How to React to Criticism

Last blog, I looked at the types of criticism you tend to get and how to look at the benefits of it. So how should you react when you do get a critique? Well, the simplest answer is whatever the type of critique, if you say anything at all in response, say thank you!

Thanks, you're very kind 

You're glad someone liked your work and gave you good feedback. It never hurts to say thank you for a kindness. Ask yourself though whether you want to get caught up in correspondence. Do you know the person already? What if tomorrow you have a million positive reviews? Will you respond to them all? Post a message on your website or fan page or Twitter feed saying thank you to all the people out there who've given their support. Of course, if it's from your editor/publisher/agent/friend, you know them and you should acknowledge their message personally.

Thanks (for nothing) 

We all get criticism that verges on the complaint. It stings and it would be so easy to lash out. Don't! We're all passionate about our work, but we don't have to be aggressive. Sometimes the best course of action is to take no action at all. You only need to respond if it's from someone from whom you've actively sought feedback. You can otherwise ignore the anti-fan mail just as you can blanket-respond to the fan mail. Walk away, read a positive review and then if you still think it's necessary, come back to the negative with the positive thoughts in mind. Everyone has an opinion and they're entitled to express it. Shrug your shoulders, laugh and move on. Whatever you do, do not make yourself the bad guy. If you absolutely must respond to your number one anti-fan, it's best not to get into a 'debate' and remember to say thank you. If you do send a spiky response, before you know it people will know more about your bad temper than your work!

Thank you for the feedback I requested 

These are quite often a mixture of positive and negative comments and you do need to respond. You asked for this, you knew it was coming. In the case of requested feedback, look at each point and be objective. The positives should be noted for future reference. The negatives too and they might just be right. Maybe you could have structured that chapter better, maybe you have used too much passive voice, maybe you can use the comments to revise your work. Don't be argumentative. If you feel strongly about a point, say you can see where the critic is coming from and explain why you did things the way you did. You might find in explaining yourself that the critic's way is actually better, in which case start again and explain what you intend to do as a result. If there's no reason given for a negative comment, ask for more information. 'Don't like this' is not useful feedback - you need to know the what and the why of it. Be polite! "I'm interested to know what it was that you disliked about this part" is a good starting point.

Stay objective.  We're conditioned through linguistics to think of criticism as a bad thing. Criticism simply means the process of giving a critique. At school we called it Critical Appreciation which helps show the positive side. A critique means that someone took the time to look at your work in enough detail to write an informed response. It's the same as your best friend being honest about your new haircut and only your best friend will be brutally honest about that. They won't be so honest about your work because they know how much it means to you. That is where the critic becomes your friend and tells you plainly what's good and what's bad. They're objective and you need to be objective too.