If there is a best friend in the life of a writer, it’s feedback. Especially from people with experience in the industry or fellow writers. That said… getting criticism on your precious little babies that you’ve spent countless hours on, sleepless nights mulling over, and perhaps at least half–if not all–of your sanity, can be excruciating.
BUT if you want to get better at writing feedback (good feedback) is the key. But the other key? Knowing how to use it.
So let’s start with the first question. How do we get good feedback?
Over the past year, I have sucked a few fellow writers into my beta swap dungeon, after they have proven themselves worthy. Now they are trapped. Doomed to forever read through my half-baked manuscripts. Muhahaha. Wait. Did I say that out loud? Just ignore that…
Why do I consider them “good” critics? They do the following:
1. Give actionable feedback
2. Offer positive comments
3. Get it done in a timely manner
How did I trap these poor unfortunate souls? I beta read a lot, swapped a lot, from the worst to the best, and then I kept in contact. When they’d been properly lulled into a sense of safety, I reached out.
Then asked them the awkward question, equivalent to:
So um… do you wanna go steady?
Super suave, right? Some said no, others said yes.
Where did I find people to beta-read for? Facebook writer swap groups, Twitter/X, QT Critique, lots of places! Everywhere writers are looking for connection and the trick is swapping a few chapters and if it’s a good connection, seeing if they have room for a more permanent CP/Beta relationship. Some people don’t and that’s okay.
The second question. How do we use feedback?
With care.
When you give someone a manuscript to critique you want to be open to anything they might say. Put every single one of your darling sentences and scenes on the line. Then, when you get feedback, ruminate a little. Read it, cry or rage about it, and then decide what will make your story and your voice stronger.
Just avoid these two huge, and equally disastrous, errors:
Dismiss everything out of hand. Obviously, they know nothing and keep your manuscript exactly the same. (Why did you ask for feedback, again?)
Second, take everything someone says, agree, and then make a mess of your book. By the end, it should be so convoluted that you’re not even sure what story you’re telling anymore.
There is one last thing to consider (at least that I want to talk about). Say you’re getting feedback from several betas and they are consistently agreeing that something is wrong, each with their own opinion on how to fix it. At this point, you know two things.
Something is off in your beloved story… and… it might not be what everyone thinks it is.
So if you get comments like “put all your exposition in dialogue” or “there’s too much description, cut it all out.” Don’t just go through and blindly do those things. And PLEASE unless you have a character that is completely new to the world, don’t put ALL your worldbuilding in dialogue, otherwise you end up with a Truman Show moment.
Repeated feedback on a similar issue means something isn’t working, but it might not be what the reader believes. And sometimes, it might have more to do with the way you’re worldbuilding or describing things than the fact that you’re doing it.
Hit pause and ask yourself:
1. Is your voice missing?
2. Are you stopping and describing everything for a paragraph or more? Could you instead use movement through the scene to describe your setting?
3. What worldbuilding can you save for later? Spread it out for when the reader needs it.
Even more importantly? You don’t give up. Sometimes the right move is to shelf a manuscript, and that is tough. Keep writing and keep learning. If you do those two things, your manuscripts will get better and better.
No matter what, if you want to be a successful writer you need to learn to take criticism. But you also need to learn how and when to utilize it.
Wow, still reading? Even I’m impressed. Here’s a treat.
Chloe Marcus 
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