I have received one excellent review,,but is it worth anything?

Fluff = the first sentence of your post shortened to five words - I wrote a suspense novel.
A grammar book is your friend. If you want to publish, you need to self edit to a degree.

If you want your feedback from the group leader, ask for an update. They might have it part way done, and didn't give it to you because they haven't finished.

 

It is kind of hard to review a story teller's skill when the only sample is a few message board posts, please remember that we have limited information and any conclusion we draw is based entirely upon the information contained within the confines of this website. It is from that stand point that my next statement comes forth.

It seems to me that you are trying desperately to hold onto the visage that you are a good writer. Now I am not contradicting this image, again, because I have to platform in which to contradict it from, but you must realize that there are members of this message board are far more experienced at granting and receiving criticism than you currently are. They are not seeking to attack you. Taking every post as a potential offense needs to stop, or else there can be no growth and this is conversation devolves into a mudslinging contest. You describe yourself as a psychology enthusiast, I encourage you to use this background to realize my point.

Now onto the situation at hand; "it was a page turner" does not constitute a review. Calling that statement a review is akin to reading the outline on the back of a novel and saying it is the same thing as reading the book. It's not. As a writer you should be obsessed with details rather than generalities. "That's a chair" does not describe the chair, it does not describe the fine wooden frame, or the sloping auburn finish, it makes no mention of the soft clouds of cotton that encompass the seat. It's a chair, an ugly short word that elaborates upon nothing. That is what "It was a page turner" is to me, it's a chair. If you want my honest opinion, unless you actively stood over the person and watched them read every page I would not believe they actually read the novel.

If you are having trouble finding people to review your work you need look no further, feel free to post passages here. Here you will find some of the best writers and reviewers on the internet and we look forward to reviewing your work. We are just a keystroke away, use us.

 

my best advice is to stop discussing/complaining about the answers and advice given here and simply post the opening page of your novel in the review section... the feedback you get there will tell you [without having to ask anyone] whether the glowing review you got was justified, or not...

 

It's pretty much all been said but I'll answer anyway: No the review probably wasn't very useful if it didn't give an criticisms and as it was from a family member it's going to be biased. As critical a person as this relative might be, they're probably going to sugar coat it seeing as it's concerning your dream career rather than say whether your new dress looks nice.

Also you seem to be acting a little bit arrogant. I don't mean that offensively it's simply stating my opinion and it's understandable considering you're probably elated from finishing your book. I well remember smugly posting my first review to this site, preparing to bask in praise, and yet my first reviews were mostly critical. And it was great. I was disgruntled at first but thanks to the criticisms on this site my writing has really developed. All I'm saying is that please don't assume that as a first time novelist who doesn't read (unless I've misread your profile.) you've managed to create a masterpiece because in all likelihood the book will be awful by published standards. There's no shame in that or offense, it's just the truth, for you and every novice writer out there.

 

Hello MVP....'I wrote a suspense novel'......why is this 'fluff'....what should I have said/what do you mean by 'fluff'?

Hello Mamm...... I am not allowed to post any of my writing on this site until I have been a member for 15 days and until I have at least 20 posts and two critiques.......think I'm doing quite well, don't you..... I shan't need to say much more very shortly!!

Thank you for your comments Rafiki. I posted my book in chapters to my family member, so yes, it was read. The reason I feel gratified by my efforts is because, on my first attempt, I was able to produce a plot and to construct characters which pleased a reader(not a critic, not an editor) but an intelligent reader (who has no qualms about criticising me). To me this is quite an achievement, the more so as I never read novels. I have no idea whether my effort would please more than one reader because no-one else has read my novel in its entirety.

Hello chickFreak. I am definitely not angry, just because I respond to answers. The reason I asked the question is because there are often ways to capitalise on achievements and I wanted to know if there was any way I could capitalise on my modest achievement. I have no idea how but that's why I asked the question.

Hello Art. Yes. I think this particular family member is more critical than a friend, but not more critical than a publisher or a forum member. Yes, a little bit of constructive and specific criticism on one excerpt can be carried over to the rest of the material

 

Some friendly advice, never let a family member read your work before having someone not emotionally connected to you getting a chance to review/edit it. Family and friends, for the most part, tend to sugar coat things, regardless if they are critical or not. Sure, it makes you feel great, but hand that manuscript over to someone who has zero emotional attachment to you and edits for a living and you will get back some Civil War (Red, Gray and Blue).

