This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Last week, we talked about getting the most from your critique partners or beta readers. This week, we’re looking at what to do with those comments once you’ve received them.
It’s hard to get critiques on your writing – even when we have asked for them. No matter what the comments are, always thank your readers for their time and effort.
Also, resist the urge to argue with them. It’s completely normal to want to explain your work to your reader, but their reaction is valid and you need to respect that. You can disagree with them and quietly ignore their advice, but it’s bad form to try and change their opinion, unless they have actually invited a discussion.
When you get a critique, it can be good to let it settle for a couple of days before reading it again. Then, when you’ve had time to digest the comments, you can (hopefully) look at them rationally.
If the comments echo niggling worries you’ve already had (you knew the first scene was too slow, but were hoping you’d got away with it) then, fabulous; you’ve had your concerns confirmed and now you can get on with fixing them.
If the comments are unexpected or you disagree with them, then you have several choices. You can get more opinions and see if they agree with the original feedback, you can decide that you value this particular reader’s opinion so highly that you’re willing to change your mind, or you can ignore them.
You can also emulate Stephen King and play the numbers game. His advice on feedback goes like this: if two people hate something then change it, but if one person loves it and one person hates it, then the casting vote goes to the author.
Another thing to bear in mind is that your critique partner probably doesn’t know how to fix the problems they’ve found. You should pay attention to whatever has tripped them up and look at making it better, but you’re the author. Nobody knows your story and characters in the way that you do. When it comes to fixing problems in the manuscript, clear your mind of outside suggestions and let your instincts guide you.
Equally, you might have an amazing critique partner who makes brilliant suggestions. Solutions which are so right for your book, you want to slap yourself in the forehead for not seeing them yourself. Congratulations, you’ve won the critique partner lottery! Send them some chocolate this instant!