I've done a bit of paid editing work before, and there's no way in hell I'd make drastic changes or suggest them by being sarcastic or cruel. Jesus. And even a novice writer should be able to punctuate dialogue properly! (Don't even get me started on kids being instructed in school to avoid using 'said', or how the word 'suddenly' takes any suddenness out of the action, or...!)
And I'll tell you what else she's done. She's turned my main female MC into someone who doesn't give two fucks about anyone else's thoughts and feelings, like the male MC needs to ask her permission but she needs no permission, and then goes on to email me and tell me I've made my male MC into a wuss and my female mc into a bitch! I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that she's been going through a divorce for the past coupe of years, not a nasty one but one from a relationship where she was firmly in charge! She lost it for a while because she had nothing to be in charge of, now it seems, she's over than and taking charge of whatever else she gets her bloody hands on!
A bad critic is worse than no critic at all, in my opinion. Yes, of course writers need a thick skin and be able to take criticism - that does not mean you have to give people the time of day whose only intention is either to change your story to one they would have written (they can bloody well write their own!) or to trample on you/your skill. Giving such people and their feedback consideration is like drinking poison and hoping it doesn't kill you. I'm not saying bad critics never give good feedback - occasionally there might be a nugget of it - but frankly you can probably get that nugget elsewhere from someone who's more ready and willing to help build you up rather than tear you down.
