How do you gather feedback to improve your writing? What system do you have in place to know your writing connects with people?

There are many sources of feedback including family, friends, and writing groups. If you want more or less unbiased feedback, writing groups are a good place to start (and they don’t put loved ones and acquaintances under pressure). I use Scribophile, but there are many good groups. Most allow you to designate your genre, so those who critique your work are in your target audience. You can also use tools such as ProWritingAid (or others) to help you spot areas where you can improve. Most offer a free version. You can also get creative with AI chats by asking very specific questions. Fox example: evaluate the following for clarity, pacing, and descriptions. My own system is to write it, edit it, evaluate it, and then share it with my writing group.