I just wanted to say that I think everyone should really bookmark this board I know I have. It's a good one to show to anyone that happens to take a review badly. Instead of having to explain it all to them, why not have them read this lovely board instead?
Reviews are written to benefit the writer, or are supposed to. We all need to be criticized and encouraged in order to improve. Also, remember, everyone's different so granted- everyone's gonna have a different opinion. If you post your work, you're saying you want others' opinions...so that's what they give you. Most of them are just trying to help. I think there should be a balance of encouragement and criticism. Sometimes when I review other people's work, they don't seem really appreciate it. It's kind of annoying, but I think of it as - me trying to help and the person rejecting. And I don't take it personally.
You'd be surprised how effective it is when it comes to teaching when you spend just as much time telling people what they are doing well. In this group, I believe we are teachers as well as students. I know a teacher who works just with children with learning disabilities. He found that if you tell them everything they did right and only correct one specific area the child is having problems with, ei only fixing commas and ignoring other grammar/punctuation problem, every area will improve. Yes, you do need to discuss the weaknesses, but it's not the only way. Besides, if you only tell people what they are doing wrong, how will they know what they did well so they can repeat it? People make all kinds of excusing for only talking about the problems in a person's writing and why they don't need to encourage people. We do need to learn how to take bad reviews, but I think reviewers in a group like this need to also learn how to encourage others no matter how many weaknesses they see. Not everyone knows what they are doing right or why it's right.
Yes. Criticism is the key to success for all writers. Feedback is like treasure. I appreciate ANY feedback, because that's what makes us stronger and builds up our experience. The more opinions and reviews we get from the dear readers, the more experienced and stronger us writers become, because we can IMPROVE our writing and get the different types of views our audience gets.
Ok, I hate to stick my head above the parapet (as I think I'm the first person to make this point on here) but does no one think that some reviews deserve to be taken badly? I'm referring to the fleeting blasts of negativity that some people post, things along the lines of 'Just didn't hold my interest, sorry' or 'I don't know why, I just didn't find it compelling' which aren't accompanied by any explanation. I've actually been really lucky with my reviews so far (I'm fairly new to this site) which I've so far found to be really helpful and constructive. I'm just sick of reading a well-written piece that someone has clearly put effort into only to see that it's first and only review is 'I don't like it' with no explanation. Please don't think I'm saying I will react badly to any negative reviews. I'd actually be thrilled if the next thing you do is go to my piece in 'novels' and write 'I hate it' as long as you follow it with 'because'. Just my 2 cents...
Most vacuous reviews are by new members who just want to "get the reviewing requirement out of the way", so they can post their masterpieces and bask in the glow of the praise they will receive. A small number is by sincere new members who just have never learned what a constructive critique is. You're wasting your time to blast the first kind of poster, because once they have posted their "qualifying" review, they never look back. The second kind can benefit from an explanation why the review was not helpful. If the reviewer is beyond clueless, and being obnoxious, in your opinion, use the report post icon (the red outlined triangle with the exclamation mark down the middle) instead of replying. The moderators will look into it, and take action if it is called for.
My writing style is firmly fixed in 'paper' literature, rather than ebooks, so I knew that in order to fulfil my dream (i.e. use my craft to make me some money rather than just sore fingertips) I'd have to get used to opening a lot of rejection letters. I also don't take criticism very well and tend to avoid it, even though I know this will impede my forward progress; writers have to have hides like bull elephants! I'm sure it was this, which stopped me from continuing with the distance learning course I paid for 5 years ago. I'd be okay sending off my work for appraisal - it was getting the replies back I wasn't looking forward to! Thus, I think this site is an excellent one for us thin-skinned 'newbies' to air our talents, especially if we are hoping for future publication or to make a career out of it. It gets us toughened up for life in the 'real' world. If you can't take criticism here, how the hell will you cope with that letter from Gollanze?!
