looking for evil wise readers

You're probably here from Evil Editor's blog, right? Great, well sit down and let's talk for a moment.

Devoted readers of EE's blog (and what aspiring writer wouldn't be?) will quickly notice two things - one, that underneath EE's snide wit there's an editor that knows what he's doing, and two, that the same is not necessarily true of his "minions". Get your query or opening paragraphs posted and you'll find out that there's more than one editor at this house as your text is dissembled atom by atom by these busy little worker bees. Unfortunately, few to none of them are professional editors and their "advice" is as haphazard as it is destructive.

During the critique of a recent submission I was told, for example, that I should shy away from passive voice when there was no passive voice anywhere in my150 words. My use of possessives and capitalization were corrected - incorrectly. I was told I needed to hit the library to research horses - based on a throwaway line about one being scared of arrows. And I was informed in no uncertain terms that I Could Not Use certain styles and tenses.

This is not "critiquing" so much as it is buzzards circling the carcass. Do you know what I really wanted to hear? Well, yes, OMG that was awesome I want more more MORE! would be very nice, but more realistically a simple "That was interesting, I'd keep reading" or "That confused me" or "It didn't get my attention" would be helpful and informative.

If you've never read Orson Scott Card's How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy you really should, whether or not you intend to do so, if only to read what Card has to say about a "wise reader". Card recommends that every writer have a Wise Reader. For one thing, they're much easier to come by than editors, professional, evil or otherwise. For another, they're much more likely to be able to see the big picture of your story.

What is a Wise Reader? Just someone who likes to read and knows what s/he does or doesn't like. What you want from your Wise Reader is not a backstop check on your punctuation or a second opinion on your stylistic choices. Per Card:

For this job, it's better if your Wise Reader is not trained in literature -- he'll be less likely to try to give you diagnoses ("The characterization was thin") or, heaven help us, prescriptions ("You need to cut out all this description"). The Wise Reader doesn't imagine for a moment that he can tell you how to fix your story. All he can tell you is what it feels like to read it.

Someday, if you are very lucky and your story is very interesting, you will have an editor who will give your manuscript the grammatical spit and polish it needs to shine. But to get to that point what you need, first and foremost, is interesting and readable prose. A Wise Reader can tell you if you have that. They can't tell you why, they can't tell you how, but they can point you in the right direction, and you the other stuff you can figure work out yourself. Editors do detail work - Wise Readers see the view at 20,000 ft.

Anyone who likes to read is qualified to be a Wise Reader. All it takes is knowing what you like, knowing when you're lost or bored, and being willing to say so. On the other hand, very few people are qualified to be editors.

Evil or otherwise.