I’m not a fan of feedback, but over the past year I learned to take it like a champ.
How?
The answer is simple. Nod your head, say thank you, and down a whole bottle of Jack Daniels in the privacy of your home.
No! I’m just kidding. Don’t drink.
But that’s how you really do it minus the drinking. No one like to hear that their works of fiction are full of errors. It’s actually pretty insulting to our talents and it feels like someone is throat slamming our dreams of ever being successful. But constructive feedback is essential for a writer’s growth and their novel’s structure.
Someone read a novella of mine. Every single day I asked if they finished the novel, but overtime I eventually forgot until the day my reader came back. I immediately saw the look of held back laughter on their face and braced myself for the worst.
“It’s a good story, but did you send it to an editor?”
I let out a deep sigh of relief, but then I thought about what was said. Did I send my book to an editor? No. I didn’t becasue I cant afford one at the moment. So that meant it was full of mistakes. My reader told me to take the book down from Amazon and send it to an editor. It’s a good story, she hopes nothing like the plot ever happens in reality, but it needs more work.
Later that evening I drank my ass off. Getting that small amount of feedback felt like a low blow becasue I took pride in my ability to write vivid stories. I thought I was next to famous writers like Sarah Dessen, Stephen King, and J.K Rowling sipping wine at high class author events. Sike!
Now that I think about it, my action following the received feedback was pretty silly.
So…
I have a question. Before you even submit your first novel to publishers or take the solo way like myself and publish your own way, are you ready to receive the slashing words?
You may say “Hell yeah, I am!” But for real…are you?
If not and before you submit anything, I’m going to give you some tips on taking feedback like a champ.
1.Thank your reader or editor.
Don’t get angry about what they say and try to make up excuses for those errors. That’s a serious insult since they took the time out of their busy life to read your shitty novel. Say thank you with a smile.
2. Ask what is wrong.
It could be either spelling mistakes, bad grammar, plot holes; this list can go on. Ask what is wrong with your fiction. Better yet, give your reader one of those multicolored pens and so they could mark everything good and bad in different colors. If you don’t like verbal feedback at least take written commentary.
3. Repeat this: This is only the first draft, so it’s ok to fuck up.
Yeah! It’s only your first draft. I know with self-publishing it’s easy to just throw your novel online for sale, but chill. Take it slow. Don’t produce bad works or else people will look down on any of your future books.
4. Set your novel aside
Like seriously. Put it away for a minute and work on something else. Returning to your work after it was corrected is like scrapping a healing cut. You’re going to feel the pain again, but worse becasue those harsh words of feedback will constantly repeat in your mind and frustrate you. A month is a good amount of time to forget about your novel. When you come back to it, you will feel this rush of excitement since you’re on the second stage of your first draft: revision.
I hope this article was of some use. Do you have a tip on taking feedback like a champ? Comment below. I’m always here ready to chit chat.
