Perhaps the worst part of writing is the criticism that will come. It’s inevitable. Publish something and someone’s bound to not like it. Social 
media only compounds the issue, empowering reviewers with star ratings, Likes, and Top Reviewer statuses. You invest blood, sweat, and tears in your novel only to have someone you’ve never met pan it to 1K-plus followers. So if you’re planning on lasting very long in this writing gig, learning how to approach criticism is a necessary survival skill.
Statistically speaking, for every complaint a business receives, another 24 unsatisfied customers never call. They just stop frequenting that business. The same is true for writers. You will never hear from the majority of readers who have an issue with your stuff. Most of them will probably just tell their friends what they didn’t like and, perhaps, opt out of reading anything else written by you.
Which is why criticism offered can be a valuable thing.
Several years ago, I was contacted by a multi-published author who’d seen that I was reading their current novel. They wanted my honest feedback. As one with no shortage of opinions, I graciously outlined what I felt were pros and cons of the book. My critique was very balanced and measured; anything but a harsh, one-sided appraisal. However, the author took it hard. They bemoaned their sales and became defensive. I felt bad. I mean, Why ask if you’re not prepared for honest critique?
The takeaway from that exchange was not that writers can be thin-skinned, but that navigating criticism is essential to longevity. And mental health. It is not within my power to control how readers will respond to my writing. It IS within my power to control how I respond to their opinions and criticism.
So how should writers approach criticism? Here’s 5 suggestions:
ONE: Appreciate those who take time with your book and who write a review or offer a critique – Treat criticism as a gift. I know, that’s hard. But for every criticism you receive there’s probably a dozen other readers who felt the same way. Even if you feel the criticism is unfair or mean, give the reviewer points for investing some of their precious time to read your novel and to write a review. Hopefully, no one’s forced them to do either. Be thankful, at the least, for the time (and money), they spent on you.
TWO: Make it easy for people to offer suggestions and observations to you in the future. One way to do this is to not mope around, feel sorry for yourself, get defensive, or make the individual who offered their opinion feel guilty. It’s not easy to correspond with folks who think your book is flawed or slow or a waste of time. Nevertheless, grit your teeth and thank them. One customer research firm found that customers who complained and their complaint was honored by the business, are up to 8% more loyal than if they had no problem at all. In other words, you may actually win some fans by not blowing off someone’s criticism.
THREE: Even if a criticism seems inaccurate or is offered poorly, act like there’s some truth to it. In fact, there probably is! We call them “blind spots” for a reason. Every author has them. Don’t be sidetracked by a reviewer’s snark or poor choice of words. Try to see past the two-stars to the essence of the dislike. Sure, you don’t have to agree with it. Neither do you have to be brought down by immature feedback. And unless you believe you and your story are perfect (see point number Five), there may be something instructive in the criticism that can, if applied, ultimately make you a better writer
FOUR: Discard what you can’t use… without holding grudges. We writers have long memories, often in the worst ways. We keep mental ledgers of critical things written and said about our stories. This is cancerous! More than one novelist has failed to appreciate positive reviews given because they’re too busy stewing over negative ones. If, after thoughtful, dispassionate consideration of some criticism rendered, you conclude it is without merit… can it! It’s hard enough cranking out good stories on a regular basis. Why make the process more difficult? Some criticism belongs in the trash can, not the compost bin.
FIVE: Remember, you’re not perfect yet; there’s always room to grow. I hate to break it to you, but sometimes your writing SHOULD be criticized. There’s only one Man who walked on water. And last I checked, even He was criticized. A good rule to follow: When praised, don’t crow; When criticized, don’t croak. (Perhaps if we crowed less about our successes, we’d croak less often when criticized.) Even if you’re criticized unjustly for something, you could be criticized justly for others.
Criticism is an inevitable part of writing. No author is immune from it. Which is why learning HOW to approach and handle criticism is so important. It is not within your power to control how readers will respond to your writing. It IS within your power to control how you respond to their opinions and criticism.
Question: What are some other ways that writers can constructively approach criticism?
Can I add one to this list?
Take some time to digest it. Do not react until you have stepped away for a while.
Criticism often packs a hard initial punch, but when you step back, breathe, and return later, you can get a more objective view of the criticism. When I first read a review of my book, or critique on a work in progress, the negative tends to jump out and overshadow the positive. But when I go back and re-read those reviews, I see balance and truth in them. When I take time to step away after skimming through a critique, I can approach it more rationally. But reacting before taking that break can lead to defensiveness.
That’s a great point, Kat. I always kind of crack up at the comments to reader reviews at Amazon, especially when it’s the author making them. It’d probably serve them better if they just chill than rushing into rebutting a detractor.
These are all great, Kat’s addition included.
Number one is huge. I think a lot of people don’t necessarily carry an awareness of just how important TIME is. It is limited and irreplaceable. For someone to use up a quantity of their most precious resource on something you’ve created is an incredible compliment. For them to use up even more to address it with you is even more generous.
They may be wrong. They may be smoking crack. But they also gave you something very precious and it’s always amazing to me when I think about that.
I usually do “fairly” well with criticism. I tend to get a bit irked at first, but then I can go back later, like Kat said, and read more objectively.
I say “fairly” well, because yesterday I had a mini melt down, set off by a critique. The causes were much deeper than one critique, or course. It was just one of those days when life piled up so high all it took was a mere feather to knock me down.
I would add, then, that if you do have surprisingly negative reaction to a critique, don’t sweat it. Cry it out (or whatever men do when they’re frustrated) and then dust yourself off and get back to work. (Or take a long nap, which is what I did.)
Coffee and chocolate. Or bake bread (you get to hit it a lot).
“What are some other ways that writers can constructively approach criticism?”
