" Many writing texts caution against asking friends to read your stuff, suggesting you're not apt to get a very unbiased opinion[.] ... It's unfair, according to this view, to put a pal in such a position. What happens if he/she feels he/she has to say, " I'm sorry, good buddy, you've written some great yarns in the past but this one sucks like a vacuum cleaner" ?The idea has some validity, but I don't think an unbiased opinion is exactly what I'm looking for. And I believe that most people smart enough to read a novel are also tactful enough to find a gentler mode of expression than " This sucks." (Although most of us know that " I think this has a few problems" actually means " This sucks," don't we?) "