What kind of reviews do YOU want?

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sheadakota

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Seriously- when you post a piece for review- exactly what are you looking for- praise, an ego boost, an honest eval of your writing?

I ask because on another site I frequent, I posted a review, it was honest and nice- I told her what was good and what needed work (IMHO)

This is a close knit community and I haven't been active lately but I do post reviews from time to time.

She posted a comment in the forums that my review was nice, but I shredded the chapter she worked so hard on and it made her cry-

I commented that I was sorry but I stand by my comments- an agent isn't going to care how much work she put into it, they are going to look at it with an unbiased eye-

I think I am through posting there, but my book that is being pubbed was workshopped there and I still feel some loyalty to it-

So- what do you want when you ask for a crit?
 
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Honest reviews.

I know there are people who would bitch about me because I've ripped into their writing and that's not what I'm looking for. I want someone to put the story before my ego and theirs, and tell me what doesn't read well so I can fix it.

Oh, and don't tell me how to fix it. That's my job. Just tell me what 'feels wrong' and I'll take it from there, otherwise it becomes a collaboration rather than wholly my creation.
 

sheadakota

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I guess I've been hanging out here for too long- I appreciate honesty
 

Lisa Cox

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Oh, and don't tell me how to fix it. That's my job. Just tell me what 'feels wrong' and I'll take it from there, otherwise it becomes a collaboration rather than wholly my creation.

True, but suggestions from a reader's perspective can be very helpful.
 

backslashbaby

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I'm looking for what writers and readers really think. If that includes what they'd like to have seen instead, that's cool, but I might not use it.

What they really think is gold!

I don't so much want it how they would have written it - y'all know what I mean! I want them to try to get what I'm doing, not put their own spin/voice on it. But what they think, in any form, is what I want.
 

Robert E. Keller

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It appears she complimented your review, at least, in spite of feeling bad about it. I can't comprehend feeling bad over a critique. If you tore her writing apart, you might have provided her with a lot of useful information. She can now use that to her advantage. So what's to cry about? Instead, she should get busy revising. Did she think her writing was perfect? There's always room for more revision.
 

ishtar'sgate

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Seriously- when you post a piece for review- exactly what are you looking for- praise, an ego boost, an honest eval of your writing?

I ask because on another site I frequent, I posted a review, it was honest and nice- I told her what was good and what needed work (IMHO)

She posted a comment in the forums that my review was nice, but I shredded the chapter she worked so hard on and it made her cry-
I think I know the forum you're talking about and it's too bad your critique made her cry. Some people really are only looking for a pat on the back, not honesty. I'm with the majority and I want honesty - even if it hurts.
 

BigWords

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Anything that is plainly wrong, confusing phrases, characters that don't work, dumbassery and anything else I have missed. I have a thick skin, so nothing is gonna make me cry. (well, maybe setting me on fire would do the trick...)
 

JoNightshade

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This site taught me how to have tough skin, and I am SO thankful for it. I think it's what has taken me from a wannabe novelist to someone who actually might get published (I hope). I think the first time I posted something for critique here, I cried and cried when I read the responses, because of course I was hoping everyone would be like, "Oh, it's so great!"

Now I recognize how valuable that feedback is, and I'm able to cope with being in a pretty tough real world writing group. Actually, now I LOVE critiques because at some point I realized what I want is not to feel good about my writing, but to actually BE a great writer. And that takes work, not an ego massage.

ETA: Now I also try to return the favor by being honest with other people. Yeah, I might hurt their feelings now, but either 1) they will realize they aren't cut out to do this or 2) they will realize later how helpful it was.
 

jodiodi

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I want the truth. I want revewers to honestly tell me how wonderful my prose is and that every word from my fingertips is a diamond-encrusted pearl of such beauty the angels weep with wonder and awe.

Actually, I do want honesty, but I'll probably cry if it's harsh. Of course I'll get over it and I appreciate the honest criticism. There's no sense in being cruel when shredding someone's work. Perhaps because I'm ill, my feelings either get hurt easily or I'm totally apathetic.

However, I get over it and work to change the things I feel deserved it.
 

sheadakota

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Jo- that's exactly what I was trying to do- share what I have learned here with others- I am grateful for the tough love I got here- It has made me a better writer and reviewer- but I think I am through with this particular site- a friend of the person I reviewed, while validating several points I made- called the review harsh- I would hardly call it that, in fact I went out of my way to be nice since I never reviewed this person before-
I was tempted to reply and defend myself but I let it go- apparently these people have never visited Query hell- LOL-
 

LovetoWrite

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I ask because on another site I frequent, I posted a review, it was honest and nice- I told her what was good and what needed work (IMHO)

She posted a comment in the forums that my review was nice, but I shredded the chapter she worked so hard on and it made her cry-

I think you did the right thing by reviewing honestly.

I believe she did the right thing by thanking you and the extra statement about crying was probably true. She probably did cry and that is okay. If she is connected to her writing, then it hurt. I'm sure she learned a great many things and once the crying stopped, she could work with the information you provided.

