#0079 The Good & Bad of Comments on Your Creative Work
And what — if anything — to do with constructive feedback
I’ve posted about different kinds of submission rejections, including the type with personal feedback (#0072). Other times, I’ve mentioned the sometimes biased perspectives of editors that can creep into rejections (#0074). In a certain way, the Inlandia Institute’s 100 Rejections Club members, and therefore this newsletter, looks to constructive feedback as a way to embrace rejection because rejection simply means redirection.1
Embrace Rejection because rejection [in the form of useful constructive feedback] simply means redirection.
When I was brainstorming on new topics with my bestie (hi, Lizzy), she wondered about how to capitalize on good constructive feedback. At which point I realized I’d written about constructive feedback but never defined it, or how to suss out the good from the bad, or best approaches to use it.
What exactly is constructive feedback, anyway?
Have you ever whispered a haiku in your best friend’s ear? Or sent a photo of your latest doodle to a partner? Perhaps texted a line from your journal to support a family member?
When you share your creative work, you are quite likely to receive some sort of comment. (Even if you don’t ask for it.)
In the context of 100 Rejections Club, I’m referring to the comments creatives get from submitting their work. These comments, called constructive feedback or sometimes constructive criticism or critiques or editorial notes, run the gamut from single-word issuances to paragraphs or even pages.
Often, we creatives started submitting our work unknowingly. Ever had to write a rhyming poem or draw a bunch of flowers at school (K–12th grade)? If we received a star, thumbs-up sticker, or even more positive reinforcement, that’s great! If the teachers took it upon themselves to tell us the many ways our creative endeavors didn’t measure up? Ugh!2
Some people learn about giving and receiving constructive feedback in creative writing and arts workshops at college or in MFA programs. (Though I’ve heard the structure can be rigid and rather unforgiving.) The rest of us? Stumble along to figure it out.
Back to this context… Constructive feedback comes from many sources. If you join a writing group, you might write something from a prompt, read it aloud, and receive encouragement to keep going. Or members might exchange each others’ work to receive written notes. If you take an art or writing class, you might get feedback from the leader related to the specific techniques or approaches taught. (Inlandia’s spring writing workshops start April 7th) Before submitting a manuscript to a publisher or self-publishing your novel or memoir, beta readers3 and sensitivity readers4 might save you from huge errors.
How to tell if constructive feedback is good (or bad)
Sometimes it’s challenging to know if a comment is helpful. As an experiment, let’s take a gander at seven real-life examples:
“kind of lame, and doesn't tap into either interesting imagery or interesting themes/ideas/emotions”
“It just seems simplistic and one note”
“I'm having trouble grasping the ‘so what’ of this piece”
“more showing and less telling”
“Simple and somewhat cliché”
“The only feeling I respond to is with confusion, as I don’t quite understand”
“I think language doesn’t flow very well”
How do you feel reading those words? Imagine they were about creative work you submitted to a literary journal’s open call in the hopes you’d get your art, poetry, or prose published. Now what’s your reaction?
Me? I get mad. I wonder if my Inner Critic (#0022) somehow snuck into the literary journal’s office. Then I start to compose rebuttals in my head:
I believe “interesting” is one of the most boring words, and it’s not helped when repeated.
“Show don’t tell” is so overused and so misconstrued.5
Commenting but forgetting a necessary article makes me “think the language [of the commenter] doesn’t flow well.” (I edited out the unneeded “very.”)
All that energy and time devoted to feedback to no good effect. To my trained editorial eye, these are examples of bad feedback. I hope you agree with my verdict.
Which is why submitters will never read these comments. As the managing editor of Inlandia’s literary journal, I compile the votes and notes of the editors who evaluate the submissions. I choose what feedback to share (anonymously) with submitters on their accepted or declined work.
Though many of the examples are snippets from longer notes, some are the complete comment on another person’s creative efforts. Does that make you mad all over again? Would it help to know the comments came from teen editors volunteering to screen teen submissions? Many of the teens have never screened submissions before, and so they are learning by failing and trying again.
