Painfully harsh critique

Here is Jack London on this topic: http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/04/you-must-deliver-marketable-goods.html

And also F Scott Fitzgerald: http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/07/youve-got-to-sell-your-heart.html

As a writer you need to have a thick skin, because your readers aren't obliged to try to find nice things to say in Amazon reviews, and nor are critics (here's a classic hatchet job which begins "Reviewing someone's first novel, it is customary to be polite about it, to find things to praise in it. So let me say straight away that James Thackara's The Book Of Kings is printed on very nice paper; the typeface is clear and readable, and Samantha Nundy's photograph of the author is in focus.")

It's possible your critiquer was being unduly harsh. It's also possible that your MS really wasn't that great, that you're at the beginning of your development as a writer. But then as Jack London says, "There's only one way to make a beginning, and that is to begin; and begin with hard work, and patience, prepared for all the disappoint*ments that were Martin Eden's before he succeeded—which were mine before I succeeded—because I merely appended to my fictional character, Martin Eden, my own experiences in the writing game."

If I paid someone for a critique and all they did was stroke my ego, I'd feel ripped off.

I'm glad you got some good feedback. Now, figure out how to fix things that are wrong and then fix them.

Torgo has made some good points. However, it is possible that the author is jealous of your talent and does not like the idea of competition. That might sound far fetched but it is possible. Also, being an author and an editor does not make someone good critic. Just keep on writing and reading. Your skills WILL grow. Don't let one persons opinion make you give up.

A good way to tell if the critique is at all justified is to get a few more opinions and triangulate. Try a grit group of some kind?

Edit: CRIT, not grit. Damn you autocorrect!

It is true that you need thick skin to make it in this industry (in any industry, really.) However, it is also true that some people are overly harsh for the sake of being overly harsh. Take your pick.

If you are very worried about the criticism, try a second opinion. Or, as MacAllister said, put the work down, try something new for a while, then go back to it. Make sure you it with an open mind--read as if someone else wrote it. Is there validity to the critique, or does it still feel overly harsh? If the answer is validity, do the thing you need to do and rework it. If the answer is overly harsh... second opinion.

Aww, gee...that's rough, for sure. I do you hope you hang in there (and here) and see that you can grow from this.



Welcome to the Cooler, btw

MacAllister said:

Ira Glass on creativity:

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This sure was encouraging to me! Thanks for posting it, Mac.

Torgo said:

A good way to tell if the critique is at all justified is to get a few more opinions and triangulate.

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I agree with Torgo ,You are looking for a consensus from as many critiques as you can get. Writing and receiving critiques is a really good way to improve your writing. But, any critique is just a personal opinion and nobody is an arbiter of taste

GiddyUpGo said:

I guess I do need a thicker skin. I'm just not sure if a thick skin is something you're born with or something you need to develop over time.

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Just to add: Thick skin is not something most of us are born with; it has to develop over time with experience.

Hang in there. Take all the great advice offered above. You'll do fine.

Were you paying her to say something nice, or were you paying her to tell you the truth? If you want to pay to receive nice comments, I'll volunteer to be your next critiquer. The bigger the check you send, the nicer things I'll say.

Requiring a critiquer to say something nice is feel good. politically correct nonsense. Does you want someone to tell you how nice your hair looks while they shove bamboo under your fingernails, or do you want to learn how to be a better writer?

I haven't read your writing. It may be wonderful. But I have read a lot of slush, and most of it is utterly horrible in every possible way. The only nice thing to say about it is that the format is correct.

The good news is that even a pro writer is sometimes wrong about story and character. The bad news is that they're usually right.

The good news is that even a pro writer may be wrong about they way you tell a story. The bad news is a that a pro writer is almost certainly right about the quality of the writing itself.

The good news is that bad writing, even nearly illiterate, horrible, flat out garbage writing, does not automatically mean the writer lacks talent. A writer does need a measure of talent, but skill is an even bigger requirement, and skill often takes years to develop. The bad news is that if you have a thin skin, and really don't want to hear the truth, you probably won't work very hard or very long at developing the necessary skill.

Isaac Asimov once sent an early story to John Campbell. When no news came in a few weeks, Asimov went to Campbell's office to check on the story. Campbell held the story over the wastebasket and said, "You don't really want this back, do you?"

Harsh? Yes. Truthful, also yes. Asimov determined to do better, and obviously did.

I love that Ira Glass piece.

If you paid for a single critique and you found it overly harsh, then put it aside until you can read it for objective viewpoints. Also, never depend on one critique. One opinion doesn't comprise a consensus.

Early on in my writing career, I paid an editor for a critique. The results were very much what yours sounded like. I had to put it away, but when I was able to go back to it months later and look at each point, the editor was right on about 3/4 of them. I'm not saying that means your critiquer was right about yours, but give yourself some time before you look at it again. And thick skin does develop if you stick with it.

Thick skin comes with time and experience. You'll be fine. I agree with the other posters: you may need to set this one aside for a while, and look at it with a clearer mind.

Nice critiques are great for ego boosting. No matter where you are in your writing career, they always make you feel good. But they may not be as useful as harsher critiques.

I grew my rhino hide during 10 years in commercial art and design. I used to have a temperamental boss who'd swing by my station and declaim that whatever order I was working on was "Crap, complete crap." I'd answer, "Fine, it's crap, now tell me *why* it's crap and I'll fix it." He liked me.

I spent years as an academic, writing books and articles. Every time the editorial comments came on an article, I was depressed for days. I felt like I should just bury the thing in the backyard. But after a week or so, I looked at the comments again, and I could see how some of them could work. I started with the easy stuff and then tackled the harder. And in the end, it always, always made my work better. Every time.

Having said that, I do think there are people who enjoy being mean. It's possible your critter is like that.

Did she make your work better even though she was mean? Only you can answer.

I'm with the people who are suggesting you get multiple critiques on this MS. Maybe you're right and the feedback was unnecessarily harsh. If that's the case, have a few different people look at it. (Note: pick people you trust to give you honest feedback.) Take great consideration of what they say. Even if they're saying the same thing more nicely, it's probably something you should consider.

I have multiple CPS for this very reason. In On Writing Stephen King says that if half of the people reading your MS think one thing about a specific aspect of your story and half think another, then the tie goes to you. If you've had one person read it, find another. See if it ends in a tie or not.

harsh is a state of mind for some people - the question is "is there truth in the points they make?"

Some "fixes" are opinion. Some really are right on, and make a difference. Don't stop writing.

I'm agreeing with the others to get more critiques. The more critiques, the better, IMO.

Did the critique give specific criticisms of what needs work? If so, ignore the nasty and benefit from the advice. If not, ask for your money back.

Critiques can be difficult, but don't shred your work just yet. As long as the critique was specific, you can learn from it.

Did you consider posting a page or two here in SYW? People here are nice and truthful.

Good luck to you!