reading your book as a reader

So you've written a book. And you've read it through so many times you basically dream as your main character (Luna's dreams are more interesting than mine though...). You've gone through draft after draft after draft adding, re-writing, tweaking, editing, re-tweaking, and now you're at a place where you're starting to think towards publishing except...

You haven't really read through your book as a reader yet. I love to read, and this is a crucial step I haven't taken. I've read this book many times, but not without taking notes and making edits along the way.

Which means that it's time to put my metaphorical pen down and just read, as a reader. I think reader me will have some valuable insights on pacing and plot and scenes and characters that will be SO much help for the next (and probably last) draft before getting feedback from other readers.

While the instinct to make edits and change things was hard to kick, after the first fifty pages of reading, I got in a good groove. The wildest thing happened, too: I started enjoying the story. Time flew by, where I wasn't thinking about ways to fill out the characters or answer questions or tie in bigger themes. I was just reading, and loving that process, too.

If you've written a book, and spent so much time working on it, I hope you'll take a little time to stop the work (just for a bit!) and read what you wrote. Because, it's pretty amazing that you wrote something, and you should totally enjoy it!