One tool that can make the biggest impact for writing is feedback. You might have written what you think is the world’s greatest novel, but if your readers don’t agree, you’ll be stuck with a manuscript that doesn’t sell. The easiest way to find out what others think is to get feedback—be that through critique partners or beta readers.
Getting that feedback can be difficult however. Writing takes a lot of effort and it can occasionally feel a little daunting to ask for someone to read what you’ve written and tell you what they think. At the same time, knowing what is and isn’t working from an outside perspective is a goldmine.
There are a few things to keep in mind when getting feedback.
It shouldn’t tear you down. Very, very rarely is it aimed as a personal attack. When you hear that something isn’t working, it can sting, and for good reason: you’ve spent a lot of time with this story already. It’s very rarely aimed at you as a person, it’s strictly a comment on what isn’t working for that reader.
It’s not all good stuff. Similarly to the above, your feedback shouldn’t be all compliments and fluff. While it might feel great at first, it’s not likely to give you good, useable information on how you can improve. That isn’t to say a compliment isn’t useful at all. Targeted compliments can often highlight things you’re doing well that you can help to strengthen your weak spots.
Multiple sources are fantastic. I know, getting feedback from one person seems daunting, never mind getting feedback from several. However, if you have five people and three of them highlight a particular passage as being difficult, you know for sure that you need to address it. If however, only one of the five highlights a passage, you can use your judgement on whether or not you need to follow their suggestions.
It’s only suggestions. At the end of the day, even if you have a full editorial critique, you are the writer. That ultimately means you get to decide if you want to act on a suggestion or not. That’s all feedback is, is giving a suggestion on how things could be improved. Since writing is art and art is subjective, not every suggestion will be one you agree with. You don’t have to follow them all.
The Written Vixen 