Max Gladstone: "First Drafts Suck"

Max Gladstone: "First Drafts Suck":

First drafts suck. Does that sound too fierce for you? Too general? Let me try again: my first drafts suck. And in all probability so do yours. That piece where as you wrote “The End” you heard ang…

The biggest mistake new authors make is not having beta readers. You need beta readers who are really rough with you and say, “This character is getting too boring”, “this scene doesn’t need to exist”, “that doesn’t make sense.” I don’t think even with eight rereads you’ll catch it all. It’s too close to your heart. You need readers who will smash your heart to pieces.