I've just finished reading Jon Ronson's fascinating and highly-entertaining new book, The Psychopath Test: a Journey Through the Madness Industry and loved what he had to say on the subject in his book's Acknowledgments.
"Being my first reader can, I think, be quite a stressful experience, as I have a tendency to hand over the manuscript and then just stand there exuding a silent mix of defiance and despair."
I can definitely attest that a writer is never more vulnerable or more hopeful than in the hands of that first reader. Going over and over the same chapters blinds us to our work's flaws, and sometimes, to its charms as well. Still, we cling to the mad hope that *this* will be the story that catapults us to the next level, that this will be the one that glides effortlessly through the submission and editorial process.
It takes a really good first reader to gently let us down and alert us to the work that still, inevitably, needs to happen before the project's ready to go out into the world. I can't thank my critique partners, particularly blog pals Barbara Sissel and Joni Rodgers, enough for fulfilling their duties so expertly and compassionately, and putting up with my outbreaks of "defiance and despair."
