Ten steps to recovery: how to fight back after devastating feedback on our writing
April 7th 2008 23:46
Someone very dear to me received a devastating editorial report from a publisher on the manuscript of his book. Despite initial comments made by the publisher about how wonderful the book was, the independent editor’s report makes it clear that there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. The four page report, though written with that tinge of arrogance some editors feel inclined to adopt when assessing other people’s spiritual labour, contains some very valuable suggestions about how to improve the manuscript.
I thought I would devote this post to sharing with readers how to constructively respond to criticism, feedback and critique of our writing.
1. Discernment: Choose carefully who you show your work to
Never, never never show your work to family members or friends if you are looking for an objective opinion about your work. Unless of course you have family members or friends who are themselves writers or editors who will be bluntly honest with you.
2. Expectations: Never expect praise – expect a rewrite
When you hand a manuscript in to a publisher never expect praise. It is a mistake I have made before, and it takes much longer to recover from the shock of a report than if one has no expectations. Even if one person loves the manuscript, there are many opinions that will be gathered into a report.
No matter how many years you have worked on a book (my first took me ten years), expect a rewrite. Publishers do not modify their responses to manuscripts based on how long it has taken you to produce it. The manuscript is assessed on its merits. Most publishers won’t have a clue about how long you’ve worked on something. So the fact that you feel you’ve ‘done the hard yards’ is irrelevant. There will be more work. And this is not because publishers are mean. They want your book to be the best it can, and if they have taken the time to produce a report, they believe you are capable of producing a publishable book – they have invested time and money in you already. So use that as your motivation to lift the manuscript to a new place.
3. Be Realistic: every single manuscript benefits from a good edit
We all know that as human beings we are works in progress – all of us could benefit from a little work on ourselves, whether in the physical, emotional or spiritual department. So treat your manuscript the same way. I received a 23 page report from my publisher on the first draft of my new book. 23 pages. By the end of the process, those 23 pages had become my map towards a book I could never have written without that feedback.
4. Poise: Never take critique or feedback personally
This is the hardest one to deal with. Most of us are shy about showing our work to third parties initially, because we are so afraid of rejection or feedback that would make us scuttle back into the shell of our craft. This is because writing is such an act of self-disclosure that our egos are intricately tied up in our work. But this is where we have to exercise the greatest self-restraint and maturity. The feedback is of our story, not of us. Surely any story can benefit from an objective view?
Some editorial feedback, however, is undiplomatic and harsh. Some editors are assholes and have huge egos themselves. Some editors are gentler and understand that is it more helpful to offer useful suggestions than to bludgeon someone’s manuscript. Unfortunately we never know what sort of editor will land up with our manuscript. So, expect the worst. If necessary, as I do, get your husband or someone near to you, to read the report first and to prepare you with ‘This is gonna hurt,’ or ‘This isn’t so bad, really.’
This is also good practice for when your book finally gets published and the reviews start coming in. Yikes. One needs balls of steel when those literary critics start earning their salaries.
5. Time: Give yourself time to absorb the feedback – step back
Give yourself at least a week to absorb the feedback. If a report has really hurt you and damaged your self-esteem as a writer, you need to let the sting pass, so that you can look beyond the hurt to the substance of the report. Like all things that make us feel crap, we need to give ourselves a little time.
6. Evaluate: this is one person’s opinion – is there anything valuable here?
Who wrote the manuscript? You did. You are the one who actually got a manuscript together. You’re a bloody hero. What did the editor do? The editor read it. Any idiot can read a manuscript. Not everyone can finish one. Now, remember the editor is just one person with one opinion. If you hate everything the editor has written, your opinion is of equal value. However, there is the small factor of your hurt pride, which could be clouding your judgment. Let someone more objective than you read the report and ask them: is there anything valuable here?
7. Methodology: work through the critique with a highlighter
Do not dwell on the words that have hurt you. Look for constructive suggestions about storyline, characterization, use of language and keep notes as you go through the report. Make a list of suggestions in the report that you do not agree with. If, for example, you feel the editor has not understood the point of the book, use this constructively to ask how you might better have crafted the manuscript so that your intention was clearer. We are in control of the story, and so if someone fails to respond to it, we need to go back and look at how to rework it so that we can successfully communicate our story.
