How to use this Page

One way to become a community of writers is to leave thoughtful feedback.

When it's time to publish, the classroom teacher has many decisions to consider!

An activity to use with student writers to encourage self-reflection

I've seen a lot of agents write blogs on the problem with giving feedback on rejections, or the answer to why they don't give feedback. Primarily it's a consideration for time with most agents. One I completely understand. 

Photo by Vicky Lorencen

See, even though writing by its nature is a solo sport, that doesn’t mean you can’t invite others to join your team. By others, I mean other writers who can give constructive criticism–aka stab you in the front, to hit you where it hurts most–right in your writing.

Losing weight, staying on track with an exercise regime, even cleaning out the garage, are all easier if you have at least one person to come alongside you support, encourage–maybe even push–you. Why should writing be any different? If you’re frustrated with your lack of progress, either in term of pages or improvement, consider opening yourself up to a good, ol’ fashioned front stab.

[At least] three things are certain:

1. Someone pushing you without your permission will only make you want to push back.

2. You need to ask someone to hold you accountable. Nobody volunteers for that job, but most people will say yes if you invite them, especially if you’re willing to reciprocate.

3. You will make better and faster progress with accountability and input, than you will without it.

This is why I am so grateful for my critique group. They’re a friendly bunch of front stabbers who want me to become a better writer and I’m happy to help them do the same.

If you feel stuck with your writing, let me encourage you seek out your own critique group (ask around on Facebook, via your SCBWI chapter list serve or your local library). If a group isn’t already in place, start one. And remember, you don’t have to let geography limit you. Online critique groups can work very well and can include writers from all over the planet, if you like. (I suggest keeping your group Earth-bound. Anything beyond that can get too complicated.) If joining/starting a group sounds like too long of a leap, consider partnering with another writer and setting up a regular schedule for exchanging pages.

Connecting with other writers for criticism and accountability will make a positive difference for you. I promise.

G’head. Take a stab at it.

Photo by Vicky Lorencen

My thanks to Ben Redmond, Director of Student Ministries at the Hub, for inspiring this post. He’s a wise man.

" Saucy is a real character dealing with real stuff—hard stuff that doesn’t have easy answers, not in real life and not in fairy tales, either. This is a really compelling and ultimately hopeful story. Highly recommended." – Debby Dahl Edwardson, National Book Award finalist and author of My Name is Not Easy Read a sample chapter.

Our local critique group met yesterday and it was an exciting meeting. Almost everyone sent the first chapter of a new project. That’s exciting. It means that the group is healthy, that we are collectively working hard on our stories.

Critiquing Manuscripts

I learn almost as much when I critique manuscripts, as when I get a critique. Because I come to a story with a fresh eye, I can see the strengths and weaknesses in ways that the author can’t. It helps me to understand the role of a reader better.

Two things strike me: First, the author must put it on the page. When I ask for clarification on something, the author ALWAYS launches into an explanation. In other words, in her mind, it’s perfectly clear. The problem is that it didn’t get onto the page.

Second, our work is iterative. That is, we do a version, and then tweak, and then repeat and repeat and repeat. With each revision, the story is closer to perfect. We close the gap on communicating clearly and with emotion. One author’s plot and characterization were great except it lacked emotion. Can you layer that in later? Of course. Anything can be layered in later. That’s the revision process.

First Drafts. But this time, the main thing I said was, “Keep going!” These were mostly the first chapter of a new project and at this fragile moment of the writing process, the writer mostly needs encouragement to continue. For one writer, this is especially important because this was the first chapter of the very first novel she has ever attempted. At that point, well, all you can do is turn cheerleader. “Go! Go! Go!”

Getting Critiqued

When it was time for comments to turn to my own story, I felt the familiar stomach pinch that says, “Please love me.” But that quickly turned into the wise and mature response (Ahem!), “Please tell me the truth.”

It seems I have a major plot problem in the story. Two people noticed it and others agreed. And, well, OK, I sorta agree. Ok. I do agree.

And the revision won’t be that hard or that major when I sit down to do it.

In fact, I’m excited. The story pleased me, but I knew I was still in the early phases of revision. The critique groups comments were MORE than I ever hoped for. Exactly what I needed.

Why do we ever fear feedback? Ours is a business of communication. Ideas, characters, images–things in my head should be reproduced in the reader’s head EXACTLY, through the medium of words written on a page. Duh! I need to check that the communication actually happened. And when it’s not passed on EXACTLY, I need to tweak.

Thanks, critique group! You’re the best!

