Receiving negative feedback is difficult for nearly everyone. For writers and other creatives, it can feel like a blow to their self-esteem or even a personal attack.
Unfortunately, there’s no magic pill to make tough feedback easier to swallow, but there are steps you can take to better handle it—and to make sure you’re actually getting good feedback!
Think about the feedback you need, not the feedback you want.
It’s easy to become too close to your work. Some authors even refer to their books as their “babies.” While you hope that everyone will love your manuscript as much as you do, it’s important to keep in mind that what you really need is genuine, constructive feedback.
Don’t underestimate the value of the revision process. Many good books are turned into great books through reflective feedback and revision.
Resist assuming the reader “just didn’t get it.”
Upon receiving negative feedback, many writers default to a mindset that the reader “just didn’t get it.” If a reader or multiple readers are not understanding something in your work, it’s likely that you have a clarity issue. Work to make your message more clear, and then request further feedback.
Sometimes, people really won’t get it. Take Harry Potter for example; it was rejected by 12 publishers before being picked up by Bloomsbury Publishing. Think of this as the exception, not the rule, though.
Ask follow-up questions.
If the feedback you receive is confusing or troubling you, it’s perfectly acceptable to ask follow-up questions. Just remember to be respectful and open minded when communicating with your reviewer and avoid going on the defensive.
It’s up to you as the author to determine whether you incorporate feedback or not. After your follow-up questions are answered, if you still cannot understand the reason for the feedback—or if you’ve received this particular feedback from only one of many reviewers—you can absolutely choose to ignore it.
Be open to trying something new.
Sometimes, feedback will push you outside of your comfort zone. Don’t be afraid to try something you’ve never done before.
In fiction, this may look like your reviewer suggesting you add the point of view of a secondary character. In nonfiction, your reviewer may suggest you add personal anecdotes throughout your book.
There’s no harm in experimenting with your writing. After trying a new thing, gather some more feedback to see what readers think. You can always scrap something if it’s not working, but who knows, you may have just transformed your book into a bestseller.
Take a breather.
Receiving feedback can be overwhelming. You do not have to read through it all and make changes in one sitting. When you feel your spark starting to sap, step away. Go do something relaxing. This may be for a couple hours, a couple days, or even a week or more.
There’s no reason to rush the feedback and revision process unless you’re under some kind of deadline.
Make sure you’re asking the right people.
My final tip is to make sure you’re asking the right people for feedback. Friends and family will usually give mostly positive feedback, even if there is constructive criticism that should be given. This can be for a couple of reasons.
For one, they love you, so they see your work through rose-colored glasses. I don’t know about you, but my mom thinks everything I do is great, even though that’s definitely not the case. Secondly, they may worry about how negative feedback could affect their relationship with you. It can be hard to be critical of your loved ones.
On the other hand, some family members are notoriously overcritical. You may have someone like this in mind already. These family members always have something negative to say, no matter the situation. That’s definitely not who you want giving you notes on your manuscript.
So if you shouldn’t rely on your friends and family for feedback, then who should you get it from? Three places: fellow writers, readers of your genre, and paid professionals.
To get feedback from fellow writers, join a writers’ group or two if you aren’t in one already. These could be either in-person or online. Aim to get feedback from writers who you believe are slightly ahead of you in skill level if possible. Keep in mind that you will likely need to give other writers feedback in exchange.
You can also seek feedback from people who read voraciously in the genre you’re writing in. These could be acquaintances of yours, they could be people you find in in-person or online literary communities, or they could even be paid beta readers.
And of course, you can and should get feedback from a paid professional before publishing your book. If you have a traditional publishing deal, this will be part of the arrangement. If you’re self-publishing or if you’re trying to be traditionally published and struggling to secure an agent, you need to hire a professional book editor.
In addition to traditional book-editing packages, most professional book editors also offer manuscript evaluations. These come at a lower cost than editing services, as they include only a detailed summary of feedback and no editing. This is a service we offer at Aha! Editorial at a competitive rate. We also offer evaluations as part of our guided self-editing package; this is a great option for authors who are in the early draft stage and looking to improve their work, or authors in later stages of the process, but on a tight budget.
Happy writing!
Owner of Aha! Editorial
Let’s talk about your writing project: https://calendly.com/ashlyn-ahaeditorial
