Beta Readers: The Fresh Perspective You Need As a writer, you look at your manuscript over and over; at a certain point you can no longer “see” it. Beta readers offer fresh eyes to spot what’s working—or not working—from the reader’s point of view. While beta readers is a catchall term for early readers, you […]
Craft
Poetry and Nonfiction: A Beautiful Couple
April is National Poetry Month—no, don’t look away! You may be here for nonfiction advice and wonder what poetry has to do with it. Everything. Here are three specific things… Poetry techniques can enhance your nonfiction Poetry predates written text and likely was used as a way of making it easier to remember oral history. […]
Does your book need a foreword, preface, or introduction? Here’s how to decide.
In the beginning was . . . the Foreword? the Preface? the Introduction? I was reviewing a manuscript the other day and couldn’t quite tell what the author’s intent was for the beginning elements of his book. The foreword, preface, and introduction play distinct roles. Having read, you know, books, you might intuitively know what the roles are, […]
How to Avoid Being Too Concise
A while back, as I reviewed a client’s writing, I found myself a bit puzzled about what advice to give. The language was clean and technically correct, but it was difficult to read. I had to actively concentrate to get through it, and I wasn’t quite sure what I was supposed to take away. It […]
Learning to Love Feedback on Your Writing
Many newer writers bristle at feedback. In creative writing workshops, they defend their work against their classmates’ observations. When beta readers offer suggestions, they explain why the readers are wrong. When asking for feedback, they are disappointed at anything but praise. Well of course! Criticism hurts! It feels like you’re killing my little darlings! It’s […]