1. A writer shouldn’t share their work until they’re ready for criticism and can take it or leave it without being mortally wounded. This is usually possible only after some time has elapsed after writing it.   
2. A writer should say ‘thanks’ for the feedback they receive, and nothing more. Then they can go home and decide what to do with it. If a writer tries to defend their work, the people giving feedback will quickly stop bothering. 
3. When giving criticism, try and restrict it to the one or two main issues – don’t go on and on. 
4. Try and give other writers the feedback that they are ready for. We can’t judge everyone by the same yardstick – and when I think back to what my writing was like when I first started, I cringe. By working to our strengths and strengthening the positives, the negatives often fall away all by themselves
5. But even when giving feedback to experienced writers, don’t forget the positives. We all like being reminded of what we do well. It makes us want to carry on.

We love our Cybils winners, and they think we aren't too bad ourselves--at least, judging by the tweets and blog posts reacting to Thursday's announcement of the 2012 winning titles. We're always happy to share the love, so here are a few of our favorites:

• Laura Salas, author of winning Poetry title BookSpeak (and former Cybil-ite and longtime blogger herself) had some absolutely lovely words for us on her blog (and a great initial reaction post, too).
• Faith Erin Hicks, author of Teen Graphic Novels winner Friends With Boys, tweeted: OMG YOU GUYS Friends With Boys won a Cybill!!!! http://www.cybils.com/2013/02/the-2012-cybils-awards.html#more … lookit me with all those Real Authors!
• Macmillan Kids gave us a shout-out on Twitter, too: Yay! A HOME FOR BIRD and BOMB won in the 2012 #Cybils Awards! http://ow.ly/hIg3V
• Anne Nesbet, author of SFF finalist title The Cabinet of Earths, shared the love on announcement day: So amazed & touched by the work book-loving bloggers put into the #Cybils! Thank you! THE CABINET OF EARTHS was tickled to be a finalist. :)
• Small Planet Digital, publishers of winning Book App Dragon Brush, posted some jubilation on their Tumblr. 

A friend of mine has the beginning of a novel completed and asked me when it’s a good time to get feedback on his work. Would it be best to have friends read it mid-project to make sure he’s on the right track? Or should he wait to finish the draft?

There isn’t a simple answer to this question.

Sometimes getting feedback too early can completely derail the momentum of a project. Critical voices can get in the head of a writer, diluting the initial idea that drew them to the work. On the other hand it could be inspirational and help generate ideas. Feedback could get a writer through a road block on a project, or help him to focus an unwieldy story.

For me, writing a first draft requires boundaries. My first drafts are about figuring out what my subconscious has to say. I need room to explore, play, and not worry about craft yet. After I have a first draft, I begin to craft plot, tone, voice, etc., and figure out what the novel really wants to be. However, that is my process. I’ve met lots of writers who have a strong grip on their novel and what it is from word one. Some writers can be ready earlier to get feedback on tone, pacing, character, plot, etc.

So, how do you decide when it’s right to get feedback on your work?

Think about your current WIP and ask yourself:

1) How many “fresh eyes” do you have at your disposal? Eventually you will run out of readers who’ve never read an earlier draft of your book. You may want to hold off till you have a draft you feel is worth using up those “fresh eyes” on.

2) How many voices can you deal with in your head at once? Are you at a point in your work where you are ready to hear feedback? How will you react if that feedback challenges your choices? Do you think if someone said the beginning isn’t working that it would be helpful, or would it hinder your forward momentum? Be honest, are you stuck in the sticky-middle and looking for an excuse to start again?

3) Are you stuck and need some feedback to help you get back on track? Do you need others to help you brainstorm? Are you in a place where you’re open to suggestions and that dialog excites you? This can be the perfect reason to get some feedback early.

4) What are you looking for from feedback? Encouragement? A cheerleader? Constructive criticism? Brainstorming? Line editing? Let your readers know what you’re expectations are.

Also, if you’re only at the opening of your novel (like my friend), remember that once you get to the end of your book you will most likely re-write the beginning. So consider the fact that if you’re getting feedback on the opening of your novel – and you don’t have an ending yet – that feedback may be moot later.

Ultimately, this is up to you and how you incorporate feedback during your writing process. If you can use it and still hold on to the heart and integrity of your own work — then go for it. Just be honest with yourself and figure out why you feel like you want feedback right now. Is it a self-sabotage tool to distract you from the writing at hand, or do you genuinely think it’s time to receive feedback and incorporate it into the work? Only you know what will best help the development of your project.

Nook Kindle PDF iTunes on the iPad, look for it in the iBook Store

When do you get feedback on a work-in-progress? Never, early, mid-project, as often as possible?