8. Non-attachment: to your previous ideas about the book
Sometimes we need to let go of our attachment to what we thought would work best in the story. If the editor has suggested your story needs to start in a new place, while you may not agree, why not try to start the story here this time round and see how you go? It is not useful or helpful to be adamant about things that are not crucial – ie. Would it totally distort the story if I started it in a different place? Would it matter very much if I cut out that section the editor thought was gratuitous? Some things can be shifted, without us losing our sense of what we are trying to achieve in the manuscript.
9. Fight: for the heart of your story
While it is useful to work openly and constructively with feedback, you do not have to roll over and accede to all the suggestions in the report. This is still your book. And your vision for it is what drives it. While a story can have a limb moved here and there, an appendage, a bit of plastic surgery, fight for its heart. Fight to retain what you think is crucial to your story. There may be parts of the report you just don’t agree with or that reflect the editor’s own agenda and not yours. When making a case for what you are not prepared to relinquish, set out your reasoning without emotion – this will help you to understand and articulate why you want to keep it and in fact may clarify for you how to better write your story:
Eg. I believe the incorporation of the original letter from x to y adds value to the text because it links the two time frames together and gives the reader a sense of the language used by the writer etc…
10. Begin again: when you’re ready, take a deep breath and start on the rewrite.
How badly do you want this book published? How hungry are you? How hard are you prepared to fight for it? Does your book deserve your attention and devotion? Then get over the editorial report, and write it again. So few writers ever get the chance to have a publisher give them the opportunity to rewrite - so many writers never get their foot in the door. You've done that - now use it constructively.
(You can do it, DF. I know you can x)
www.joannefedler.com
I thought I would devote this post to sharing with readers how to constructively respond to criticism, feedback and critique of our writing.
1. Discernment: Choose carefully who you show your work to
Never, never never show your work to family members or friends if you are looking for an objective opinion about your work. Unless of course you have family members or friends who are themselves writers or editors who will be bluntly honest with you.
2. Expectations: Never expect praise – expect a rewrite
When you hand a manuscript in to a publisher never expect praise. It is a mistake I have made before, and it takes much longer to recover from the shock of a report than if one has no expectations. Even if one person loves the manuscript, there are many opinions that will be gathered into a report.
No matter how many years you have worked on a book (my first took me ten years), expect a rewrite. Publishers do not modify their responses to manuscripts based on how long it has taken you to produce it. The manuscript is assessed on its merits. Most publishers won’t have a clue about how long you’ve worked on something. So the fact that you feel you’ve ‘done the hard yards’ is irrelevant. There will be more work. And this is not because publishers are mean. They want your book to be the best it can, and if they have taken the time to produce a report, they believe you are capable of producing a publishable book – they have invested time and money in you already. So use that as your motivation to lift the manuscript to a new place.
3. Be Realistic: every single manuscript benefits from a good edit
We all know that as human beings we are works in progress – all of us could benefit from a little work on ourselves, whether in the physical, emotional or spiritual department. So treat your manuscript the same way. I received a 23 page report from my publisher on the first draft of my new book. 23 pages. By the end of the process, those 23 pages had become my map towards a book I could never have written without that feedback.
4. Poise: Never take critique or feedback personally
This is the hardest one to deal with. Most of us are shy about showing our work to third parties initially, because we are so afraid of rejection or feedback that would make us scuttle back into the shell of our craft. This is because writing is such an act of self-disclosure that our egos are intricately tied up in our work. But this is where we have to exercise the greatest self-restraint and maturity. The feedback is of our story, not of us. Surely any story can benefit from an objective view?
Some editorial feedback, however, is undiplomatic and harsh. Some editors are assholes and have huge egos themselves. Some editors are gentler and understand that is it more helpful to offer useful suggestions than to bludgeon someone’s manuscript. Unfortunately we never know what sort of editor will land up with our manuscript. So, expect the worst. If necessary, as I do, get your husband or someone near to you, to read the report first and to prepare you with ‘This is gonna hurt,’ or ‘This isn’t so bad, really.’
This is also good practice for when your book finally gets published and the reviews start coming in. Yikes. One needs balls of steel when those literary critics start earning their salaries.
5. Time: Give yourself time to absorb the feedback – step back
Give yourself at least a week to absorb the feedback. If a report has really hurt you and damaged your self-esteem as a writer, you need to let the sting pass, so that you can look beyond the hurt to the substance of the report. Like all things that make us feel crap, we need to give ourselves a little time.
