Lily Writes

Getting feedback when you’re an independent author is a lot like panning for gold. There’s grit under your fingernails, water in your boots, and way too much time in your own head asking, “Is this nugget actually gold… or just another shiny rock that’s wasting my time?”

Over this past year, I’ve learned that feedback is rarely neat and tidy. It’s messy, contradictory, sometimes hilarious—and occasionally, it’s the exact thing that keeps me writing. I work with three proofreaders/editors who couldn’t be more different, and each of them has shaped my books (and my sanity) in surprising ways.

KMS: The Reluctant Convert

KMS is thorough—ruthless, even. The kind of person who marks up a galley with so much red ink, you’d swear the book was bleeding. His feedback started out blunt: “This isn’t my genre, but I guess it’s okay.” (Ouch.)

But then one day, he read Wolf’s Call and admitted, “Actually… I enjoyed it.” That moment felt like the sun coming out for the first time after a storm. I practically wept.

Granted, this was the same guy who once told me a book needed “more dead bodies.” But over the past year, we’ve developed a true partnership. He’s learned the rhythms of romance tropes, I’ve learned to trust his sharp eye for plot flaws, and together we’ve had philosophical debates about character motivations that have left me rethinking entire story arcs.

AJB Ink: The Cheerleader

AJB has been with me from the start, and if I could bottle her enthusiasm, I would. Her notes are thorough, yes, but what keeps me going are the little side comments sprinkled throughout: “LOL! I knew it!” when a reveal lands, or “Oh no, don’t you dare…” when a character’s in trouble.

Her encouragement is gold. Truly. It was AJB who nudged me to try my hand at queer romance, which opened the door for Survivor in the Vanguardian series—and now I’m deep into writing Oracle. Without her gentle push, that entire branch of storytelling might never have existed.

J5 Editing: The Engineer

If AJB is my cheerleader, J5 is my architect. He doesn’t just hand back a manuscript—he returns a battlefield. Four colors of highlighter. Three kinds of pen. Post-it notes like confetti. Whole forests sacrificed in sticky tabs.

His approach is precise and methodical. He once sat me down and walked through weak spots line by line, ensuring the science in my sci-fi actually held up. Like KMS, he started with the dreaded: “This isn’t my genre, but it’s not bad.” (Indie authors, you know the pain.) But his insights shaped Nomad into a far stronger first book in The Vanguardians.

What I’ve Learned

If you’re an indie author, here’s the truth: not everyone will love your book. Sometimes, not even your proofreaders. But love isn’t always the point. The point is growth, clarity, and finding the golden flecks in all that mud. Someone will love your work eventually. Sometimes, they’ll even surprise you by saying so.

And along the way, you collect little gems—quotes from proofreaders that live in your head rent-free.

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My Top 10 Favorite Proofreader Quotes

“We have to talk. How do you know so much about sex clubs?”

“I had to read this again—I got caught up in the story and forgot to proofread.”

“Needs more dead bodies.”

“I’d read this even if you didn’t make me.”

“I hate this character.” (…followed later by: “That was a good redemption arc.”)

“So he’s actually two people, like Smeagol and Gollum?” (NO. Just—no.)

“What’s with your obsession with the Mafia? Is that like… a trope?” (Yes.)

“What is HEA? High Energy Alloy?” (No. Happily Ever After. Romance, remember?)

“I love how you lean into the magic—more magic, please.”

“So… have you noticed everyone named Bob dies? Who is Bob and how did he hurt you?” (Still can’t explain this.)