In 2016, I picked up writing after taking a break. I started at an early age. I wrote my first short novel at eighteen during my senior year of high school. Once I got into college, life took me down different roads, and my desire to create was put on simmer.
Then, in the summer of 2016, while watching an episode of The Walking Dead, the urge to write took hold out of nowhere. I suddenly dove back into it, reading more and writing every day. On top of that, I also consumed books with tips and advice on the craft. I took many of them to heart while casting aside others.
There is one piece of advice I have yet to embrace fully but also don’t toss out. That is the idea of having a personal reader—someone in your life who is the first to read what you write. Not to do editing, but to be the first pair of different eyes, and let you know if you’re on the right track, to give their thoughts, and give constructive criticism.
Opinions on having a Personal Reader vary. I’ve heard authors say that you shouldn’t have anyone read it until it’s completed. While others say your editor should be the first to view it. While other authors have a group of friends they share their work with.
Currently, my process is as follows: after my first draft, I review the manuscript three to four times, taking a break for three weeks to a month between each revision, before I give it to my editor, who is the first pair of different eyes to see my work.
For me, finding that Personal Reader has been a challenge. I’ve had a few friends over the years who showed interest in being readers. But they flaked out, never reading it. Or they read it and were too afraid to give me feedback, not wanting to hurt my feelings. Also, I write dark fiction and horror, which are not genres of interest to those in my family or in my life, so they have no interest in reading it. They’re supportive, of course, just in different ways. Another issue is that I reside in a rural area with few local authors to help build a community around.
Despite these setbacks, I am not deterred. I do believe there can be benefits to having a Personal Reader. It could be rewarding to have someone who not only loves what you write and is your fan but can also be an honest critic. To read your work and not be afraid to tell you, “Why are you boring me with this part?” or “Gee, too much description, tone it down, I don’t remember what the character is doing,” or “This is not believable at all, do a rewrite.” Constructive criticism is a good thing, and though we don’t have to accept all of it, we cannot be afraid to receive it.
I’m an avid reader, and it is said you can learn just as much from stories you don’t like as those you do enjoy. I have read many passages and wondered secretly whether the person had a Personal Reader. If they did, what did they say, or what advice did they give? One Story I recall had so many adverbs and adjectives ending in ly that it became a game for me to start counting how many were on each page. I thought to myself that they must not have had a Personal Reader to tell them to cut them out.
Because of these struggles to find a reader, it has also kept me from becoming one for someone else. If I were a Personal Reader, I would tell them never to kill off the main character at the end. For me, it minimizes the journey, and I don’t care whether their death served some greater purpose or the character is now at peace, because they completed some unfinished business. To me, killing the main character off is frustrating. The only exception is at the end of a long series. I’d also be a stickler for back stories that are too long-winded, and that kill the story’s pace. Don’t even get me started on too much description, you know what I’m talking about, those stories where there is so much detail that you forget what is even going on in the story and what the character is even doing.
There are pros and cons to having a Personal Reader, and I won’t persuade anyone to have one or not. It’s up to every individual author and their journey. So, whether you do or don’t, keep doing what works, and don’t be afraid to mix it up.
