Rely on Friends and Family—But Not for Manuscript Critique

It can be so rewarding to hand over your manuscript to a close friend or family member, and later to get their positive responses. However, if you are looking for an honest, unbiased critique, these close relations may not be the best source of help for improving your work.

Often when I’m reviewing a manuscript, the author responds, “But all my friends liked that part!” (or character, or piece of dialogue). Or, “My sister/friend is a big reader, and she loved the whole novel.” However, it’s best to keep in mind that friends and family are not unbiased readers for your work. They know you; they may know what inspired the story—heck, they may even be in the story. Or they may simply not want to hurt your feelings by saying that a certain part of the manuscript that you love, isn’t really working.

This is where a reader or editor who doesn’t know you can be extremely helpful. That person can give your manuscript a “cold” read, without having heard how you came up with the idea for a particular scene, or what you wanted to say in a certain chapter, or what part of the manuscript is your favorite. Unfortunately, the old adage “Kill your darlings” really does apply; often the character or scene that is a writer’s favorite, is the one that isn’t working well. Someone who isn’t a friend can point this out without worrying about damaging the relationship or hurting your feelings.

An editor reads your manuscript dispassionately, looking for things such as:

• Does the storyline have an arc that includes increasing dramatic tension, leading to a distinct climactic point?

• Does each character fill a role in the story? Can any characters be cut, or can characters that fill similar roles be combined? 

• Does each scene contribute to the plot, so that if it were removed, the story would come apart (similar to a string of pearls)? If not, can those nonessential scenes be deleted or altered so they are more crucial to the book?

• Is the dialogue consistently authentic, or does the language seem forced at times? 

• Are there too many coincidences in the plot? Are aspects of the story simply not credible?

• Are the major characters fully fleshed out and three-dimensional? Is the protagonist relatable, engaging, or in some way compelling?

• Are there places in the manuscript that the editor senses most readers will want to skip or skim over (i.e., they are less compelling than the rest of the book)?

• Do certain scenes seem not organic to the book or tacked-on?

Additional points such as repetition, an echo effect in dialogue, overreliance on certain phrases or sentence constructions, and other style issues will also be noted in the editing process. 

When it comes to manuscript critique, an honest appraisal is always the best way to improve the work itself—and the ideal reader is someone you don’t know.