Types of Feedback and When to Get Them

Good early feedback

• Pat on back. Often what you need is just a pat on the back, someone saying, “Good job!” My local critique group does this by just asking people to share good news. You can do this by posting word counts on Facebook or simply telling friends that you’ve finished a full draft of a novel. Those who understand the importance of your writing in your life, will be excited and celebrate with you. And be sure to celebrate your small successes, because the large successes are often few and far between.
• Market evaluation. If your goal is publication, another type of early feedback that is helpful is to get an idea of how your story might fit into the marketplace. This can help you decide if you want to push it to the top of the project list, or bury it. Maybe you’re writing a biography of Hilary Clinton and three just came out. You need to know this because they are your competition; your book must be different and better than those, or it won’t sell.
  
  Sometimes, though, the market analysis and feedback may say you’re a fool for writing this particular story, that it will never sell. And you must say, too bad, it’s my story and I’ll tell it anyway. Even when your attitude is one of passionate commitment, it’s good to know the odds are against you. You’ll work harder, you’ll push yourself to excel beyond your wildest dreams. You’ll look for tiny ways to build the audience for this story, to make readers care more. In short, even a negative market analysis can be the impetus for an successful story. Go on: buck the trends and do your own thing and amaze us all. We’ll love you all the more for being the underdog who succeeds. Just know that’s what you’re doing up front.

Good ongoing feedback, get as often as you like or need

Reader Report. One valuable type of feedback is just a reader reporting on when s/he is engaged with the story, when it loses his/her interest, when s/he is confused, when s/he is bored. This might also include things like, “I didn’t like Phillip when he did that.” These type reader reactions can then be compared to your goals at that point in the story.

One way to ask for this type feedback is to ask trusted readers to pay attention to their mental state as they read the draft and mark the mss this way (Feel free to create your own variation):

• Big C in the margin: I am confused
• Big B in the margin: I am bored
• Big S in the margin: This story is too slow, speed up.
• Any comment jotted in the margin: Anything they want to fuss about.

It is often hard to train a reader to read this way, because everyone wants to solve the story’s problems for you, or they want to mark up every misspelled word. That’s not the type of feedback you’re going for here, though. Instead, you are looking for a reader’s reaction to the STORY itself. Explain to the reader that they are a reader you are Trusting with responsibility for the Story, that you can take care of grammar and such later, but here, you just want them to focus on Story. You just need a reader’s reaction.

Good feedback after first draft

When the first draft is done, now is the time for intensive feedback from other writers or editors. This is the first time you deal with technicalities of storytelling.

• Overall story structure. For many writers, the hardest thing is to see the forest for the trees. Overall story structure is hard because after 50,000 or 100,000 or 150,000 words, how do you step back and see the structure? You can monitor this yourself with a Shrunken Manuscript. Or you can find a critiquer who can see this story of thing.
• Overall feel for voice. Another important critique at this point is whether the storytelling voice is working. Does the voice pull the reader through the story in a compelling way? If not, there’s work to be done.
• Overall feel for character. Does your character come alive for the reader? You need a check on your characterization skills and notes about specific places where it works and where it doesn’t.
• Any other technical issue, for example, how to get in and out of a flashback. At this point, good critiquers will point out a myriad of things that need attention. It could be that the character’s names are off; maybe, you are bouncing around POVs; perhaps, the setting is bland or overblown. Now is the time to get feedback on anything else that occurs to a good critique.

Good feedback after second or any other draft

Ditto. Everything you need on the first draft, you need here.

Good feedback before you submit

• Ditto. Everything you need on the first draft, you need here.
• Copyediting. This is the ONLY time you need a critique to focus on copyediting. You, the writer, should be copyediting through out each draft, so there should be few things to catch here. But it’s good to have someone else go through it now and make sure you haven’t missed anything. Spelling and grammar do matter. Now is the time to take care of it.

Is there BAD feedback?

Yes. Here are a couple types of feedback to avoid.

• Avoid feedback that focuses on the reader’s vision for the story. Often a critique will focus on his/her opinion and not try to understand your vision for a story. Ignore them. This is your story, your idea, your passion—your book. You do NOT have to do what this critique says. Period. Get them out of your writing process and never let them back in.
• Avoid feedback that kills a project. I’ll admit it. I’ve had feedback on stories that meant I put the story away and never looked at it again. The critiquer’s feedback was, literally, deadly. They attacked the very idea itself and made it loathsome even to myself. Maybe they were right, maybe not. Either way, that story will never have a resurrection. Are you as sad about that as I am? I will never let that person critique another story for me. Never.

Value Good Critiquers

For those early readers who manage to be honest and yet encourage, hang onto them. Mention them in the acknowledgment of your novel; publicly thank them. Give them free copies of the published work.