I cry over reviews, then I wait a week or two, go back and start tearing my work apart. Its okay and it doesn't mean I didn't appreciate the time and effort put in by the reviewer. Its just my way.

IMHO don't give up on helping people or on the other site. There's probably someone out there looking for a reviewer just like you.
 

MsGneiss

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I'll take anything that I can get, really. When I sent my stuff out to betas, I asked for some specific feedback - where did they lose interest? where did I mess up on plot logic? what didn't make sense? what parts should be cut? what parts should be expanded? where did I disregard the laws of physics? where did the dialogue become trite and pedestrian? etc, etc, etc.

One beta gave me ridiculously excellent feedback, which ranged from detail specific stuff like "I lived in a brownstone, and there's no way you can have all that happening without the fire alarm going off," to more general thematic issues like "your main character is too perfect, which makes me, a real imperfect person, like her less."

It's nice to hear what you did right, and if a reviewer wants to offer that, much thanks. But, when I show my writing to others, I do so knowing that the writing still needs a lot of work, and any feedback I get that helps me improve it is always much appreciated.
 

Matera the Mad

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I want to know whatever they want to say. Even the oddest of remarks can show me where I haven't made something clear. Praise is nice, but only if I deserve it. I seldom ask my free-range betas any specific questions (that get answered, lol); they browse at will and eventually catch every wtf or typo.
 

ChaosTitan

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A pat on the head isn't going to make me a better writer. I have eagle-eyed crit partners who catch some mistakes that just make me cringe. They have every right to say "you're an idiot for not catching this," but the criticism always comes across as helpful, instead of cruel.

Unpublished work posted for crit needs honest assessment if said work is to be improved.

Published work sent out for pro reviews? Well, then they can go ahead and stroke the ego. ;)
 

Wordwrestler

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Generally speaking, I think sometimes we feel worse than we should when someone cries. There are tough things we have to do in life, things we don't want to face, and some people will cry.

If I cry, it doesn't necessarily mean I was wronged in some way, or even that I think I was. But I don't think I would tell a person who gave me constructive criticism that they made me cry, because that would cause them undeserved feelings of guilt.

When I'm coaching, sometimes the athletes cry. They're passionate about what they're doing, and it's not going well at the moment, and they cry. I no longer beat myself up about it. It's a normal human response to stress, and it's my job sometimes to cause that stress by challenging a person (who really does want to reach a higher level.)

It's the same with critiquing. The person asked for help in getting better. Whether coaching or critiquing, our responsibility is to be respectful and to have the their best interest at heart.

Their response is their response. They own it.
 

Namatu

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A critique has never made me cry. I might beat my head against a wall for a bit, but that's usually in recognition that I've been called on something I've somehow been trying to avoid/hoping I can get away with. I like hard crits. Regardless of whether I agree with all the comments, I can sift through them and figure out how to make my work stronger because of them, and that makes me happy.
 

kaitie

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I took a writing workshop class in college once, and we had a student in there who was without a doubt the worst in class. Her work tended to read like a junior high school student's. The thing is, by the end of class, she had really improved. She had taken what was said and used it to try to improve her work.

I think we're always improving. Yes, I like to know if someone likes something about my work. It makes me feel good to know I've made someone laugh, or to hear, "I couldn't put it down." But I also know that making something as good as I can make it limits me to my own perspective and knowledge.

That being said, I believe in constructive criticism. My first ever writing teacher in 7th grade made us write smiley faces on people's stories when we saw something we liked. It was awesome. Even when you had a page full of scribble, you could have a line that people liked to hold onto. I've also had a friend who couldn't do tact if her life depended on it. If she read something that needed work, her comment would be, "You suck so much why are you even bothering?" Obviously criticism, but not constructive.

I'm sure you were constructive. ;) Some people just have lower self-esteem than others and need a little extra encouragement. Some people might need some extra nice wording tacked on. We're all different. But hopefully your friend understands that criticism will only improve her work, and it's nothing personal.
 

the addster

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Crits, I want honest. Good and bad. Saying that you will learn nothing from praise is just silly. You need what is working and what isn't. I've never sent anything out for serious crit that everyone agreed on. I've been praised and taken to task over exactly the same sentence many times, and the sources of this have always surprised me. That lends itself to serious consideration.

Now as for reviews...
 

Ellefire

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I posted some work here when I first joined. It was shredded. I was a little upset but thanked people for their criticism. It's not the reader's fault if I have failed. Hopefully the next piece I share here will get better reviews. Not because the reviewers are nicer, but because my writing is better.
*crosses fingers*
 

kayleamay

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I don't know what to think of SYW crits. Honestly, the input I've gotten is so conflicting that I end up slicing and dicing as I see fit anyway. I haven't tried the whole beta experience here, but in a real honest to goodness crit I would want real constructive criticism. If I wanted to tell someone that my turd of a novel shined like a diamond I would only get my husbands opinion.
 
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