I'd like to start by saying that as a new writer I love feedback - positive, negative, ambivalent. All of it, and I am very appreciative of anyone who takes the time to comment on my work - not just on here but in my writing group and elsewhere. Now for my question. Does anyone have any tips on how to decide which feedback to respond to? I'm not talking about the correction of grammar etc as obviously this should be changed, and my grammar is not what it used to be. But more the feedback about the style, pace, tone of your writing? Writing is such a subjective thing and I know what one person loves another person will hate, and others will simply not have a feeling about one way or another. And the old adage you can't please all of the people all of the time is no better demonstrated than when asking for feedback on the baring of your soul (that's how I feel about writing anyway). But how do others decide which feedback to listen to when it's contradictory? I'm lucky to have had some very positive feedback and also some very helpful constructive feedback too, as well as some that's just been plain rude (not from anyone on here I hasten to add) but I've got a fairly thick skin and even the rude ones have made me think. And I have no doubt it's helped me to improve my writing significantly. But what if the feedback starts to change your writing style? And you're not sure whether this is a good or bad thing? I feel so close to my work, even after a few weeks of not looking at it, that I just can't see which is better - the before or the after?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts
Hi Clare,
That's a really good, thought-provoking question. I suspect that there is no one right way to decide, as it depends on the nature of the feedback. However, I can imagine that there are guiding principles you might adopt to help approach the decision.
The underlying points to bear in mind are:
1) Taste plays the largest part in one's appreciation of fiction, which means that you might get diametrically opposed opinions from two readers and each could be equally valid (or invalid).
2) The readers on this site are unlikely to be a representative sample of real readers, and there are too few of us for our opinions to be statistically significant.
3) Individually, readers are unreliable, in a technical sense, meaning that a reader is unlikely to be consistent in their judgements, which means that the opinions you get are likely to have a relatively low signal to noise ratio.
4) Given all that, beta readers are therefore at best a weak proxy for the market, and at worst could mislead you.
The principles you might therefore apply are as follows:
Give conflicting opinions less weight than concurring ones.
Consider the 'face validity' of a reader's comments- do they seem reasonable?
Give an opinion less weight if the reviewer hasn't backed it up with a rationale.
If you can, where you find conflicting opinions, explain the conflict to the reviewers and ask them if they can help you make sense of them.
If you can, check a reviewer's record and competency. I could review a manual on brain surgery, but not as well as a brain surgeon might.
Another important tactic is to let the reviewer know, up front, what you are trying to achieve with the book so that they can judge it in the proper context. If you play a simple melody to a jazz nut and a country music fan, the former might tell you it would be better played in a weird time signature with more syncopation and chromatic intervals, while the latter might tell you it needs banjos and a slide guitar, and neither opinion would be relevant if you were aiming the piece at rap fans.
Remember too that critical feedback can be the most useful, if the least pleasant to receive.
Finally beware that you don't allow yourself to become beige by taking on everyone's suggested tints.
Best wishes
Denis
I think one problem with this sort of forum is you don't receive enough reviews to see any real consensus of opinion. You need a peer-review site to get sufficient numbers, paying for them by reviewing other writers' work.
That's not to say the comments here aren't useful because any critique, good or bad, helps prepare you for what real (paid-for-your-story) readers may think. Or tell their friends. Or broadcast to the world. And some of those comments can be a bit...caustic, let's say, while growing thicker skin takes a little time.
Best of luck :)
Thanks Kevin and Adrian