How to Give Useful Feedback on a Book

Be Specific About What You Felt

Instead of "the middle was slow," try: "I started losing interest around chapter 8 when the main character was waiting for the test results. I wasn't sure what was at stake anymore, and I found myself checking how many pages were left." The more specific you are about where andwhat you felt, the more the author can actually do something with it.

A few examples of vague feedback turned useful:

• Instead of "the dialogue felt weird" — "The conversation between Mara and her dad in chapter 5 didn't sound like how a teenager would talk to a parent. It felt too formal, almost like a job interview."
• Instead of "the ending was unsatisfying" — "I expected to find out what happened to Jonas after the trial, and when the book just ended, I felt like I was missing the last few pages."
• Instead of "I loved the main character" — "There's a moment in chapter 3 where Dev lies to his sister to protect her, and that's when I really started rooting for him. It made him feel complicated in a way I appreciated."

You don't need fancy literary terms. "Something about this scene made me uncomfortable, and I think it was because I couldn't tell if the narrator was being honest" is genuinely excellent feedback. Just describe what happened in your head while you were reading.

Describe Your Experience, Not the "Right Answer"

You're not grading the book. You're describing what it was like to read it. Did you get confused? Did a twist surprise you, or did you see it coming from fifty pages away? Did you skim a section? Stay up late to finish? Forget a character's name and have to flip back? All of that is valuable.

A simple framework that helps: "When [this happened], I felt [this], because [this]." For example: "When the story jumped forward ten years in chapter 12, I felt disoriented because I was still invested in the argument between Sadie and her mother and wanted to see how it resolved." You don't have to follow it rigidly, but it pushes you past vague impressions into something an author can work with.

And if you were bored during a scene that was meant to be tense, that's not a failing on your part. It's exactly the kind of signal the author needs. Be honest, even when it feels awkward.

Flag What Worked, Not Just What Didn't

When a writer is revising, one of their biggest fears is accidentally cutting something that was already working. Your positive feedback is a guardrail. It tells them what to protect.

But "I loved this book" is about as useful as "I didn't like it." What helps is specificity: "The scene where Tomás finally tells his brother the truth made me tear up because you'd spent the whole book building up how much he was holding back." That gives the author something real to learn from.

Avoid Prescribing Solutions

It's tempting to say "you should add a flashback here" or "what if the detective had a secret twin?" But the author knows their story better than you do. Your job isn't to rewrite the book — it's to show them where it isn't working for you and trust them to figure out the fix.

Describe the problem you experienced: "I didn't understand why she made that decision" beats "you should add more backstory." "I didn't feel sad when Marcus died" beats "give Marcus more scenes earlier." Ten readers might identify the same gap. The author doesn't need ten conflicting solutions — they need to know the gap exists.

That said, if a solution occurs to you, it's fine to mention it — just frame it as a thought, not an instruction. "I wonder if knowing more about her relationship with her mother earlier would have made this land harder — but you might have a completely different idea" is a generous way to offer it.

Note Where You Stopped and Started

This one's deceptively simple. If you put the book down and didn't pick it up for two days, where did that happen? If you read 80 pages in one sitting, that tells the author something too. These are some of the most useful signals a reader can give.

You don't even need to know why you stopped. Sometimes life gets in the way, and that's fine to say. But sometimes you stopped because the tension dropped, a chapter ended too neatly, or there wasn't a question pulling you forward. If you can name that, mention it.

Report Your Confusion

Readers often skip over their own confusion because they assume they just weren't paying attention. Don't. If you had to reread a paragraph, that's feedback. If you mixed up two characters for half a chapter, that's feedback. If you weren't sure whether a scene was a flashback or happening in real time — feedback.

Authors are so deep in their own story that they can't see the gaps. They need someone to say "wait, I thought she was in the kitchen — when did she get to the car?" A tiny moment of confusion can break the spell of an entire scene, and the author would much rather hear about it from you now.

Track Your Expectations

As you read, you're constantly predicting where the story is going. Those predictions are gold for an author — whether the book meets them or not. If you expected the protagonist to confront her boss and she didn't, say so. If you predicted the twist early, say when you figured it out and what tipped you off. If the book blindsided you, say where and how it felt.

One practical trick: jot down what you think is going to happen as you go. Then look back at those notes when you're done. The gap between what you expected and what actually happened is a goldmine for the author.

Be Honest About Skimming

Everybody skims sometimes. Maybe you glazed over a long description. Maybe you skipped ahead in a conversation because you already knew where it was going. This isn't a moral failing — it's one of the most valuable things you can report. "I skimmed most of the paragraphs describing the house" or "I zoned out during the court scene — too many characters I didn't know yet" is extraordinarily helpful.

And the flip side matters too. If there were passages you reread just because you enjoyed them — a perfect line, a section that gave you chills — flag those. The author needs to know where the writing is actively rewarding your attention.

Write It While It's Fresh

Your memory of reading is surprisingly unreliable. A week later you'll remember the broad strokes, but you'll lose the texture — that moment of confusion on page 67, the line that made you laugh in chapter 4, the point where you almost stopped reading before something grabbed you. Those details are exactly what the author needs, and they evaporate fast.

Keep a note open on your phone while you read. When something catches your attention, jot down the page number and a quick thought. "p. 47 — confused about timeline" or "p. 112 — love this line about the dog" is plenty. Those notes become anchors when you sit down to write your full feedback.

You Don't Need to Be an Expert

We hear this all the time from new BookmarkBug readers: "I don't think I'm qualified." You are. The author isn't looking for a panel of literary critics. They're looking for the kind of person who will eventually read their book — a real human who reads books. That's you.

You don't need to know what "inciting incidents" are. "I couldn't tell whose head I was in during this scene" is often more useful than "there's an unintentional POV shift in paragraph two" — because it describes the effect on the reader, not just a technical label. Trust your reactions.

Be Kind, Not Soft

There's a difference between being gentle and being vague. "This character was boring" is honest but not useful. "I had a hard time connecting with Elena — I think because I didn't understand what she wanted until late in the story, so her scenes felt like they were happening to her rather than being driven by her choices" is honest and useful. Both say the same thing. The second gives the author something to work with.

Don't soften things into mush, either. "This was pretty good but maybe the pacing could possibly be slightly tighter in some places if you wanted" doesn't help anyone. Be clear. Be direct. Be respectful. The author wants honest feedback because they genuinely want to make their book better. Honor that by telling the truth.