It's a common fact that every writer whether professional or amateur received criticism for the work they have done. No matter how much you love your own work there will always be someone out there who believes they could've wrote it better.
J.K. Rowling received several court claims for plagiarism. Example Larry Potter. She was also heavily criticised for her writing style. (Clearly she kept writing in her own style)
Damien Isaak aka ME accused of plagiarism. Resolved.... (My answer never judge a book by its cover)
Dan Brown for the da Vinci code. They said he's writing was clumsy, ungrammatical and repetitive. (He realised he's writing brought pleasure to millions)
What criticism have you received and how did you handle it ?
Regards to all......
What criticism have you received and how did you handle it ?
Depends on the source. If it's a reader I gave the story to because I wanted their input, I try to listen and accept that they're probably right. If it's a stranger online, I can ignore it much easier - by both remembering that ALL books have their critics, and also by trying as hard as I can not to read reviews of my own work
Excellent question.
It’s very hard to qualify an individual’s point of view because opinions will vary according the subject matter.
People pay too much attention to critics. The best critics are esteemed academics in English literature, authors of literary fiction, award-winning best-selling authors, and award-winning teachers of creative writing.
Unless a critic is one, or a combination of the above, how can we be expected to value their opinion?
As much as many critics would like to consider themselves on the same level as authors, they are not, and they never will be.
Regarding critics it’s ‘Show Don’t Tell’ with me. Show me why I should respect your opinion. What defines you from other critics? What qualifies your opinion?
It’s always best to triangulate opinions, get as many as you can before forming your own opinion.
Every author is subjective to criticism. I welcomed the constructive criticism I received during the process of writing my as yet unpublished novel. I’m in no doubt that I will receive more. But I have the utmost faith in my novel, AND I WILL BE PUBLISHED no matter what any critic says.
You can receive criticism from editorial services which is different from a critical review of a completed novel. Bear in mind that well-respected literary professional bloggers on this site have their livelihood’s to consider. They have to choose their words carefully. You can be certain that they won’t post negatively about an author’s work. They daren’t criticize authors, famous or otherwise. Besides, it’s not their job to.
The best way to accurately assess a commercially successful author’s work would be to do double-blinded trials on examples of their writing in front of a large audience. But no-one would be so bold to do that. I’m certain it would open up a can of worms. That’s why university lectures do critiques on deceased authors. They get to keep their jobs.
The worst criticism to receive must be after you have been published.