Apparently, Feedback Builds Character

Putting yourself out there as a writer is hard.

You can spend months—or even years—pouring your heart, soul and an alarming amount of caffeine into a manuscript. Then, when you finally finish it, you have to hand it to other people and politely ask them to pull it apart and tell you everything that is wrong with it.

Completely normal behaviour, really.

No matter how thick you think your skin is, feedback can sting. It is difficult reading comments that remind you that perhaps you are not quite the flawless literary genius you briefly convinced yourself you were while writing at midnight.

But hidden between the less-than-glowing comments are the moments that make you smile. The little pieces of feedback that warm your heart, rebuild your confidence and make you believe that maybe you really can do this.

I have been slowly receiving feedback from my beta readers. I sent my manuscript to twelve people, and so far, five have finished it and sent their thoughts back.

As for the other seven, I can only assume they did not love it, did not have time or quietly DNF’d it and are now avoiding eye contact with me forever.

It is fine.

Mostly.

I know my book will not be for everyone. No book is. But even when you understand that logically, it still hurts a little when someone does not finish something you worked so hard to create.

The readers who did finish it and provide feedback, though, have been incredible. I genuinely cannot thank them enough.

I knew The Flame Beneath was not perfect when I sent it out. That was the entire reason I needed outside readers. I had become far too close to the story. I knew the characters, the history, the magic system and all the hidden connections so well that everything made perfect sense inside my head.

Unfortunately, my readers do not live inside my head.

Which is probably for the best. It is very crowded in there.

My beta readers helped me identify inconsistencies, confusing moments and larger issues that simply were not working. I have already made a few small edits, but for now, I am trying to leave the manuscript alone until after my professional assessment.

Otherwise, I know exactly what will happen.

I will pull the entire thing apart, panic, attempt to put it back together like Humpty Dumpty and somehow end up with three new plot holes and an unnecessary side character.

So, for once, I am attempting patience.

Alongside the constructive criticism, my beta readers also told me that the magic system feels unique, the story became difficult to put down once they were drawn in, and the overall bones and structure of the book are solid.

Those comments mean more to me than I can explain.

Because solid bones mean I have done something right. The story is there. The foundation is there. It just needs more work, more polishing and probably several emotional support snacks.

Once I receive my professional assessment and complete the next major round of edits, I will be another step closer to self-publishing.

That sentence alone feels terrifying.

Self-publishing still seems like this enormous, distant thing that my brain is not quite ready to process yet. There are edits, formatting, covers, advance readers, marketing and approximately twelve thousand other decisions waiting for me.

But I do not need to tackle all of that today.

Today, I can be proud that people read my book, saw potential in it and helped me make it better.

The feedback might sting sometimes, but it also means the story is growing.

And hopefully, so am I.