My editor reads the chapter first for a once through and decides if it draws her into the story world. Strong plot and characters aside, my editor then looks at the details of the writing. Grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure are essential. "Nuthing wurse is than hav'n ta reed reely crapy writin werd." She does a markup and sends me back the changes (The Red), suggestions (The Gray) and praise (and The Blue).

Here is an example of a comment my editor made: "Maybe move this to the end of the sentence. You have a rhythm to your sentence structure, but this sentence doesn’t flow as well as the others. Not a big deal now but something to look at later. Your literary voice…rhythm and word choice …is part of what creates the magic for the reader so the magic needs to keep flowing. You are in a sense weaving a spell for the reader and transporting them into your world. Your sentence structure and wording form the incantation."

or this one:

"If his behavior is worrisome, perhaps their thoughts here would be more powerful than the joking about daydreaming. Depends where you are going with this. On the one hand it could be comic relief, but it seems out of place with the grimness of the scene."

I take what she says seriously since she does editing of fantasy novels for a living. She gives me constructive criticism as well as pointing out items that grab her attention and draw her into the story. Once I have the rewrite finished and approved, I've handed the same unedited chapter to a family member or friend and see what they would change. Eight times out of ten it comes back with, "That was great! Can I read more!?" with really no criticism or ways to improve. The other two times they will ask questions about the character or tell me I forgot a period. Family and friend review/edits suck.

I'll find your posts and look over your material. I am not a huge fan of the mystery suspense novels but I do enjoy reading one every now and again. On a side note, I did play Detective Sergeant Trotter on stage in "Mousetrap" many years ago. One of my favorites.

~Mordred

 

Hi Mordrid,

I am in awe of your editor. Those pieces you have posted are outstanding.

Cheers, Greg.

 

Mordred....please tell me where I can find someone (with market knowledge and experience) to voluntarily look through my manuscript in such a detailed fashion as your editor examines your work- if only!

 

you can find plenty of good editors who do that, but their fees are not affordable for most beginning writers...

 

A think a multitude of reviews from people unrelated t the publishing industry has a lot of value. Maybe one isn't enough, but those who count are those who read books. From these people you can derive a lot of criticizm, different view points, different reactions etc.

No. That really depends on the person who writes the book. It would be narrow and masochistic for an author to do that, rely on the acceptace letter of a publisher to measure how good his/her own novel is. Some publishers are quite narrow, so it is ideal to get as many reviews from others to get an idea of what this 1 publisher wants or thinks of the author's story.

 

how can anyone other than the publisher possibly know what that publisher wants, or thinks about the author's work?

 

I think reviews from readers are incredibly valuable. They are when I know that the story is worth the work, and it is worth listening to the stronger critiques. If that story has grabbed someone, taken them on a journey and they have bonded with the characters I know it is doing what I want it to do.

I've had issues getting proper critiques because readers have got lost in the story. I do now have several proper crit partners. However, as a writer nothing replaces comments about how someone has identified and bonded with the characters. One of my proper crit partners won't let me call my first MCs ugly, wimpy and pathetic lol

For me a reader is considerably more important than a publisher.

Agatha you know your family member - are they likely to sugar coat? (mine won't) You also know the boost it has given you and the fact that your story has been read by someone and enjoyed.

My family are more like Art:

The day I get a review like that from one of them I'll know the work is perfect lol.

 

I understand the reviewer problem. It's sort of a paradox. If normal people like your story, it means that you have an audience to buy your work. If publishers and stuff like your story, it means you have a work to be bought. Trouble is, these two things don't necessarily agree. Notedly, saying someone's opinion doesn't matter ("normal people don't count because they can't get you published"/"publishers don't always know what connects to audiences") is sort of inaccurate because in reality, everybody's opinion matters, just in different ways.

The only opinion that really doesn't matter is the opinion of someone who doesn't like your work when you're a bestselling writer. For example, it doesn't matter that someone doesn't happen to like JRR Tolkien. He's going to sell books anyway. I don't care for Harry Potter, and that opinion doesn't matter either.

Basically, my point is, it really depends on your individual situation when an opinion matters to your story or not.

 

I disagree. I have had my stories critiqued by plenty of friends and family. I agree they may have an initial tendency to sugarcoat things, but if you communicate to them that you want a harsh critique, they will give you a harsh critique. I say things like, "I have an iron ego, so don't go easy," or "Don't sugarcoat it. That won't help me." They want to help you and they think sugarcoating is going to help you, so teach them otherwise and you won't have a problem. My girlfriend, however, doesn't need to be asked; she's my harshest critic naturally

Friends and family are also more willing to devote more time and energy to giving you a thorough critique. When I have strangers critique my work, I'm lucky to get a paragraph of critical remarks.

