I run a business whose core service is simple. We offer feedback to writers. We work on everything from picture books through to memoirs, but probably ninety percent of what we deal with is novels.
Needless to say the same old issues come up time and again. They’re issues which writers could easily correct themselves. That’s not to say that getting feedback isn’t massively worthwhile – it is – it’s just that you’ll get better value from feedback if you’ve put in the hard yards yourself first.
And naturally, like all professional authors, I practice what I preach. Although I’ve had more than ten books published over the years, I still rely deeply on the feedback I get from my literary agent and from my editors. My most recent novel, probably the best one I’ve written, still benefitted from some 6,000 words of written notes from my editor. I didn’t need those notes because I’m a poor writer. I needed them because feedback makes a good book better.
But enough of that. If most writers coming to us are making the same old mistakes – what exactly are those mistakes? And how do you avoid making them? Continue reading “Feedback for Writers by Harry Bingham”