for trends. So, with my current one, my editor wasn’t keen on the end and I changed lots based on their feedback. I then had a thoughtful beta look at the edited mss and the end still doesn’t work. So I need to change the end....

 

[Steve Harrison]

These days I revise and edit until (I believe) I can't improve the novel any more, then I hand it to my two readers; my wife and a professional author friend (my wife is by far the scarier of the two).

My wife gives the book a close read, corrects the typos and gives me feedback on anything confusing & what she liked, didn't like etc. I direct my writer friend to give me feedback on specific elements and on anything else that jumps out at him.

I then evaluate all the feedback and make any changes I agree with.

 

[ckatt]

These days I revise and edit until (I believe) I can't improve the novel any more

I can identify with that. Though when I hit that point I know there's lots of things I'm missing. I'm part of an online critiquing group and what I have trouble with is figuring out what to do with all the feedback. it can be hard to sort through and decide what I should listen to and who didn't understand what I was trying to do. And then how do I make things more clear for those readers. I don't like to be too obvious but finding the balance is tricky when one does have a lot of experience.
@Jo Zebedee I'm not sure I know what you mean by trends. Trends in the writing or trends in your editor's comments?

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Trends in the comments

 

[.matthew.]

I don't get much in-depth critique (just a couple of people I know who will read and usually reply with a "I liked..." until I really push for something they didn't. Even then it's usually just simple stuff but I try to take it on board. For example in my last one the main character apparently thought (first person) too eloquently for his upbringing when compared to his noble-born partner (despite receiving the same education after a certain age). I went back through and rephrased a lot after that and it definitely helped separate them and expand on the class divide that was an underlying theme.

 

[CTRandall]

As with Jo, I look at trends. If more than one person mentions something, it's almost certainly a problem. Even if readers have different complaints but they are all focused on one scene or paragraph, there is a problem with the added difficulty that I have to filter through the comments to figure out what's really bugging the readers.

Something else that's both important and tricky is finding the right readers. Professional editors/writers are usually good at spotting the difference between real problems and things that don't suit their personal taste. Others, particularly friends and relatives, can have a harder time with that.

 

[The Big Peat]

Trends is a good word. A critique coming from only one person can be ignored if you want (although the best change I ever made came from pondering a solitary voice); if lots of people are saying the same thing... then I guess you can still ignore them, but you've got to accept you might be writing a marmite story. And there's nought wrong with a marmite story but I feel like it's not something most of us set out to do - although I feel like maybe we should consider embracing it more, as successful stories tend to have a skew in focus and often do things that could be considered as "breaking rules".

But I digress. I look for trends. I look for criticisms that resonate with me. I also look for criticisms where people are just going "I didn't get it" as I feel like that's when you need to clarify. "Didn't work for me" or "I think it's too much X", well, that's taste but you have at least communicated what's going on. "I don't get it. Is A a Y or Z" is a communication issue and that's a huge amount more important.

Finally... all sorts of beta readers are good, but working out which of them seem to have the same vision for the finished product you do is huge.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Pete’s last point is a good one. At least make sure your beta readers like what you write.