Why You Need Readers Before People Read You

I’ve talked elsewhere on this blog about how important it is to get feedback on your writing as it’s in progress. Writers’ groups are a great way to make sure that you catch all the anachronisms, name changes, and eight brothers starting with the letter B that are confusing.

But what happens when you’ve got an entire draft of a project burning its hole through your hard drive? Do you hit send to as many agents, publishers, and bloggers as you can find?

If you want your work to be at its strongest, than the answer to this question is no.

Readers play an important role in the book industry, even in the larger houses, as most publishers have a list of dependable readers who read manuscripts sent in by agents. Editors and assistants depend on these readers to give a first look to a manuscript and the feedback that determines whether someone else will read it. Ultimately a book will go the rounds through the editorial, marketing, and publicity teams, and in each case someone will have to champion it, rave about it, try to get other people excited about it.

The first step to ground your fledging manuscript is to find a group of dedicated readers who will pore over your manuscript and give you unrelenting notes that you can use. You don’t want this to be your mother, her bridge club, and five of your best friends. Unless that is, these are people who read with a sharp eye and will give you unsparing notes.

I’ve done this with both my novels to date, and even a collection of first person essays about living in the Middle East. Remember that your book will not exist in isolation: you want it to be picked up off the shelf, downloaded on Amazon.com and READ.

A group of readers doesn't necessarily need to know each other or read at the same time. What is important is that you give them a timeframe and also clear direction on what you hope to get from the feedback. For me, in my second book which is based in Qatar as well as England, I need sharp eyes to help make sure I am conveying both cultures accurately.

Small details like how men greet one another in the male living room. The majlis -- a gathering I’ve never seen but is none the less critical to the opening scene -- I can only know if I let well-chosen readers review the manuscript. They did and they said “No, female maids don’t serve tea to men in the majlis.”

These may seem so tiny as to be insignificant, but they are actually the flip side of what many people think of as research. No matter how many facts you gather, however, only a dedicated reader will say, yes, yes, I was there, and I felt the men pressuring Abdulla to do something he didn’t want to.

If you’re lucky enough to have a good book club near you, and you’re looking for a range of feedback, they can be a wonderful resource. Book clubs love to be close to writers, even aspiring ones, so you could visit, tell them about your process, and get invaluable insights.

Be warned that this not for the faint of heart, however, as receiving feedback means you have to take the good with the bad.

Best wishes,

Mohana (Reading & Writing Development Director)