Beneath a Wounded Sky is now in the hands of First Reader.
First Reader is and always has been my best sounding board for what I call “macro” edits. First Reader is a constant reader of a broad spectrum of works, from fiction to non-fiction, classics to contemporary. First Reader is smart, intuitive, and unafraid to tell me when something pretty basic just plain doesn’t work. First Reader also, because of the aforementioned reading habits, is able to tell me when the Big Things need work, can tell me when I’ve done something someone else has already done, and can comment knowledgeably on the allusions I might draw, be it to Classical Greek or Modern Geek.
I also trust First Reader’s input, without question or reservation. Everyone should have a First Reader.
Unfortunately, when First Reader has the book, I’m left out here like a reporter on assignment. I’ve done my part—the background, the legwork, the supporting interviews; I’ve written the script, filmed the piece, practiced my intro—and when the studio cut to location, I gave it my best, put it all out there, and now its…
Back to you, Brian.
My work is, essentially, done. I’m thumb-twiddling while I wait for the rest of the newscast to trundle past. I’m sipping coffee until I hear from the studio, “Good work” or “Did you really mean to say…?”
And, of course, First Reader is only the first. There are others who will get my submission, and who will hopefully respond in a relatively timely fashion.
It’s maddening, though. Maddening.
k
Unraveling Time
Desert Wind
Ploughman's Son
Ploughman King
The Year the Cloud Fell
The Spirit of Thunder
Shadow of the Storm
The Cry of the Wind
Beneath a Wounded Sky
Cryptogenesis: A Memoir
Kurt R.A. Giambastiani 
I wish I had someone like that! I sort of do, actually. But it’s my boyfriend so it makes it hard for me to hear him objectively without wanting to be too hard on myself when something doesn’t work.
I feel that sense of maddening when he is reading what I wrote in the same room as me. I imagine so many different responses he might have, things he might say and what I will say to either defend myself or soak in the praise. What a funny feeling. It also reminds me that I would like to experience it again..so I should work on more pieces. Hope that your process goes well!
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I always try to be absent when my First Reader is working. I don’t feel it’s productive to sit like a comic strip vulture, examining every reaction. Like the Heisenberg Principal, I change the outcome by observing the experiment.
But in return, I get margin notes like “loved this” or “you bastard” which tell me what reactions the work engendered. Afterward, we discuss all the “hunh?” moments and figure out where I went wrong.
So far, halfway through, I have a couple of places where I didn’t hit a point hard enough and things weren’t clear. Not bad.
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