Thanks to several friends, I have now received enough feedback to build a consensus on what improvements the book needs most. While I look forward to receiving more feedback from others (I'm looking at you, Brittany), I'm ready to pick the pen up again.
Next steps:
1) Ideally, I'd like to finish the next draft by March 1st. This will mean editing 8-9 pages a day.
2) Read the book aloud. One of the great ways to edit one's material is to read it aloud. While my eyes have read the book over and over, I haven't heard it, I haven't pronounced it. Reading aloud should expose me to mistakes I've made (grammatical and story-wise) and help me see gaps to fill.
3) Embrace criticism as opportunity. Reviewers have noted various short-comings and have cut my work out for me. What I have to do is see these short-comings as challenges and opportunities to prove that I'm not just good at dialogue or just good at word-play, but good. Period.
That's the plan.
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