A recent Twitter conversation started by Scott Roche about public critique, specifically for podcast novels got me thinking about critiques, flames and feedback.
I replied to Scott that as an author you have to expect to get all three. So here’s my take on dealing with them as an author.
The middle one Flames are characterised by negativity upon negativity- nothing positive, no encouragement, no suggestions for improvement and are usually full of bitterness and axe-grinding. You can spot them a mile away.
Yes, these attacks might annoy and/or upset me for half an hour. I imagine pouring a rain of fire back, but I never do. The most I have ever done is send back a polite ‘thank you, I’m sorry you don’t like what I do, but maybe in the future you’ll try again’. Flamers just want attention. They want you to pour gasoline on- so in return I recommend giving them a bucket of water and then putting them out of your mind.
Critiques are another matter. People have taken time to write them, and I will always give them more consideration. They usually contain ‘I really liked your book but…’
When you get one of these you should pay more attention, but you will want to run it through a process.
As a reference librarian you learn to do one important thing- judge the source. For scientific accuracy an article on an internet forum is always considered less reliable than an article in a peer reviewed journal.
So I do the same with critique and feedback.
Top of my list is of course my agent Laurie Maclean and my editor at Ace. Their opinion is right up there. They’re professionals, and they have a real interest in my books selling well. They are invested in my success.
Second are my beta readers. These are people I have picked because I value their opinion and know they will give me honesty. They have skills and knowledge that are specifically targeted at what I am doing.
And finally comes public feedback. Criticism here is a free for all- and that’s perfectly fine. Luckily we live in places where an opinion is your right, and hopefully (unless you are in some totalitarian state) you can express it on the internet.
So here’s how I deal with criticism. I let the initial pain and outrage pass. I don’t fire off an email in anger. I don’t go on twitter, or to my blog and lambast the writer. I let it sit. (In this way replying to critique is like editing, best done cold)
I let it rest until I can logically examine what they are saying. I may go to my beta readers/listeners and say ‘What do you think? Does this guy have a point?’ I am lucky enough to have several very honest people in my circle (Dan Sawyer I am looking at you). If they confirm what this person has said then I add more weight to the scale.
And then after that process I will reply, in a calm, polite, measured way. Sometimes I change things, sometimes I will not. We are not artists doing things by committee after all, and we have to, at the end of the day, believe in our work.
So that’s my process for dealing with criticism, which may make it sound easy but it’s not. Believe me, this is coming from a person that cried for half an hour when she got her first professional critique. However I got over it, and the book was better for it.
What I will not let criticism do is stop me from doing what I love- which is writing and podcasting. We may get our ego bruised, but we still go on.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Well said. As an artist I don’t neccesarily want to hear someone’s negative thoughts on my work. When you put your heart and soul into creating something out of nothing you just want poeople to “get it”. Learning to listen to people who have the skills you are working to develope in yourself and do get it is a key part of improving yourself as an artist. But that doesn’t make it any easier to take.
Agreed. It’s never fun to hear that someone doesn’t like what you’ve done, but I still honestly appreciate it when folks take the time to write, tweet, comment, whatever about my work.
At least they are talking about us!
Thanks for the thoughts Pip! I think this is an excellent approach to dealing with the things you mentioned. And you definitely can’t let the haters (or anyone) stop you from pursuing your passions.
The main thing I wanted to get across with my thoughts was I think that too much public praise combined with too little honest public critique can be damaging in its own way.
Sounds like a great approach, Pip. Sometimes someone gives feedback and I immediately realized that it is accurate, regardless of who said it. Aside from that, however, one specific thing I do with feedback is to compare it with other feedback I’ve gotten. For instance, if half a dozen people say that something didn’t work for them, it probably means I need to look at that area. Maybe none of them actually identified the right problem (“It sucks” tends not to be very helpful), but clearly some work is needed.
Another situation is contradictory feedback. For both of my novels, I’ve had multiple people who loved the prologues and multiple people who really disliked them. I looked at them and in fact did some reworking, but I fall back on what Stephen King said in “On Writing” – when faced with legitimate contradictory opinions, the tie goes to the writer.
Any genuine critique or heck – even a flame is actually validating you as a writer because someone took the time to respond.
Scott- I know you mean in the podiobooks community. I believe as the community gets larger that there will be more critique out there. As I am sure you know, getting feedback of any kind from listeners is very difficult.
Edward- Yes- good point! If you get more than one critique saying a similar thing that scale starts to tip. Prologues- they’re tricky. I always like to start where the story starts- and it must also be so riveting that it draws people in. I have read many, many prologues that are essentially information dumps that bore me stupid. An author should be able to communicate that information in the story, not give the reader a history lesson which will make their eyes glaze over. However there are exceptions… very, very rare exceptions.
The worst kind of response for anyone putting out any type of creative work for public consumption is silence. Silence tells you nothing. The other responses at least tell you that someone is aware of your work!
Flames are usually an indication that you’ve touched a nerve. And while they’re not usually helpful, it is an indication that you’ve gotten through to someone.
While praise is usually easier to read, and is very good for the ego, it usually doesn’t help much. Like flames, praise tends to be all one-sided, and doesn’t help you determine what areas you need to improve on.
Good criticism points out both strengths and weaknesses. While you may not agree with the critic’s evaluation of things, you should be able to understand why they hold the view that they’ve expressed. And understanding your audience can only help improve the art.
Doc
Doc- hope it didn’t come across that I don’t want feedback. I was merely detailing how I cope with it as a writer and podcaster. You’re right, any reaction at least lets you know you’re not operating in a vacuum. That’s an even worse feeling!
Nope! Didn’t mean to say you didn’t want feedback, just wanted to point out that no feedback is the worst kind. And that no matter how someone reacts to what you have created, you can learn and benefit from it.
Doc