Read part 1 here, read part 2 here, or read on to find out how I used the feedback I collected from beta readers and used reader suggestions to improve my all-ages graphic novel.

Getting Feedback From Readers

I started getting reader feedback on the same day I sent out the link to the rough draft for my all-ages graphic novel The Chain Gang. Another nice surprise!

Once a handful of readers chimed in on the first couple of chapters, I started to realize just how powerful my Google Forms surveys were. Check this out.

Not only does the Google Forms software allow me to view individual responses, but it also measures each response against all other responses. Clicking on “Summary” lets me see a chart displaying exactly how many people (and what percentage of readers) responded to which chapters, all answers from all readers to any given question, and even information on which readers answered the most questions. How cool is that?!

Understanding Feedback From Readers

I made my book available to readers for 6 weeks. I figured that would allow readers plenty of time to read at least some of the book, while also giving me enough distance from the project to return to it with fresh eyes and a mind open to suggestions.

Within just a few minutes of skimming through reader responses, I was able to identify parts of my comic that confused readers, writing and drawing mistakes, and parts that readers loved. I can’t begin to tell you how satisfying it is to hear from dozens of people, all pointing out how they loved the same joke or had the same questions about a character.

I took my time reading through every single comment and considered how to use reader’s thoughts toward improving my comic.

I would say that half of the comments made it very easy for me to know what to change and how to change it—things like rephrasing something a character said or simplifying the way I drew something. Pretty straightforward, easy changes.

The other half of reader comments required more work, as they revealed holes in my character arcs, sub-plots, and tone. Things that would change multiple pages and even reshape entire chapters.

Here’s an example: most readers commented on how much they enjoyed the bicycles’ mischievous personas, but many readers felt the bikes took things too far at certain points. Frankly, it’s the exact kind of problem I had hoped to avoid. I wanted the bikes to be over-the-top and nothing less than ridiculous in their behavior…but I couldn’t ignore the sheer volume of comments from readers, pointing out how this part was too violent or scary, or how this character was too aggressive, etc. Changing what this bike did on this page meant changing that plot point and joke, as well as the nature of the bike itself, how it interacts with the other bikes and situations in the book, and how it ties into the story as a whole.

Another concern I had for this book was how readers would respond to a massive cast of 13 main characters (part of the book’s ridiculous sense of “humor”), each without a face (they are bicycles, after all). While I did receive some comments like “the bikes seem lifeless without heads” (which is excellent feedback, by the way), these comments disappeared after readers completed the first and second chapters. By the end of the book, I had heard from most readers that they loved the bicycles and want to read more of their adventures.

Here are a few chapter comments from readers, to give you a better idea of what kinds of things were brought up:

“I loved the little details that made up jokes in this chapter, like how Velocipete is an old bicycle who uses an old camera to take the photo. I also love how they’re afraid of the raccoons peeing on them. I love how even in this chapter you lay down the ground work of how the bicycles feel betrayed by being outgrown and thrown out and that is why they want their revenge.”

“I don’t know why the second to last panel on page 158 with the text ‘they are’. I can’t figure out what’s happening in it, or why it’s there.”

“I’m curious what the kids are going to do after the bikes attacked them. (Did Poppa and the gang plan to sneak-attack them in the beginning of the chapter? Or did the kids sneak up on the bikes?) I also wonder what Poppa wants to do after his goal of wrecking the neighborhood is accomplished.”

Here are a few comments on the book as a whole:

“Clever dialogue, funny gags, fun concept about bikes seeking revenge. I liked the names and designs of the Chain Gang members.”

“I like the variety of characters and that they handled their wacky situations with their distinct personalities.”

“I love the visual humor, like Poppa Wheelie crashing through the rainbow made me laugh so hard, and the callbacks to previous things that happened in the comic. For example, the directions to the Zoo, the Zookeeper on all counts of CURSE YOU CHAIN GANG!!, and that one dude that became very wealthy from the olympic metals.”

Revising My Graphic Novel

Revising the book based on comments from readers took me a few days to wrap my head around, and then a few weeks to complete, all while laying in bed in incredible pain and between doctor visits/blood tests/scans/procedures.

I tackled the biggest, most challenging revisions first—problems that spanned several pages or that affected large/important parts of the book. For the most part, I was able to make small changes in different places throughout the book to make the needed adjustments, but I ended up recreating one chapter entirely and a good chunk of two others.