Thanks, Dori, Sue, Kristen and Deborah. You’ve been faithful critiquers for me. I appreciate it.

And thanks, Stephen, for asking about how and when to get feedback.

Wow! I didn't know what to expect when I started reading this book and to be honest I've started quite a few recently that I didn't finish...this was NOT one of those books. In fact, when I reached the last page I got angry because it had a sequel and now I can't wait to get it read. It's a mixture of Hunger Games and The Most Dangerous Game (both which I loved) but with a unique twist. Wish I'd thought of it. Continue reading →

Last week, Katie Woo author Fran Manushkin shared a heart-warming letter that was sent to her from a mother of a young reader. It served as a wonderful reminder that our books make a real difference to the children who read them, and it has inspired us as we plan for more Katie adventures. Here is what this thoughtful mother had to say:


I am sending you a heart-felt thank you for helping my soon to be first grade daughter find her love of reading and books again.  She had a horrific kindergarten experience and she lost that enthusiasm she has always had for school.  It was painful for me to watch as her mother and a Middle School Language Arts teacher.  I happened to be at the IRA annual conference in the spring where you signed a copy of Katie Woo and the Class Pet.  I brought her home the signed copy and it was truly amazing to watch her excitement and level of confidence grow instantly.  She gained back her confidence to read on her own and found that she can find success in reading at this early age, she just needs to believe in herself.  The story lines in your Katie Woo series directly relate to her own life and she anxiously anticipates Katie’s next adventure.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart for providing this experience for her at a time we needed it the most.  She is now devouring all the books in the series and I often find her with covers over her head and a flashlight reading a Katie Woo book.  She carries them with her everywhere we go and frequently re-reads each book.

Congrats to Travis Jonkers of 100 Scope Notes and John Schumaker of Mr. Schu Reads for winning a berth on an ALA judging committee. Travis moves up from judging Fiction Picture Books with us to the fancy-shmancy  Caldecotts this coming year and John, a former Graphic Novel judge, goes over to the Newberys.

Full announcement is here.

Naturally, we take full credit for teaching them everything they know about judging important lit-rahr-ee awards.

Congrats and we'll miss you.

And a 3rd Attitude that Helps

This week, I will be receiving a series of feedback letters from friends about a manuscript. Whether these are editorial letters or critiques from friends, it doesn’t matter, there are two destructive attitudes and a third attitude that has potential to smooth over the process. (And 10 Ways to Stop the Sting of Critiques.)

I’m Stupid: Destructive Attitude #1

When I first read a critique or editorial letter, my first reaction is often, “Wow, I am stupid.”

The litany varies but goes something like: how could I have done that? why didn’t I see that? oh, they are right, I am so stupid, Oh, crud, I should quit, I’ll never be able to fix this, I AM STUPID.

Wow. Not helpful. Typical, but not helpful.
It is sheer terror that your success is in your imperfect hands.

Stop undervaluing your work. Fear causes you to discount your work, to say the destructive, I AM STUPID words. But your work has great value, just as you as a writer have great value. When you allow fear to undermine that belief, then you paralyze your work.

Value your mistakes, your first drafts. They are the guide to what you are thinking, who you are and where you are going next. They aren’t enemies to be demolished. You can only do your work, your way. When someone critiques, or the editor writes a letter, it is your vision–imperfectly captured–butting up against someone else’s vision. That’s all. You’ll have to sort it out and see what comments of theirs will stick.

You’re Stupid: Destructive Attitude #2

You asked for it and you got it: another person’s opinion on your work. The defensive attitude, that their opinion is STUPID, is unhelpful. It is simply, their attitude.

Respect. You can respect another person’s opinion, even while disagreeing. You can disagree about aesthetics, or the ideals that you are measuring your story against. You disagree about the position of a comma, because we know–even if high school students don’t–that matters of punctuation are up for discussion.

Their opinion is valid because it is their opinion. We can value it just for that.

Openness: The Helpful Attitude

When we reject the extreme attitudes–I am stupid v. You are stupid–we are left with an attitude of openness. This does NOT mean you must do everything they suggest; nor does it mean you should stubbornly stick to your way.

Work to understand the critique. I am usually so flabbergasted by a critique that I can’t fathom what planet they are from. Sometimes, it takes me a while to figure out their bent and to consider if that is also the right bent for this story. For example, do you find Lemony Snicket funny? I don’t. I can respect and admire the skill of the story, while still saying that I don’t enjoy it. IF you, as a critiquer, tell me that I should be more like Lemony Snicket, well, reader, that would be ironic. Ironic means that you say something opposite of what you mean.

Pick and choose.<