 

In my opinion, not only constructive critique can help further a writer's experience but also compliments. I found, in the thread I posted with my prologue, that critique was very useful to the point I wished all members could read and say what I am doing wrong. But praise is also important! Being criticized helped but it brought my spirit a bit down, I didn't stop working on my write but it felt a bit of a huge task.

I think it's nice that the person who read your story liked and enjoyed it. That means you did a good job working on it. It's not perfect though, it'll never be perfect so don't let it get to you. That's all I can say, work harder and try harder to learn and experiment with new and different things. Go back and ask that person what they disliked about it. In every book, there's something to like and dislike, no book is safe.

So I say, it's nice to be praised you should just accept it with a smile and then forget about it. Focus on what needs to be improved but don't be obsessed about it either. Everyone wants to be complimented, it's human nature. My advice is to ask that person again why she liked your story and whether she can pinpoint some mistakes or things that weren't good in the story.

Never take a compliment before a critique.

Good luck!

 

My favourite is when I am having an arguement with someone about my characters That one has always boosted my esteem more than anything or when someone on a board asks me how they are doing The biggest boost was the phrase - I spat out my drink reading the first two lines.

They can all come along with constructive criticism but I agree Phoenix that both have their place. I have a writer on this site I hate it when he asks me to pull apart his work - his work is 'magic' and I really don't want to know what is wrong with it.

 

I have the same problem. I am currently writing two fanfics -- made me want to write original fiction -- that I've never really received any critique for them... All the reviewers go like: "Hey, nice job, looking forward for more!" and I'm actually expecting that they will point out my mistakes. If I had any progress from ever since I've started writing them, surely wasn't because someone pointed it out.

Compliments are nice, I'm not going to lie, but critiques are the most important for me. And I never showed any of my work from anyone I know, only people on internet that I don't know at all. Family and friends tend to sugarcoat a lot, and within my friend circle, everyone is a lazy reader, so I'm pretty sure they won't be able to pull off a good critique...

Anyhow, I agree with Phoenix Hikari that you should focus on what's there to improve... There's always room for improvement and no writer should be satisfied with his/her own writing. Never ever.

 

I get wary when I ask friends or family to read my work as I get worried that they will indeed "sugarcoat" it. I have one friend though who tells me what he does and doesn't like but II was a bit skeptical that he's given me a 8.5/10 for my storyline until I asked critics for advise and they said it was a good storyline but so and so should be edited.. and its worked I think. Your family and friends won't wanna hurt your feelings.

 

Praises are great and I think as writers we do need this kinda ego boost to carry on - we're often our own worst critics, after all. But to the OP - since that is ONE excellent review, excellent, but only ONE, and it was from your friend no less, it's not saying much. It's not to say it's not valid, but definitely don't judge the quality of your work based only on this.

In any case, I don't even understand the point of this thread. It's a good review, great, someone liked it so you're doing something right. Now if you think your work is ready, start submitting to agents. If you think it's not ready, then take your good review as encouragement that you're doing something right, but otherwise look for NEGATIVE reviews - because it's the negative ones that will tell you what you're doing wrong and thus, allow you to improve and make it ready, finally, for an agent and thus a publisher.

In other words, well done on your excellent review, but your question is void.

 

Good question.
Tons of responses.
Excellent interaction.
Provocative topic almost everyone has an opinion about.

My two cents...
All criticism is useful.
As artists, any observation from another lends us their perspective.
Critic focus varies widely from the Mechanic to the Philosopher.
We evaluate the critique to understand our target audience better.
Writing is NOT about us; it's about giving the reader what s/he needs.

As writing artists, we MUST understand the dynamics of flow to propel readers into the piece. Often, readers aren't equipped with this knowledge or sufficiently conversant in the art to analyze why the piece worked for them. To them, it's all about 'gut'.

Critique in the said instance could be more helpful if you understand why this particular reader described the work as a "page turner". What made it work for them?

Critiques describing your reader's criticism as "useless" seems rather narrow minded of artists.
And, we learn from that also.

Thankfully, true artists are generally NOT a forgiving bunch.

 

Praise without suggestions feels good, but I'd rather take my lumps.

 

You know this person that critiqued your novel, we don't.

Is this person the type that would say what he/she thought you wanted to hear? or would they be honest and helpful?

 

.

 

Very good post and I agree with everything you've said.

 

some great thoughts here. Thank you. Agatha.