How to Deal with Feedback on Writing: 4 Truths and 4 Tips
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The inevitability of getting feedback on writing is one of the hardest realities for writers wanting to put words into the world. While sharing your story with a friend or family member might give you butterflies, working with a professional editor might feel like going back to school, summoning a threatening, if not overwhelming, tidal wave of papers dripping in red ink. Editing can certainly be an emotional experience, but here’s the good news: a positive, growth-oriented mindset can transform editing into an invigorating and exciting process. Below, we’ll share four truths about editing and four tips on how to navigate critique like a pro that will bolster your confidence and help you make informed, decisive revisions to strengthen your story and writing skills.
Four truths about editing
Successfully dealing with critique starts with a good understanding of the process and how you engage in it as a creator. Before diving into strategies for working through feedback, we’ll discuss four important truths about editing that will demonstrate the foundation and importance of editing. For our purposes here, we’ll use “editing,” “feedback,” and “critique” interchangeably.
Truth No. 1: Editing is necessary for writers who want to grow
No matter how much we wish we could skate by without it, getting critique on your work is a fundamental part of the writing journey. Just as trees need wind and weather to grow strong roots, writers need feedback to dig deeper, develop, and flourish. Feedback allows you to see your work through someone else’s eyes, expanding your perspective and helping you elaborate on and elevate your ideas. Critique challenges you to construct stronger worlds, tighter plots, and more compelling characters. In short, editing encourages you to craft a story that more effectively reflects your creative vision.
Here, we’re striving for excellence, but we’re not looking for an A+ grade. While there’s plenty of outside pressure on authors to produce flawless stories, you should know that they don’t exist. Writing can always be improved. But don’t worry—that’s not meant to be gloomy but a bit of wonder for you to keep tucked away in your toolbox. There’s always more to see, another path we haven’t wandered down yet, more treasures waiting for us if we dig deeper.
With writing, the goal should be mastery, not perfection. Perfection is static. Mastery is growth.
Truth No. 2: Your writing is not you
Writing is extremely personal, but even so, you are not your writing. What you write pours out from your beliefs, your ideas, and your experiences, but it’s a creation just as much as a painting, a cabinet, or a sandcastle. Writing is a craft that’s learned, practiced, and perfected over time, just like oil painting, woodworking, or sand sculpting. Your book is not you in the same way a piece of furniture is not the one who carved it. Feedback on your writing doesn’t reflect on your worth or value as a person. It’s feedback on your craft only.
Revision is a natural part of the writing process. Remember that one of the main purposes of editing is help you create the best book possible, and sometimes that means rethinking, revisiting, or revamping. You’re in good company as well—every writer you admire has had their work edited in some form. Just like you’re always allowed to change your mind, you can always change your story. Once you become more adept with receiving feedback, you might even find that revision becomes your favorite part of the process.
Truth No. 3: Your editor is here to help
Many writers have bad experiences of getting critique from writing partners, industry professionals, or even friends and family. The two of us have been there ourselves, and a desire to provide actionable and encouraging feedback to writers seeking to develop their craft is one of the reasons we became editors. Art in the world walks the tightrope of between being intensely personal expression and an engaging conversation starter for an intended audience. Far below in the dark lurk the unknowns—How do I get my story into the hands of readers? Is there a place in the market for a book like mine? Will anyone love it? As you strive to strike that perfect balance, having someone point out a plot inconsistency or suggest an alternative technique can feel more like a personal attack than constructive criticism. At the very worst, it can feel like you’ve failed completely.
The relationship between you and your editor is important, and we understand how much trust it takes to put your work in someone else’s hands. Because of that, we strive to create an honest and enjoyable creative partnership that will support you through revisions and wherever you go from this edit. Communication is key, so feel free to reach out at any time with questions, concerns, or just to talk. We’re here for you.
Truth No. 4: Editing can be stressful (but it doesn’t have to be)
Let’s talk about the emotions in involved in editing. There are many, and it’s important to recognize you’ll probably experience a handful of them during this process. When you work with us, we do our best to make editing as smooth as possible for you, but we understand that getting feedback can be nerve-wracking, uncomfortable, even intimidating. After all, the minute you share your work with another person, you’re asking for an opinion on something highly personal and valuable to you, something you’ve invested time and care to craft.
