The first time the words are read
I sat plugging away on the next chapters as two readers read through my manuscript. My writing desk faces a window that overlooks my backyard. It’s a tranquil view of mature fruit trees, palms, confederate jasmine, herbs and a sprinkling of vegetables that I manage to keep alive as my green thumb improves year over year.
It was one of those days when the heat advisory outside caused condensation to roll lazily down the house's exterior windows. Though I absolutely love the quiet and need it to recharge, my home during this season of life is generally anything but quiet. This particular day, my Alzheimer-ridden momma was sitting inside watching one of her favorite shows, Frasier. My dad was sitting beside her, scrolling through the games on his cell phone. My youngest daughter was in her bedroom singing, unaware that anyone else was paying attention. And my middle daughter and best friend sat curled up on the couch in our sunroom, flipping through the printed pages of Magnolia Isle.
With each finger tap on my keyboard, I got sucked deeper into the story unfolding in book two and became so zoned out that I started when my bestie briskly walked up next to my desk and said, “Look at me!” as she pointed to the tears in her eyes.
“Where are you?” I asked, wanting to know exactly what part she was reading that was causing the emotional reaction.
“I know her. I’ve been her.”
“Yes!” I exclaimed excitedly.
No, my main character is not in any way a reflection of my bestie. But knowing that a reader can relate that well to a character is elating.
Nervous. Excited. Scared. Thrilled. It’s pretty much a giant roller coaster of emotions for me the very first time I hand over the printed pages of a new manuscript and say, “read this and give me feedback.”
Of course, the first sets of eyes that read my manuscripts are generally eyes that love me. They are safe eyes. So part of you wonders just a touch if they will say good things just to be nice. My request of ‘give me feedback’ needs to be accompanied by a sharp disclaimer of “be brutally honest; it won’t hurt my feelings.”
For me, that’s worked. This is the eighteenth book I’ve written, though it will only be the third I’ve published under my name. I like my ideas and my writing but I find that the more open I am to feedback from first—trusted eyes, and next—some beta readers…the better my manuscripts are.
The feedback from Magnolia Isle has been fantastic. It’s been insightful, allowing me to reach and stretch certain scenes and characters. It’s been validating for parts that I wasn’t 100% sure worked, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well it resonated. It’s been unexpected as readers have shared moments that struck particular emotional chords with them.
And of course, hearing “I can’t wait to see what happens” is literally the best music to a writer’s ear.
It’s not all hearts and rainbows, though, and honestly, I would never want it to be. I want to know where things feel too fluffy or forced. I want to know whether a character is “blah” or relatable. I want to know that the supporting characters are interesting enough that readers would like to see their stories unfold as well.
Have you ever read an author’s first book and then read their 6th?
If you’ve ever followed an author like that, it’s likely that you witnessed their writing maturing right before your eyes. Same style, same flow, but an underlying maturity that happens to every writer as they continue to grow in their craft. A newbie writer usually doesn’t even have a consistent writing schedule or a benchmark for the number of words they want to write each day.
Writing groups exist all over the world to help writers stay accountable to their craft, and of course, to teach them new things.
Ideally, we mature with each passing year, with each character.
It was great hearing the feedback I’ve received so far. I get super excited when I see the redlines in the editing process, and even more excited when my editor sends back his marked-up changes. Because with each red mark, each change, each new reader, I know that Magnolia Isle, the characters that reside there, and my craft are all maturing with each passing day.
Call me a dork if you want to, but it’s one of the things I love best about being a writer.