One of the chapters in particular contained the majority of situations that warranted comments like “too violent” and “maybe not suitable for kids”. My gut tells me that the violent situations were something that young readers would have perceived as “ridiculous” rather than violent, but the parent in me knew what the readers were talking about. Even though I knew the intent of the so-called “violent” scenes, I couldn’t ignore so many comments from so many qualified readers. My job became addressing the issues and deciding whether or not they were something I should change in any way. Ultimately, these comments from beta readers forced me to dig deeper and come up with even better jokes and pranks from the bikes that served the story in a much more meaningful and satisfying way than my initial “too-violent” draft.

Here’s a rough page from a scene that didn’t make the cut.

In the end, The Chain Gang became Street Bikes, 224 pages grew to 240, and I think what resulted is a better, funnier, and sweeter story. Aaaaaand, thanks to the First Readers Club, I have a bunch of new readers who are anxious to see the revised, final version of the book!

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Now What?

While I hope to share more news about Street Bikes soon, the book has been passed on by Scholastic’s Graphic imprint. There are, however, at least 5 other publishers who would make an excellent fit for the book and I’m anxious for them to check it out.

In the meantime, I’m working on some other projects I’m excited to share. Join my First Readers Club to read my newest books for free before anyone else or join my email list for free downloads, book news, and upcoming releases.

Next Time

My plan is to continue releasing rough versions of pre-published books to beta readers through the First Readers Club and I’d like the next experience to be even better for everyone involved. To this end, I’ll be making changes toward improving the beta reading process and I’d like to welcome your thoughts and suggestions for simplifying and increasing the efficacy of the First Readers Club.

I’ll definitely be thinking through my methods for reaching out to new readers and communicating with all beta readers, but I also plan to make the following changes:

• Create a separate survey for each chapter. (Even if the questions are exactly the same for each chapter. Having a unique survey for each chapter will help differentiate reader feedback from chapter to chapter.)
• Ask if readers near the end of the book’s availability if they would like another week to access the book. (I don’t want to drag out the process for myself or any readers, but if there’s enough of a need for more time, then I’m happy to make the adjustment.)
• Create some kind of small reward for beta readers as a “thank you” for completing each chapter survey. (I’m thinking a celebratory gif or image. Something to show my appreciation and keep readers reading.
• Create some kind of certificate or award to be sent to beta readers upon completion of the final survey. Similarly, every reader who provides feedback can be entered to win a signed copy of the book or an original drawing or something like that. Maybe readers get an additional prize entry for every chapter they offer feedback on.
• Disable comments on the DropBox file. I learned that I missed a lot of comments that were made on the DropBox file itself rather than through the surveys. (While this is a useful feature I’ll be using in other ways, having feedback arrive in more than one place gets complicated quickly.)
• Require name/email for chapter feedback? This is something I decided against using for Street Bikes because I didn’t want readers to shy away from sharing feedback out of worry that I might think something or other about the reader. I thought their anonymity might allow readers a better opportunity for more open and honest feedback. That being said, I had questions I wanted to ask readers about their comments, but I had no way of knowing whose comments they were. I’ll have to think about this one some more.

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Thanks for taking the time to read through this series of posts! I genuinely hope you found something valuable–something you can use or takeaway for your own work.

Please leave a comment below and let me know what you found helpful or if you have questions or thoughts about something I brought up here.

Read Making & Revising My Graphic Novel (Part 1/3) here

Read Making & Revising My Graphic Novel (Part 2/3) here

Join my First Readers Club here (and read my newest book for free!)

If you’re interesting in learning how to write and draw your own comics, check out my book Let’s Make Comics! An Activity Book to Create, Write, and Draw Your Own Cartoons.

A light-hearted interactive guide to comics and cartoon-making that uses an activity book format and creatively stimulating prompts to teach the fundamentals of cartooning in a fun and easy-to-follow fashion.

From a working cartoonist and comic book making instructor, this all-ages activity book uses humorous and informative one-page comics and exercise prompts to guide young readers (and readers who are young at heart) through easy-to-master lessons on the skills needed to make comics. The activities cover a range of essential comics-making tasks from creating expressions for characters to filling in blank panels to creating original characters and placing them in adventures of their own. Each exercise can stand on its own or work together with others in the book to stimulate creativity via the comics medium. In the end, readers who complete the activities inside the book itself will have created several comics of their own, and will have generated many ideas for more sequential art creations.

If you’d like to read my next graphic novel for FREE and before it’s published, sign up for my First Readers Club here.