Stop Wasting Money on Coverage!

My job is quite literally giving story feedback. I spend a lot of time working with writers. This means giving my thoughts on how their concepts, characters and plotting work in their novel or screenplay.

That’s why it often surprises writers when I say, ‘Don’t waste money on coverage’. Some may believe – not unreasonably – I want writers to come to me to tell them *if* their story works.

Obviously, giving writers story feedback means I can pay my bills. However, B2W has always (and will always) say that it’s much more productive to take your story as far as you can yourself, FIRST.

But what does ‘taking it as far as you can first’ entail? This is what this article is all about. Ready? Let’s go …

1) Assume Your Story Doesn’t Work!

Yep, really. In other words, don’t ask, ‘Is it good?’ Ask instead …

• What’s not working?
• Where did you get bored?
• What’s the story about?

Stop chasing validation. Start chasing problems! That’s where you can uncover feedback gold – by yourself.

2) Walk Away

I’m always surprised by how many writers want to remain in the grip of their story. On the one hand, it’s understandable: we love our story and characters. On the other, as the adage goes, we end up ‘not seeing the woods for the trees’.

But distance equals clarity. Instead of finishing a draft and shooting it off to someone like Bang2write, WAIT.

Give it a few days (a couple of weeks is even better). Come back cold. You’ll spot issues instantly: pacing, logic gaps, dead or static scenes. You’ll save $$$£££, too.

3) Learn to Judge Storytelling Yourself

It’s all very well saying to a script editor, ‘Tell me how to fix this‘ – but that’s not useful or productive.

If you don’t understand how storytelling actually works, nothing a script editor says will land properly. You may even end up disconnecting from what you first conceived and go off at a tangent.

Best way to learn? Give notes on other people’s work. You’ll quickly see how story actually functions (or doesn’t).

MORE: 8 Steps To Analyse A Successful Story

4) Use What’s Actually On The Page, Not Your Memory

We all have what I call ‘The Gap’ in our work sometimes. This is because we know what is supposed to be there (we wrote it!) … but maybe it hasn’t made it from our brains to the actual page.

So if someone gives you feedback and you believe you were clear, you need to stress-test it. Search for where it is …

• … in the dialogue?
• … the action?
• … the characters’ behaviour?
• … or the visuals?

If it’s not on the page, it’s not there. End of.

5) Get Smart Beta Readers or Peer Reviewers

This is key. Feedback is not objective, but a series of reactions based on others’ opinions, lived experiences, expertise and worldviews. Hell, sometimes we may even be offered good feedback, but it’s simply not relevant.

This means we must choose beta readers and peer reviewers wisely. The worst thing we can do is choose people who highjack our vision, have an agenda, or self-censor because they’re worried about offending you. We want people who …

• Get story
• Like the genre
• Will tell us the truth

Choose wisely … otherwise you can end up in a whole world of confusion and/or pain.

6) Test The First 10–30 Pages / First 3 Chapters

Most writers want to exchange ideas, drafts and feedback. However, people are busy. If you’re not paying for feedback yet, we need to ensure we don’t take the mick either.

This is why I am a fan of ‘The Chunk test’. In other words, send out excerpts before you finish. Many writers are loath to do this, but it can be much more helpful in the long term. It also means you’re likely to get actionable feedback.

• If they say, “Yeah it’s good” → that’s nice, but ultimately useless.
• But if they give notes → helpful. Evaluate what they say.
• If they say, “Where’s the rest?” → you’re ON TRACK!

That’s the goal. So stop worrying about finishing and see where you’re at, instead.

7) Stop Outsourcing Your Taste

Look, it’s very validating when someone likes your story or thinks it’s working. I’m not denying that. Sometimes that’s even what we need, especially if we have had a rough time of it before with feedback.

But what I’m getting at here is it’s MORE important to know what you are doing.

Making other people’s judgements of your work your compass will paint you into a corner. YOUR OWN judgement of your own work is crucial.

The real skill isn’t in simply absorbing notes when others are giving feedback. It’s understanding those notes AND knowing what to do next.

MORE: 5 Ways To Use Notes On Your Story Effectively

Good Luck!

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