Classify the reviews for your story

There’s usually too many pieces in too many places to remember all the points your reviewers provide. To keep things organized, create a list somewhere that classifies the points the reviewers have given. All the plot points, for example, can be combined, along with all the feedback about characters and settings and so forth.

One of the advantages of having multiple reviews combined together is that you can see trends more easily. For example, if a number of reviewers point out that your story plods a bit in the middle (a very common issue), you know it’s worth working on that aspect. Copying and pasting to a Word document or Apple page is a good way to keep the exact phrasing the reviewer meant.

You may end up seeing contradictory approaches to some of the categories. Having the contradictory suggestions together can help you clarify whether to make changes, or revise to eliminate confusion, or to acknowledge that certain readers are going to bring different viewpoints to their reviews. You are the arbitrator of which things to accept or reject or accept in part of your feedback.

Having a complete list of feedback placed into categories, can make your revising process more efficient. You’ll also benefit from thinking through everything you’ve been given, making your story stronger and stronger.