Here’s four examples of feedback on four different submissions:
“The piece is emotionally moving but lacks coherence and a clear format… Overall the writing in this piece is very vivid and moving, but the structure of the piece makes it difficult to fully grasp and feel the full impact the piece has the potential to cause.”
“There is clear intention from the author however I feel that when it comes to the overarching concepts this work falls rather flat.”
“Many sentences could be broken into two for clarity and to prevent run-ons. Varying sentence structure would create an easier and more dynamic read.”
“The ideas expressed within this story are compelling. However, I felt the political commentary was heavy-handed, and at points distracted me and overshadowed the fascinating thematic elements about isolation, heat, and decay.”
Better than the first group. But is this constructive feedback useful? What might the submitters glean from the notes to revise their works? What’s your takeaway?
I’d like to share two more notes about the same submission:
“While it’s encouraged to experiment with a variety of complex words in writing, there is an extensive use of them in this essay — to a point that makes the piece difficult to read. The vocabulary negatively impacts the essay’s clarity and causes readers to drift away from the main messages.”
“I felt that at a certain point, the meticulous detailing went too far; omitting a few of these details would allow the writer to retain the positive aspects of that story element while avoiding going over the top.”
Two screeners spot a similar something nagging at them? Whenever I see comments align on a submission, I give them more consideration. In a sense, they validate each other. Do you agree?
What to do with constructive feedback
Would you take me at my word if I told you to crumple up feedback into a paper ball and aim for the recycling bin? Sometimes that’s the exact right thing to do! But only after going through four other steps.
Take a break from the feedback to let the SNS reactions cool down
Consider the source of the feedback
Assess the validity of the feedback
Separate the diagnosis from the cure6
Accept the constructive feedback and move forward with it OR Reject the feedback and toss it
Take a break: Our first reactions are all about the Fight/Flight/Freeze of the Sympathetic Nervous System (#0012). After about 90 seconds, we can let go of the SNS reaction (#0018) and begin to reflect and decide on how to respond mindfully to feedback.
Consider the source: Remember the brand-new teen editors who fail and try again? On the flip side, sometimes people hold on to a “rule” they learned decades earlier that was always wrong or is no longer valid. Also, something said with authority doesn’t mean the person knows all. Which leads to…
Assess the validity: Everything on the interwebs is true, right? Nope. Same goes for constructive feedback. Just because the editor of a one-man journal says a submission needs heavy revision doesn’t make it so — except for his journal. (More on this topic next time!)
Separate feedback from fixes: Many an editor is a writer with a day job. Sigh. Writers want to rewrite (kinda like surgeons want to cut rather than wait and see). Recognize when a comment about a weakness is valid but a solution isn’t and ditch the “cure.”
Accept OR Reject: When you’ve decided the feedback is constructive and useful, accept it with gratitude (thank-you messages appreciated) and apply it as you revise your work. If you’ve gone through the four steps and determined the feedback isn’t useful? Feel free to go for the three-pointer.
If we want to reach others, we need to open up and let people in. Receiving constructive feedback on our creative work can be painful, yet it’s important to understand how to better communicate our perspective on the world. Whenever we share our creative work with others, it’s a leap.
Winter Speedrun Schedule
Create: February 2nd–15th
Revise: February 16th–March 1st
Submit: March 2nd–15th
Embrace the Rejection: March 16th–31st WRAP UP
Next time: “The Dating Game!” with a twist…
So many people’s creative dreams shattered in childhood for No Good Reason.
For more about beta readers, here’s an article on Jane Friedman’s website.
For an overview on sensitivity reading, check out this article on the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association website.
For more on the cliché, read this gem by Sonya Huber from 2019 titled “The Three Words That Almost Ruined Me As a Writer: ‘Show Don’t Tell.’”
I heard this medical analogy for evaluating constructive feedback from freelance developmental editor Olivia Bedford (OliviaHelpsWriters.com) during her talk at the Perfect Your Process Online Summit last week.
Some comments about sentence length and style may reflect the reader’s personal preferences. Though I agree. When two or more make the same comment, take heed.
It’s always us good to consider a comment that comes from more than one reader.