1) Complain to one close friend
2) Get a lot of housework and closet cleaning done while you simmer and stew or take a long energetic walk
3) Put the work in question on hold and work /write on something else until you are emotionally healthy enough to revisit the criticism
4) revisit the criticized piece and recycle it into something even more wonderful.
Thanks, Mike, for your five suggestions – spot on- very helpful.
I think criticism is invaluable — indeed vital — when an author is in the process of preparing a manuscript for publication. Not just from editors, but from smart beta-readers and trusted critiquers who are able to suggest ways to improve that rocky first draft and make it stronger, clearer, tighter, and deeper in so many ways. Yes, critiques can be painful and hard to take. They can be discouraging to the author who can’t help hoping, deep down, that maybe this time they’ve done better than they imagined in their self-doubting state, and there won’t be that much revision to do. But they can also be exciting and liberating, as the author realizes just how much better the book can be and sets their will to make it so.
But post-publication critiques are a different matter. I didn’t use to think so: in fact I told myself it was my duty as a responsible author to listen to all my readers’ quibbles and complaints and try to do better next time. But what I gradually learned over the course of publishing five books is that while those post-publication criticisms and tough reviews may indeed be valid and worthy of readers’ consideration, they are almost entirely useless–and often actively harmful–to the author.
The reason I say this is that 90% of the time, the criticisms being voiced apply solely to that one single book being reviewed–a book that’s already written and revised and copyedited and printed, a book you cannot change now even if you wanted to. They’re not going to help you make your next book better, because the next book is a different story with its own challenges and pitfalls, and if you screw up that next book it will probably be in an entirely different way.
Not to say that authors can’t and don’t fall into bad habits, or make the same mistakes book after book after book. Maybe their female characters do tend to be stereotypical and flat, or maybe their style does need polishing, or maybe they have a bad tendency to end their book too abruptly and throw the reader out of the story on his/her ear. But a good critique group or set of beta-readers can notice and flag that too, or at least they should–and at a time when the author can actually do something about it, instead of merely feeling discouraged and deflated, stuck with an inferior book that can’t be fixed.
(Note: Obviously this does not apply to electronically self-published works which the author is still free and able to change–in that case, reader feedback may indeed be useful. I’m talking about traditional print publishing here.)
So in the last few months, I’ve stopped reading reviews. I definitely haven’t stopped seeking critiques of my works in progress, but I’m no longer looking at criticisms of my published ones. Because I found that personally speaking, those reviews weren’t helping me to become a better author–they were only dragging me into a morass of shame and self-doubt that made it infinitely harder to get excited or feel confident about writing the next book. And even the wholly positive reviews, the ones that made me glow with happiness and feel that I had truly found a kindred spirit in this reader at least, were so quickly forgotten when the next bit of cutting or dismissive commentary came along. In the end, it just wasn’t worth it to wade through the bad ones for fear of missing something good.
So I stopped. And now I read only the reviews directly mailed to me by my editors, or sent to me by trusted friends. I still Google my book titles to see if they’ve been nominated for awards I didn’t know about, or in case somebody is offering pirated e-book versions, but when I see a link that’s obviously a review, I don’t click on it anymore. And I feel a lot saner and more at peace because of it.
This is not to say everybody has to follow my example. If you’re okay with reading bad reviews of books you can’t change, and it doesn’t affect your confidence or joy in writing in any way, then God bless your tough hide and I wish I could be like that myself. But I’m not, and that’s okay too.
Thanks for the comments, Rebecca. I get what you’re saying about being unable to change the story after it’s published. But there’s a lot of reviews of our work — some of which could probably be considered “negative reviews” — in which the reviewer, in a non-malicious manner, makes reasonable observations which can help us grow as authors. I’d like to think my second novel is better than my first (though they are both stand-alones) in part because of some of my critics. (Even though one reviewer recently said the conclusion of one of my novels reminded her of Scooby-Doo. Scooby-Roo, Shaggy!)
LOVE this post. As a person who both gives and takes criticism, I wish every writer had the maturity to view criticism in this way. I have had authors write to me privately or post on their blogs, complaining about negative things I’ve said, when there was only one small negative in a whole review of positives. And why? They can’t argue me out of my opinions. They can’t make me like something I don’t like.
If I’m wrong, I don’t mind authors telling me I missed something (they’ve never done that, yet) but if I’m right, why do they get mad that I pointed the fault in their books out to my blog readers? I have to post balanced reviews or I will lose credibility.
I do try not to correct writers in reviews, though, because once a work is published, they can’t fix it. So it seems a bit pointless to tell them their baby has warts.
I don’t know. It’s a hard thing. I’d like to never review books of anyone I know now or might know in the future. But I think writers need Amazon reviews. And they need fair-minded ones.
I hope if I’m ever published I’ll respond to positive reviews by thanking the reviewer and even taking an interest in his life and writing, if I have time. And I hope I’ll respond graciously to negative reviews, by also thanking the reviewer and taking an interest in his life and writing.
Because the writing is not about us. It’s about our readers. If they cared enough to respond, positively or negatively, that means God is opening up a door for us to reach even more into their lives, I think. That’s what writing is about–reaching into people’s lives and moving them.
Ditto to Sally’s comments. I wrote a similar article some time ago when I was dealing with a critical review of one of my stories. I realized I didn’t respond as I should have, and as “penitence,” I wrote the following article:
“Dealing with Reviews”
http://blog.rlcopple.com/?p=318
Touches on some of the same themes as you did here, Mike, but from a different angle.
I couldn’t comment over there, but I read and enjoyed the post. Thanks!
Critique? Bring it on! At least I know my work is being read. Bad critique is better than no critique at all.
Good advice, Mike