reader-experience-edit

Reader Experience Edit

Core Lens

Treat reader experience as value received over time spent. Practical nonfiction does not keep readers engaged through suspense; it keeps them engaged by regularly delivering the outcome promised by the book.

Use this skill to diagnose and improve:

• Slow starts.
• Long stretches of theory before payoff.
• Low value-per-page.
• Sections whose value is unclear.
• Drafts that need to be coherent enough for beta readers, not polished enough for publication.

Reference Routing

| Need | Read |

|------|------|

| Core concepts and terminology | references/core/knowledge.md |

| Revision rules and decision criteria | references/core/rules.md |

| Before/after patterns | references/core/examples.md |

| Fast audit checklist | references/core/checklist.md |

| Step-by-step manuscript audit | workflows/audit-manuscript.md |

Workflow

1. Anchor On The Promise

Identify:

• Target reader.
• Book promise.
• First meaningful piece of value.
• What the reader should be able to do, decide, or understand after each major section.

If the promise is unclear, use book-toc-lab before editing the manuscript.

2. Create A Value Map

Build a table:

Section | Word count | Reader takeaway | Value type | Risk

Use it to find:

• Slow start: too many words before first value.
• Long slog: back-to-back sections without strong takeaways.
• Fluff: high word count relative to reader value.

3. Front-Load Value

Look for ways to deliver the first useful result earlier:

• Cut front matter.
• Insert real value into theory sections.
• Start with the main insight, tool, checklist, example, or result.
• Move background after the reader has a reason to care.

4. Increase Value-Per-Page

Prefer deletion before addition.

• Cut anything outside the target reader's scope.
• Replace general motivation with concrete examples.
• Compress explanations that do not change reader behavior.
• Save deleted material in a separate cutting-room-floor note when useful.

5. Prepare For Beta Readers

Do not aim for perfect prose yet. Aim for a draft that is coherent enough for motivated readers to identify real problems.

Return:

1. Main reader-experience diagnosis.
2. Value map or section-by-section risk table.
3. Highest-leverage cuts, moves, and rewrites.
4. Revised opening or TOC recommendations when relevant.
5. Beta-readiness note: what must be fixed before readers see it.

Quality Bar

Recommendations should be structural and specific. Prefer "move this section after X", "cut this setup", or "turn this theory into a worked example" over generic writing advice.