Comments on: Responding to bad advice

By: Iapetus999

Iapetus999 — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 18:15:12 +0000

Note that if some says they’re “ready for submission” and needs a line-edit, then it’s open season on style, voice, sentence structure, etc. I can usually make a comment about every single sentence. Word choices, POV, etc.
But for the “drop in” critique group I go to, it’s usually a bit too much and turns people off.
Unless they want a critique on a paragraph-length piece. Then what else can I do?

By: Jordan

Jordan — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 17:39:07 +0000

@Andrew—I’ve found myself backing off style critiques, unless it’s a readability issue. I have different styles than my CPs—and that’s great—and there’s no reason to try to change theirs.

@Deb—I’ve had the same problem. I’ve gotten “critiques” of 20+ pages with a five word response. My standard thank you email is longer than that.

@Phyllis—Welcome! Please, chime in any time! Thanking someone for their unique perspective is exactly what I did the last time I received an extensive, completely wrong headed critique.

@Carol—With some CPs, I can take their wording suggestions because it doesn’t sound foreign to my style. With others, I just look for ways to rephrase myself—if it’s genuinely confusing. Sometimes, I’ll have someone say they got confused in a section (3 lines or so) without any other explanation, so then I’m more confused than they are .

By: Carol J. Garvin

Carol J. Garvin — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 04:55:36 +0000

I agree with Deb that it’s difficult to thank someone who essentially hasn’t said anything helpful. It’s also difficult when a suggestion is given, offering wording for something that isn’t the way I would ever say it. I try to glean the reason for the suggestion, see why the original section isn’t working for that person, but I struggle over how to deal with it. Most often I nod in agreement and then rework the section in my own words if I think there’s a legitimate reason to make a change. In any case, I always appreciate that someone has taken the time to go through my work thoughtfully and I’m happy to thank them for reading it.

By: Phyllis

Phyllis — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 01:30:33 +0000

Hi, I lurk since your guest post on Nathan’s blog.

The greatest challenge in responding to bad feedback for me is not being gracious. It’s finding the real problem. I see instantly that the advice doesn’t apply to me. I also see what the reader “didn’t get”. But, for me, both of it doesn’t really show me how to make the story better. To say I need to take a step back would be wild understatement. I need to walk miles away from the story to be able to fix it.

Being gracious is a piece of cake. You just keep in mind that writers want to be read more desperately than readers want to read. And you can always thank them for their unique perspective.

By: Deb Salisbury

Deb Salisbury — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 01:15:38 +0000

I like to thank them generally, and again specifically for any thoughts that may really help. I always ignore the unhelpful parts. Some people sound rude when they are honestly trying to help.

My biggest challenge comes when I get a critique that essentially says: “It’s fine” with no explanation. I need to know both the parts that worked and the places I failed. It’s hard to thank someone for a “no comment” critique.