6. Evaluate: this is one person’s opinion – is there anything valuable here?
Who wrote the manuscript? You did. You are the one who actually got a manuscript together. You’re a bloody hero. What did the editor do? The editor read it. Any idiot can read a manuscript. Not everyone can finish one. Now, remember the editor is just one person with one opinion. If you hate everything the editor has written, your opinion is of equal value. However, there is the small factor of your hurt pride, which could be clouding your judgment. Let someone more objective than you read the report and ask them: is there anything valuable here?
7. Methodology: work through the critique with a highlighter
Do not dwell on the words that have hurt you. Look for constructive suggestions about storyline, characterization, use of language and keep notes as you go through the report. Make a list of suggestions in the report that you do not agree with. If, for example, you feel the editor has not understood the point of the book, use this constructively to ask how you might better have crafted the manuscript so that your intention was clearer. We are in control of the story, and so if someone fails to respond to it, we need to go back and look at how to rework it so that we can successfully communicate our story.
8. Non-attachment: to your previous ideas about the book
Sometimes we need to let go of our attachment to what we thought would work best in the story. If the editor has suggested your story needs to start in a new place, while you may not agree, why not try to start the story here this time round and see how you go? It is not useful or helpful to be adamant about things that are not crucial – ie. Would it totally distort the story if I started it in a different place? Would it matter very much if I cut out that section the editor thought was gratuitous? Some things can be shifted, without us losing our sense of what we are trying to achieve in the manuscript.
9. Fight: for the heart of your story
While it is useful to work openly and constructively with feedback, you do not have to roll over and accede to all the suggestions in the report. This is still your book. And your vision for it is what drives it. While a story can have a limb moved here and there, an appendage, a bit of plastic surgery, fight for its heart. Fight to retain what you think is crucial to your story. There may be parts of the report you just don’t agree with or that reflect the editor’s own agenda and not yours. When making a case for what you are not prepared to relinquish, set out your reasoning without emotion – this will help you to understand and articulate why you want to keep it and in fact may clarify for you how to better write your story:
Eg. I believe the incorporation of the original letter from x to y adds value to the text because it links the two time frames together and gives the reader a sense of the language used by the writer etc…
10. Begin again: when you’re ready, take a deep breath and start on the rewrite.
How badly do you want this book published? How hungry are you? How hard are you prepared to fight for it? Does your book deserve your attention and devotion? Then get over the editorial report, and write it again. So few writers ever get the chance to have a publisher give them the opportunity to rewrite - so many writers never get their foot in the door. You've done that - now use it constructively.
(You can do it, DF. I know you can x)
www.joannefedler.com
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Comment by katyzzz
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Comment by Jayne Kearney
Writers In Writing (and other writing)
This is fantastic! I am going to print it out and hang it in my writing space.This post should be handed out at every writer's course around the country.
And I think most of your advice applies not only to books (for those of us still trying to get our foot in that particular door) but also to the short stories, poems, feature articles etc we may be hawking at any time to a variety of people who have the power to put them into print.
Thanks for your coalface wisdom - not everyone takes the time to share this way.
Love your image of the disconsolate little guy - how exactly it captures the feeling of a bruised writer.
Jayne
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this is my favourite comment
but there is so much useful advice here.
thanks heaps
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Yea, I know, I don't handle rejection well. But then, I'm not a writer either so the publishing world and I are safe from one another.
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Comment by Jeanne Dininni
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This is an excellent piece--very helpful for writers! I strongly recommend that you consider submitting it to Absolute Write for publication in their e-mail newsletter. Here's a link to their Submission Guidelines.
They pay $.02 per word for writing-related articles, and they accept reprints. They've published several of my blog posts about the craft of writing and other related issues. (In fact, I just submitted another one yesterday.)
They have pretty rigid formatting guidelines, so check them out before you submit. (You might also want to tone down a few of the less-delicate words and phrases, just to make sure they accept it.) It really is excellent, and I think many writers would benefit from reading it.
Along with your article, you'll also be able to include a short bio, in which you can link to your blog or any other site you'd like. And remember to tell them when and where your article was previously published.
Hope you'll submit it!
Good luck!
Jeanne
Comment by Joanne Fedler
And to you, Jeanne, many thanks for your generous suggestion, I will certainly follow it up.
Btw, my friend DF, has decided to rewrite and done a 180 degree turn. He was so devastated when he got the editor's report, but this week he's fired up and fighting back.
Thanks to all of you
Jo
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
Look forward to seeing this piece in the Absolute Write Newsletter!
Also glad to hear your friend has decided to rewrite! That's good news! Best of luck to him!
Jeanne
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