How to Give Authors Feedback
Helping provide feedback on authors' stories can be super fun and rewarding! We've compiled four questions to help you give them feedback they'll appreciate.
Photo by Clay Banks, via Unsplash
Four Questions to Help While You Edit & Beta Read
All authors use reader feedback to help them craft their stories, but how do you leave good feedback? Here are four questions you should ask yourself when looking at your response:
Does this comment directly give the feedback that the author wanted?
Is this comment specific to this story?
Is this comment helpful?
Is this comment constructive and kind?
We're going to go over each one of these in detail, and look at how an example fulfills each. Here's an example of a snippet from a story we’ve made up to demonstrate how these questions can help guide the way you give authors feedback:
"You know," Robin commented, "the moon looks rather pretty tonight."
"Noooooooo!" Herbert cried. "The moon must go! I swear to you, some day, I shall destroy the moon! It must be eliminated at all costs! Down with the moon!"
"Does the moon truly need to be destroyed?" Robin asked.
"Destroy it all! It all must go!" Herbert continued to yell, ignoring Robin. "I hate the moon!"
"Well, at least you're consistent about it," Robin mumbled.
In this example, let’s say our author posted this to StoryForge, and created this Feedback Bounty request for it:
In the line that starts with "Destroy it all!", I'm not sure if Herbert's words are in character. Does he sound like himself? Is there anything I should change to make him sound more in-character?
Here's what an excellent response might look like:
Great job making sure that Herbert's words are mostly in character, but it could use a few tweaks. Herbert really wants the moon destroyed, and his strong motivation shines through here. However, I think Herbert would be a bit more bombastic about this, since he was more dramatic and unhinged earlier. I think small changes, like adding more dramatic synonyms (think "annihilate"), could help Herbert stand out. He's such a fun character, so I would love to see that unhinged side of him more clearly on display!
Now, let's break this response down by asking our four questions!
“Does this comment directly give the feedback that the author wanted?”
The author is asking for something specific. A good response will answer every part of the author's request. In our example, the author is asking for three things: Is it in character, does Herbert sound like himself, and is there anything the author should change to make him sound more in character?
Let's look again at our example response:
Great job making sure that Herbert's words are mostly in character, but it could use a few tweaks. Herbert really wants the moon destroyed, and his strong motivation shines through here. However, I think Herbert would be a bit more bombastic about this, since he was more dramatic and unhinged earlier. I think small changes, like adding more dramatic synonyms (think "annihilate"), could help Herbert stand out. He's such a fun character, so I would love to see that unhinged side of him more clearly on display!
See how this response addresses each of the three points clearly? It is detailed while staying on topic, giving the author exactly what they asked for without going off on a tangent.
“Is this comment specific to this story?”
Your response should show that you've actually read the story. Mentioning specific details about the story in your response helps the author know that you've actually read it. If your comment could have a character name swapped out and work for another story, it probably isn't specific enough.
Great job making sure that Herbert's words are mostly in character, but it could use a few tweaks. Herbert really wants the moon destroyed, and his strong motivation shines through here. However, I think Herbert would be a bit more bombastic about this, since he was more dramatic and unhinged earlier. I think small changes, like adding more dramatic synonyms (think "annihilate"), could help Herbert stand out. He's such a fun character, so I would love to see that unhinged side of him more clearly on display!
By describing Herbert's personality and showing an understanding of fitting word choice, you're showing the author that you were paying attention. The more you show that you care about their story, the more likely the author is to value your thoughtful feedback.
“Is this comment helpful?”
Being generally helpful isn't the same as “helpful for this request in particular”—remember, you still need to answer the author's question(s). Yes, editing and grammar feedback is helpful, but if it's not what the author needs right now, they may not appreciate or be able to use that kind of feedback.
Great job making sure that Herbert's words are mostly in character, but it could use a few tweaks. Herbert really wants the moon destroyed, and his strong motivation shines through here. However, I think Herbert would be a bit more bombastic about this, since he was more dramatic and unhinged earlier. I think small changes, like adding more dramatic synonyms (think "annihilate"), could help Herbert stand out. He's such a fun character, so I would love to see that unhinged side of him more clearly on display!
In this response, the comment is specifically helpful in the way the author was asking for. It gives the author a clear direction to go from here (show off his unhinged side), gives helpful responses to each thing the author asked for help on (answering if it's in character, why, and how to improve), and gives suggestions to help the author continue working on their story (trying dramatic synonyms). Simply telling the author “This is great! No notes.” wouldn't help them at all. If an author is asking for help, it's because there's something about the story that the author feels like they need feedback on. Even when something is great, there are still ways it can be improved, and it's your job to help the author find those paths to improvement.
“Is this comment constructive and kind?”
We want to uplift members of our community and help them improve while still encouraging them to keep writing. A neutral response is fine, but one that uplifts the author and makes them proud of what they wrote is better.
Great job making sure that Herbert's words are mostly in character, but it could use a few tweaks. Herbert really wants the moon destroyed, and his strong motivation shines through here. However, I think Herbert would be a bit more bombastic about this, since he was more dramatic and unhinged earlier. I think small changes, like adding more dramatic synonyms (think "annihilate"), could help Herbert stand out. He's such a fun character, so I would love to see that unhinged side of him more clearly on display!
We don't want to get too heavy-handed with the praise, but adding some authentic opinions like “He's such a fun character!” go a long way to making the author feel supported by their community and appreciated by their readers. A good structure to follow is what's known as the compliment sandwich: positive words at the start, constructive feedback in the middle, and positive words at the end.
It's also worth noting that these words aren't empty generic praise like “Good job!” or “This is great!” - they're genuine compliments about specific aspects of the story.
In Summary
When leaving feedback, you want to leave specific, helpful, constructive feedback that answers every part of the author's question. You want to give the author a clear direction for where to go from here, you want to show that you read and appreciated their story, and above all, you want to actually answer the question(s) that the author has posed.
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If you’re looking for a space to give authors feedback on their work and earn a little extra money, create a free account with StoryForge! Once you do, look for stories that have Feedback Bounties. Enter to win them simply by reading the chapters with bounties on them, and providing the author with helpful feedback.