Collecting Writing Feedback You Can Actually Use

Like all serious authors, you know the importance of accurate, actionable feedback. Here's the problem: asking for comments—the standard technique—fails on both counts. Writing feedback collected from any commenting prompt tends to be erroneous and possibly counterproductive.

Consider this vignette. Imagine handing some recent work to a parent and asking for comments. They'll read it and generally say something encouraging, like "Honey, I love it!" While they're proudly sticking your work to the refrigerator, you ask what they liked. Here comes the problem. They've committed to a positive evaluation. Now, they're compelled to back it up. They stop to think, searching their memory for nice things to say.

There is no failure. Only feedback.
-Robert Allen

What comes out tends to be what's easy to remember—not why they actually liked the story (this exaggerated case makes that certain). The commenting frame may also lead them to make recommendations. For instance, I think this character should have blue eyes. The longer their comment stream continues, the further away from reading they get. In technical terms, they construct a retrospective rationalization, which is only loosely tied to their reason for liking the story.

Nearly all commenting suffers from some version of this problem. Asking for comments shifts readers into an analytic mode, which barely resembles a natural reading experience. Ironically, the more comments you get, the worse the problem. It's ok to ask for help, but don't mistake that input for actually testing your work. To illustrate this difference: "You need a better hook" is a comment—really, an opinion. Testing allows you to witness if your reader is hooked—a fact. To be clear, readers aren't students; you're not testing them. Instead, feedback tests you— the author.

How to Test Your Storytelling

Proper testing comes from a naturalistic approach that's less vulnerable to memory quirks. Think about your goal to highlight the right way to conduct this test. At Bardsy, novels transfer the author's story to the reader. (Our blogs and forthcoming guides unpack this premise.) To succeed, your novel needs to pass two tests. First, a reader has to recreate that story, accurately. Then, second, the story has to be satisfying.

This nearly foolproof method works because it uses memory advantageously. The procedure works best with fresh readers, unfamiliar with your work. Responses from others, depending on how much they know before reading, will be more or less contaminated. Fresh fans of your work's genre are the most valuable.

Once you've found a volunteer, provide minimal instructions, like: "Please read this, and then I'd like to ask a few questions." Above all, you want the reading circumstances to be as natural as possible. Let them read at their own pace, as they normally would, and meet soon after they finish. We recommend doing a key chapter at a time, if you have the resources, until you're ready to assess the entire draft (as we do in our directed writing groups). Of course, reading a novel takes longer, making volunteers harder to find but that much more valuable. However, attention spans make the interview time relatively constant.

Procedural Specifics

Find a comfortable setting where you can see their whole face (video chat is okay). Get permission to record what they say, leaving you free to watch their eyes and mouth. Most people prefer audio to video recording, so keep that in mind. Have a helper, again if resources allow, ask questions while you concentrate on data collection. If not, listen attentively between questions, only noting emotional markers—smiles or eye rolls, for example.

The first question must be: "In your own words, please retell what you read." Add reassurance: "Do your best, I'm going to listen and won't interrupt until you're done." When they finish the primary retelling, you can ask more. Remember, this method deemphasizes evaluation (less opportunity to rationalize). Questions like "Did you like it?" or "Was it engaging?" defeat the purpose.

There's some art to following up—better questions come from knowing your story's needs, prior feedback, and practice. Start broadly: "Please tell me more about this character." Drill down after their description ends: "What choices did the character make and why?" First chapters deserve special attention because they're so important. At Bardsy, we commonly ask volunteers to guess a story's genre and what'll happen in chapter two. As a very last question, we ask: "Would your friends want to read this?"

Don't lose their attention; most adults last around ten minutes. Though the stakes are high, maintain your composure. Never, ever interrupt or comment on what they say. Tactical head nods help. Remember to thank them. When they leave, organize and review your data, listening to the audio several times.

The key to learning is feedback. It is nearly impossible to learn anything without it.
- Steven Levitt

The retelling should be accurate and enthusiastic, flowing easily from one thought to the next. Obviously, inaccuracy—retellers getting facts wrong—is problematic, albeit startling to first-time testers. It happens. More subtly, pauses and stumbles indicate coherence issues. It's harder to diagnose what's responsible for indifferent retellings. This unwelcome state could signal issues with the genre, the interviewee's situation, or something worse. The same analysis applies to subsequent questions. Can they, for instance, describe your characters well and restate their motivations as you intend?

You can learn much from how they say something. Gestures, for instance, translate to emotional impact. Other good signs include laughter or shuddering—depending on genre. In contrast, a genre expert who rolls their eyes calls for substantial revision.

Treat overall emotional reactions as an overall evaluation. Fast-paced retellings are a sign of excitement and investment. Spontaneous—unprompted—interjections, such as this part was great or it dragged can be extremely valuable, or they may be a sign that the volunteer is trying to step into your role as author, projecting their vision onto your story. In these cases, you may need to adjust your conclusions to account for your volunteer's personality.

When you've taken all you can from the data, it's time to honestly list the good as well as what needs work. Big issues tend to be obvious, so a given revision rarely requires multiple tests. Once you have identified the big issue, revise completely—maintaining coherence—before interviewing a different person.

Ready to make your story the best it can be? Submit your first chapter to Bardsy's First Chapter Anthology Contest to receive editorial feedback on your work. Click here to learn more!

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Collecting Writing Feedback You Can Actually Use

There is no failure. Only feedback. -Robert Allen

How to Test Your Storytelling

Procedural Specifics

The key to learning is feedback. It is nearly impossible to learn anything without it. - Steven Levitt

There is no failure. Only feedback.
-Robert Allen

The key to learning is feedback. It is nearly impossible to learn anything without it.
- Steven Levitt