Feedback from Beta Readers
Poe the raven is a resident of the American Eagle Foundation.
After I finished revising my MG zoo mystery based on feedback from a book coach in training, I sought out beta readers—people who aren’t professional editors or book coaches but who are smart readers. One of them was my husband.
I know, I know. You’re not supposed to seek feedback from family members because they won’t be honest with you, yadda, yadda. Or they don’t understand writing. Or, or, or. So many reasons not to ask family to read.
Although my husband Larry is not a fiction writer, he is a professional writer and has no problem telling me things I may not want to hear about my work. I asked him to read this novel because he reads a lot of mysteries (mostly for adults). I figured he’d spot plot holes I may have overlooked.
My other reader is a fellow middle grade novelist, one of my classmates from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. As far as I know, my friend, Margaret, is not particularly into mysteries. She writes mostly contemporary realistic fiction, so I thought her sensibilities would be especially helpful for the subplot involving my main character and her mom.
I sent both of my readers a one-page worksheet to fill out. Here are some of the questions:
Does the title catch your eye?
After finishing Chapter 1, what do you think is going to happen next? Would you keep reading?
What are you thinking about a quarter of the way through, halfway through, and at the end?
If you make it to the end, did the book meet the promise it made at the beginning?
I also asked what the readers thought about my main characters’ approach to their investigations.
Larry did not find any plot holes, but he did point out one small thing that could have been a problem. “Do birds have a sense of smell?” he asked. I was pretty certain that ravens have a decent sense of smell, but I did a quick search. Yep, they do. I saved that article in case anyone else asks.
He also pointed out an important difference between Minnesota and Wisconsin when it comes to bear hunting with dogs. This isn’t important to the plot, but it required some dialogue adjustment because the story is set in a fictitious version of the Lake Superior Zoo in Duluth, Minnesota.
That was pretty much it for Larry’s feedback.
Margaret’s comments were more extensive, but still mostly easy to address. One comment she made about the Zoo Crew made me realize that I needed to add something more overtly at the end. The meaning of that term shifts over the course of the novel.
Margaret also asked about the wolves, whose mysterious illness kicks off the story, and what happens to them. That sent me back to my friend, Louise, a retired zoo veterinarian, to get some more details.
Margaret also wished the raven had more agency to investigate on his own. In the back of my mind, I’ve thought of Edgar as similar to Nero Wolfe, the armchair detective created by Rex Stout, who solves crimes from his home with the help of his assistant, Archie. And also similar to Sherlock Holmes in the way he recruits others to help gather information.
And careful reader that Margaret is, she noted my verbal tics that need attention.
I worked my way through the manuscript to address the bigger stuff and then the smaller stuff.
Next up, querying agents!