Quote:Just one other comment about prereaders:
Anyone who's ever told you something was broken (and better, how to fix it) will make a good prereader.
Prereaders who tell you how to "fix" something are not neccessarily desirable. The sole job of a prereader is to tell you that something is wrong (to them). They are not the author, and they are not there to tell you how to write your story. Sometimes what looks broken to a prereader is actually something you want there.
Your best comments you will ever get from a prereader are their FEELINGS about something. The best way to do this is to ask them questions. Go through your fanfic draft scene by scene with your prereader and ask about everything they've read. "How did this scene make you feel?" "Was it boring?" "Was it exciting?" "Did you understand what was happening?" "What do you think about this charaacter?" "Do you want to see more of them, or less?" and so on.
And yes, the audience being pissed off at your story can be a valid reaction. Sometimes you want your prereaders to hate a character, an event or even the whole story. Sometimes what you are going for is a visceral feeling in which the actual technical artistry is second to the emotional impact of a scene.
The best piece of advice about pre-readers is that the more you have, the better off you are. They exist to tell you what they think, but what they think is not always what is best for the story. If a prereader didn't like a scene it is more important to find out why than it is to try and please them. Sometimes you don't want people to like a scene.
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