When you ask beta readers or editors to provide feedback on your story, it can feel personal. After all, you’ve spent months (or years) working on your book and it’s a part of you. Hearing someone doesn’t like it can feel as if they don’t like you. That’s why it’s important to step back, reread the feedback, and consider how your reaction might color your interpretation of it.
If you can put aside defensiveness, reader feedback can help you improve your writing. It’s a valuable source of information that can help you identify problem areas and make changes to address them. However, not all feedback will be helpful. That’s because the opinions of your readers will vary, and some will be subjective.
Subjective reader response is a critical theory that places the reader in the spotlight, arguing that they create meaning through interpretation and interaction with a text. This approach is different from New Criticism and other theories that emphasize only those elements present in a text.
When receiving reader feedback, it’s important to remember that their responses will be influenced by their own experiences and beliefs. This can lead to an overly negative or positive bias. It’s also important to recognize that their critiques are based on their interpretation of your story and not a judgment of who you are as a person. If you take these factors into consideration, you can be prepared to receive a range of responses from your early readers.
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