Beta Readers Round One

So I heard back from several beta readers on Looking for Home. The verdicts were interesting.

Most of them agreed that minor characters in particular definitely needed more development. I had already realized this fact myself, so hearing it from readers was affirming–I wasn’t just being overly critical of myself. So now I am working at deepening roles of many of my side characters so that they get at least a bit of a semblance of a story arc.

As far as plot, the readers were almost unanimous that the pacing and the surprises were on point. One reader said it started off entirely too slowly for him. So I plan to go over that part carefully and see if there are parts I can cut, rearrange, what have you in order to not spend so much time setting the scene.

Almost everyone agreed that the story was easy to follow. Events made sense in the context of the story and were consistent for how I had set the world. One reader, however, was really unable to read past the heart of the story in the first third of the book. She told me she didn’t read stories that had that kind of situation as a plot element. She gave me her feedback on what she had read, and it was very insightful and useful. I apologized to her for the book being upsetting–and that I appreciated her candor and courage.

So now I have all kinds of ideas running around in my head for improvements. We will see where this goes. Next deadline is mid-to-end of May so I can turn it over to an editor friend of mine. Wish me well!