Behind The Scene: Strong Core Community
12 Days to Copy Edit: What Our Beta Readers Said
![[HERO] 12 Days to Copy Edit: The View From Our Beta Readers](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!E28o!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F096ec280-6ce1-4053-b9ff-c52c7bf437b3_1536x1024.webp "[HERO] 12 Days to Copy Edit: The View From Our Beta Readers")
Twelve days.
That is what is sitting on my calendar right now. In twelve days, Strong CORE moves into copy editing. After living with these ideas for so long, there is something wild about where we are now in the process. It is exciting, a little (okay, a lot) vulnerable, and honestly pretty surreal.
This stage has been one of the most empowering of the entire journey, and here is why. I did not just send the manuscript out and ask, “What do you think?” I sent targeted questions tied to specific sections. I wanted to know what stayed with people, what felt sharp, what needed more clarity, and what felt most true to their own leadership lives.
Before I go any further, I want to say thank you. To Zoey Ellis, Erin Esteves, Darlene Molitor, Michael Sewell, Prentice Parrish, Michael Adams, Jennifer O’Dee, and Ellen Watson, thank you for reading with care, honesty, and generosity. You gave me insight I could actually use. And a special thank you to Trina Hurt, who served as my alpha reader from the very beginning. I have deep gratitude for each of you investing in this work the way you did. You are a gift to me and to this.
Now let me tell you what they said.
The Question I Asked
One of the questions I sent to every reader was this: Where did you feel most connected to me as an author? What moment felt most honest or compelling?
I wanted to know where the writing worked. Not where it was polished. Where it was real.
Their answers were specific. They pointed to moments, to language, to the places where the tension on the page matched something they had lived themselves. And that, more than anything, told me the manuscript was doing what I hoped it would do.
What They Said
One reader pointed directly to the Achilles story. “Most connected during the story of the second Achilles tear. It invokes empathy, which reels me in further to the rest of the story.” That section was one of the hardest to write because it required me to be honest about what I was pushing through and what it cost. Knowing it landed the way it did means a great deal.
Another reader connected with the physicality of the whole CORE section. “Planks suck” came up as one of the most relatable lines in that section, which made me laugh. But underneath that humor, something deeper was landing. The body holds the tension the mind ignores. That is a real thing, and readers felt it.
The home and family section produced some of the most personal responses. One reader pulled a passage directly and said it was the most honest moment in the section. Here is the line they referenced:
“That shift began to show up at home, too. I was more emotionally available with my kids. More attentive with my wife. Less reactive. Less drained. Before that, I had been present but not always available, showing up physically but running on fumes emotionally. My family often got the leftovers after I had given everything away at work. When your core is strong, it shows up first in your relationships.”
That section told the truth I had been circling around for a long time. Hearing that it connected means everything.
One reader pointed to the Keisha moment as the most compelling in that section. “The moment Keisha said you inspired her to be an authentic leader, and the irony in that message for you. Every single leader can identify with that at some point along the way, and those who are in the thick of it right now will be drawn in intensely in that moment.” That response reminded me why I included that story. Not because it made me look good. Because it told the truth about what it feels like when the gap between how people see you and how you actually feel becomes undeniable.
Several readers pointed to specific language as the connection point. One said it plainly: “In how your body holds tension even when the camera is off. Those realistic moments made me stop and want to listen to what you had to say. You could feel the honesty through the page, and it helped build credibility early in the chapter.” Another said it this way: “Your vulnerability in sharing such personal hard times is so compelling, and the language you use is so real. It pulls me in as a reader.”
On the Flash vs. Fruit section, one reader named 3 specific lines that stayed with them. The first: “Sometimes I wonder if people really heard what I said that day, or if they only experienced how I said it. That is flash.” The second: “Retention is fruit. When people choose to stay, it means they are finding nourishment where they are planted.” The third: “Flash can attract people for a season, but it will not keep them.” That reader also said Matthew’s story was the most compelling narrative in the section, noting: “The gap between how the room responded and what actually happened on the ground is something almost every leader has lived but rarely admits.”
One reader connected most deeply with the spiritual thread. “Where you invoke the Scriptures and connection to the Fruit of the Spirit. Especially this text that made me go hmmmm: ‘Scripture does not say “fruits,” it says “fruit.” They are not separate. When you have one, you begin to see the others. Love produces patience. Kindness produces gentleness. Joy produces peace. Fruit is integrated, not isolated.’”
And one reader pointed to the very end of the introduction as the most compelling moment in everything they read: “You don’t need to become someone else. You need to come back to yourself. To your values. To your clarity. To your core. Let’s strengthen that together. Welcome in.”
That line was the last thing I wrote for that section. I almost cut it. Now I know it stays.
What I’m Seeing More Clearly
This beta round helped me see that Strong CORE is not simply saying, “lead better.” It is asking a more personal question.
How do you live in a way that is aligned enough to sustain the people you care about, the work you have been called to do, and the life you actually want to build?
That question shows up in the Achilles story. It shows up in the family stories. It shows up in the values conversation and in the tension between flash and fruit. Different readers named different sections, but the through line was remarkably consistent. People are hungry for leadership that feels integrated, embodied, and real.
As one reader put it simply: “You can’t sustain leadership that is not grounded in who you are.”
That is the whole book in one sentence.
What Is Next
12 days out from copy editing. I am genuinely excited about what is taking shape.
If you want to engage this work for yourself while I keep moving the manuscript forward, grab the Strong CORE Reflection Journal. It is a practical companion for doing your own reflection in real time, not just reading about mine.
And yes, the June pre-sale is coming.
Thank you for being part of the Strong CORE community and for letting me share the behind-the-scenes process with you. Watching an idea become a manuscript is one thing. Watching thoughtful readers help make it stronger is something else entirely.
More soon.
Coach Chris