Rather than seeing yourself as a student waiting for a grade and corrections, step into this process as a craftsman. You’re looking for new and better techniques, different ways of approaching your work, and an editor can help you see solutions you hadn’t considered before. It’s okay to be nervous. It’s natural. But always remember your editor is there to listen and to help. Many of the strategies and tips we’ll share next are designed to support you through the emotional side of navigating editorial feedback so you can focus on the work.
Four tips for dealing with feedback on writing
At its best, receiving critique is an encouraging and empowering experience. After all, a good editor wants exactly what you want—the best story possible. But even the most experienced writers can still feel the sting of criticism when it comes to getting feedback, so how can you deal with critique in a useful way and get the best out of it?
Tip No. 1: Take a step back
First of all, keep in mind that when you put your work in front of someone for critique, you’re inviting input and direction rather than validation. A good edit should challenge you and get you to ask questions. The purpose of critique is growth, so as much as we may want to hear that not a thing needs to be changed, we only become better writers by inviting other perspectives into our process. This growth mindset is the first way to take a step back.
The second way is to give yourself time to process the feedback. If you’ve received written feedback, skim it through and then put it away for a while before coming back to reread it. The sheer amount of comments and questions can easily make you feel misunderstood, confused, defensive, or even angry. You might be tempted to respond or jump right back into your story, but we recommend sleeping on the feedback before you engage it in any way. Take a deep breath. Go for a walk, watch a show, or work in your garden. Do something you enjoy, and don’t feel like you have to even think about the feedback. Take as much time as you need to move beyond your initial reaction and gain some emotional distance.
Tip No. 2: Look at the big picture
Whenever you receive critique, keep the vision for the book as a whole in mind to keep yourself on track. Think about what you want your book to do, how you want it to affect readers, what your goals are for it. Does the critique you’ve gotten fit with that vision? Will making revisions based on this advice help you get closer to those goals?
When you’re ready to return to the feedback, read through it several times. Try to identify any big-picture elements or patterns that stand out to you. Have you gotten similar feedback from other readers before? If you’re have, that’s a sign to pay attention. You can also ask yourself if the critique touches on something you’ve thought about or you’ve wanted to fix but didn’t know how. See what parts of the critique resonate with you and support your overall vision.
If you can, read the whole book again from start to finish in as close to one sitting as possible—just reading it as your reader would, not making any changes. Reading your book like this will help you see it as a whole, which is nearly impossible when you’ve been working on paragraphs and individual sentences while you’ve been creating it. It will also help you get a better idea of how a reader (and in this case, your editor) is encountering the current draft.
Tip No. 3: Make a plan for revision
Your editor may give you some ideas for where to start, but you can also make a more detailed plan of your own. You might write out a list of the revisions you’d like to make (such as establishing the protagonist’s goal at the beginning) or craft elements to work on (like elevating tension throughout the manuscript). When you have that list, mark your priorities for revision.
Regardless of the kind of edit you’ve received, we highly recommend approaching revisions from the top down. Consider which big-picture elements need addressing first and then move down to the smaller revisions. That said, revisions, big or small, make your book malleable again, and as you work through the changes, you might find bigger challenges are easier to work on after you’ve conquered smaller ones. Something that seemed like a major change might not feel so big after you’ve gotten back into the groove. If needed, you can work on middle-tier revisions before tackling a bigger change, but don’t get caught up in fine details yet.
Tip No. 4: Remember that you’re always in control
Your story is yours. An editor is a partner in your writing journey, providing industry expertise and knowledge that can take you and your writing to a new level. That said, you know your story better than anyone, so if you come across feedback that doesn’t resonate with you or your goals for the book, feel free to put it to the side. Revision is still writing—you are crafting and building in this stage just as you were when you created your first draft. Nothing is set in stone yet, and let that be your inspiration to shape the story so it becomes truer to itself.
Trust your instincts when it comes to the changes you want to make. If you’re not sure how to get there, you now have a dedicated support for your questions. You have what it takes to create the story you imagine. We’re cheering you on all the way.
Are you looking for a way to work on your writing?
We love working with writers who want to make their work the best it can be, and we’d love to hear more about your project. Read more about how we can help on our services page.
The exciting drafting image for this blog is courtesy of Daniel McCullough via Unsplash.
