It’s interesting how…

It's interesting how different critiques have different foci. Holly, for example, asks me lots of questions about the specifics of how religion operates in the world of my book. Alex is very focused on the specific government / military plot elements. Jed has little patience with my endless flashbacks, and would prefer the aliens be a bit more alien. And so on.

They all seem to like the things I do well, thankfully (character-building, mostly, and society-building, and jumping around in time), and while I'm trying to address the most grating issues for them, because I don't want readers too distracted by those, in the end, I'm sure I won't spend as much of the book on those aspects as they might like. I think that's okay.

It's sort of futile, trying to write a perfectly balanced book, one that pleases every reader. In the end, you mostly have to please yourself, and hope it works for your readers too.