What is the best form of feedback? I am asking for feedback on my novel which has been professionally reviewed and read by 10 readers. I find the feedback often contradictory or premature and frankly almost as much work to sort as writing a new novel. What helps most 1:Sending the first three chapters and synopsis to a small group (how small or big)? 2: Sharing parts of your novel on online site? 3: Reading your novel aloud to a closed group (buddy writers on Skype?). Please help-I am trying to balance editing with helpful feedback.
I have a friend I send the first draft of my novels to. She tells me whether I've gone insane or not. I don't use peer review or feedback aside from that. I'm fairly sure that if I did I'd never publish anything because I'd get a load of mixed feedback and I'd sit there trying to keep everyone happy. You can't do that.
Not to mean I haven't tried. I get reviews on Goodreads and Amazon, and I look at them and try to come up with a way to please my readers. Generally I eventually come to the conclusion that the best way I can do that is to write more, but the feedback provided in (thoughtful) reviews can be useful in improving your writing.
I agree with Mr Hopkins there, basically it's up to you and your confidence in your ability to tell a story. The best advice I can give is to get something out there and see what the public thinks about it.
Varying feedback is pretty normal, if my experience is anything to go by.
I used a peer-review site (Youwriteon.com) before my first book was beta-read, initially by my wife (who reads a lot and consequently has little patience with something she doesn't like) and then by an acquaintance familiar with the period (it's historical).
The website put a short excerpt (10k words) in front of complete strangers, which is a little like having it in public but without the destructiveness you sometimes get with online reviews - the readers were mostly writers themselves. Even so, I got a variety of opinions dependent, I assume, on individual preference as far as character development, narrative flow and pace were concerned.
In the end, you just have to be confident enough in your story. That's hard, but if you're not it'll end up gathering dust in a drawer.
Best of luck with it :)