One of the reasons for joining a site like our site is to get feedback from others about your work. It is a way to help us grow and become better authors. Critiques of our work need to be honest and provide help so we can improve. When feedback is given, it is done so in order help you succeed, to uplift you and to hopefully watch you grow.

I recently, via my author profile, provided a critique of a work another author had posted. I was not harsh in my words. I simply said, "I like the work but the only issue I have is that it mixes past and present tense. This is something I also have to edit in my own work when doing edits. Other than that, nice work!".

That is basically what I said, not word for word, but close. That author quit our site because of the feedback. The mentioned work had past and present tense in such a way that it was confusing to the reader as to when the story was happening, now or before. With small changes, that author's work could have been very good.

If you are not willing to improve, not willing to take criticism of your work, you have no future as an author. Why? Because criticism comes with the territory. It is how we improve. There will be critics that will, most likely, provide reviews of your work. Some will be good but others might be harsh.

It is our goal here to help make it so that when you get published, the reviews of your work are more favorable from readers and critics, than they are negative. Really, if you can't take it, don't become a published author. If you don't want help, then you will not improve. We all have room for improvement and should welcome the time someone has taken to read our work and provide insight into the good and bad.

#writing

This is one aspect of social media that I just do not understand. I would think that anyone wants to always improve their medium. Writing is the same as any other hobby. Only with practice can you get better. If you feel you don't need any help and are already perfect, then show me your top 10 bestsellers that have achieved worldwide success. No one joining a social community for feedback and meeting other authors like ourselves can boast having that to our name. That means we all, in different varied ways, can use improvement. Constructive criticism is our BEST friend.

I would want a family member to tell me if I was going out with my skirt tucked into my pantyhose in the back, instead of being afraid to tell me so they just let me make an ass of myself in public. Publishing a novel, novella, or piece of literary work is the same thing. I trust my friends and family to tell me whether or not something I am doing needs work, so I don't make a laughingstock of myself and have critics who are FAR less nice tearing me apart. I had this same response to a Dear Prudie article. This was the letter-

Q. I Don’t Like My Friend’s Book: My friend recently self-published his first novel. I bought a copy to support him. I really, really hate to admit it but I didn’t care for it. In fact, I didn’t even finish. I got through half of it before I gave up, read the last couple of pages, and put it down. He needs an editor badly and overall, it just wasn’t well-researched or plotted. In fact, he self-designed the cover in Photoshop. He wants to know if I liked the book, and honestly, I don’t know what to say. On one hand, I don’t want to tear him down because I know how proud he was of writing the book. On the other hand, I feel like he needs to know that he needs to improve on a few things. Is there a way to broach the subject without hurting feelings? Or do I just drop the issue and lie to him?

A: Every author should know not to expect friends—or anyone—to read their book, and certainly not to ask how they liked it. He’s asking for it, but I think you should just offer some anodyne remarks. “Writing a novel is an amazing accomplishment.” “I’m a slow reader, but it’s definitely on my nightstand.” “You are an excellent speller.”

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/dear_prudence/2015/04/dear_prudence_my_son_found_nude_photos_of_me_as_a_teen.single.html />
I found myself going to the Facebook comments, as I had to set the record straight as a fellow indie author.

Mandi Konesni I disagree with the advice for the writer. Look, indie authors are still looked down upon by "real" authors because of the terrible mistakes and awful writing they produce. Thing is, not all of us are like that.

If he's proud of finishing his book, that is great and a huge accomplishment. However, he deserves to know the truth, that it could use some work. First time indie authors only HAVE their friends and family to approach. You can be honest, and point out where things need to be improved, without being an insensitive ass.

The advice I got from friends and family helped me pinpoint issues in my own writing that I'd have had no idea were there otherwise. There are places such as http://www.literarysocial.com where one can work with other indie authors and people already in the industry to fine tune their work. There is also http://www.fiverr.com where you can hire editors for $20 or less. On Facebook there are tons of cover artists and designers. In this day and age there is simply no excuse for not having a decent editor, cover, and well formulated story. The friend was asked for her opinion for a reason, because the writer trusted her.

We have no one else we can ask. Be nice, but be honest, we need it to get better.-

https://www.facebook.com/EmilyYoffe/posts/10155501987325008?comment_id=10155502820630008&offset=0&total_comments=72&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R9%22%7D

Literary Social is a great resource for writers, with the community "vibe" of sharing each others work in a positive environment to bring out the best of us in our writing technique and goals. 

This post was edited by Tiffany B at February 15, 2023 10:40 AM EST