Storytellersunplugged

A few of you reading this may have expected to see an entirely different essay from me this month, one I wrote in an angry and frustrated state of mind a few weeks ago. I fully intended to post it, and to hell with any possible negative consequences. At that point I figured I had nothing to loose anyway. When the ego is wounded, nothing else seems important.

Probably I don’t have anything to loose. I doubt that there would have been any repercussions, or that the catalyst for my angry moment would have realized I was talking about them, even if they did read it. Not unless someone actually spelled it out for them anyway.

Something one of my pre-readers (a very busy gentleman, who none-the-less consents to read my essays occasionally) said gave me some pause. His critique had nothing to do with the content of my essay, which he thought was good, but rather my intent.

“What is the end goal? What do you hope to achieve?”

He didn’t necessarily question my aim, but he did challenge me to question it. So I did, and wasn’t 100% comfortable with my own motivations, the tone of the piece, or the timing.

So thank you, Mr. First Reader, for stepping on my foot before I could stick it in my mouth.

This is not the first time a good first reader has kept me from potential embarrassment, and it won’t be the last. I’ve lost count of the times a first reader has caught something that would have made me cringe with embarrassment had I actually sent it to an editor. Usually it’s small stuff, but sometimes not so small.

“I think you meant flare instead of flair.”

“On page 151, paragraph five … what were you thinking? Danny would never behave like that!”

“Dude, is English your second language?”

First readers come in all varieties, from factual to historical, subjective to objecting, structural to stylistic. I have a single go to guy for gun questions, a couple of guys for car questions, someone who seems incapable of letting the smallest goof in grammar slip past him, and another who specializes in legal questions.

Potential first readers are already recreational readers, sometimes even fans, and are usually thrilled with the chance to help out, or to get to read something new before anybody else. Some work on a quid-pro-quo basis, but I’ve yet to have a single one ask for anything out of line; a mention on the acknowledgments page, a brief cameo, a promise to return the favor sometime down the road.

They are worth it. More than worth it, actually.

First readers are an important tool in the writer’s trick-bag, and novice writers would do well to surround themselves with well-read and intelligent first readers. Don’t just ask a select few whom you can count on for an ego boost. The occasional ego boost is nice, but it won’t help you fix your mistakes or improve your work. Honesty is much more important than ego stroking.

If you plan on staying in this business, the ego should probably go anyway. Mine has done nothing but cause me trouble.