When you’re writing a story, there is always that lingering peer pressure in the background to please every reader—even though that is impossible. And once you enter the Beta-Reading stage, that pressure can begin to confuse things even more. Should I change such-and-such because so-and-so didn’t like it? Should I modify every single aspect of my story that has been commented on in order to make all my Beta Readers happy?
The truth is, Beta Readers and Writer’s Workshop buds are there to lend an outside opinion to something you might—possibly—be a little too close to. So, here’s a quick tip for when you’re working with other writers / readers: if several people are commenting on the same issue, you should probably take a second look at it, too. If only one person is commenting on something, or if you are getting conflicting opinions about the same aspect, treat the workshop like a debate: go with whichever side manages to sway your opinion. Sometimes that means a reader has pointed out something you haven’t thought of, and it makes sense to change it; and sometimes that means a reader has simply reinforced an idea that you already felt strongly about. Either way, you are the writer, and therefore you get the final say in every critique.