I am not an author, but I am "published". Published how? By writing a gazillion Naval messages, evaluations, recommendations, warfare publication and OpOrder reviews & updates, SORTS & CASREP messages, and the occasional JAGMAN investigation and recommendation for disposal of government property or the loss thereof. What did I learn? Proofread, proofread, have a shipmate proofread your work. Criticism/feedback could be very brutal for the smallest typo or failure to follow the required or preferred format. I inherited most of my writing duties because others failed. That was a curse and a blessing. What you wrote, Ms. von Sassy, is very good advice. And re: "Don’t take criticism from someone you wouldn’t ask for advice." About advice, let's remember that often people seeking advice only embrace it if it has the spin they are looking for. I try to mumble my mantra to myself every morning when I am having coffee and am most receptive: "Dale, you are not as clever as you think you are". <-- How many times has that saved my bacon? Always best to disengage one's ego when getting feedback. And, treat all criticism as (useful) feedback. Thanks for sharing, Ms. von Sassy.
Thank you for sharing this. It really puts things in perspective. I know that y’all are super busy and it would be super hard, but I wish you all had a podcast for things like this.
Remember when reading a criticism of your work, it is much likely that the critic has correctly identified *that* there is a problem than *what* the problem is.
Thank you for sharing this. Getting feedback has become one of my favorite parts about writing. It can be disheartening to make mistakes, but it's exciting too. Finding out our flaws gives us a chance to fix them, and make sure they never happen again. Because of that, honest beta readers are some of my favorite people.
I am not an author, but I am "published". Published how? By writing a gazillion Naval messages, evaluations, recommendations, warfare publication and OpOrder reviews & updates, SORTS & CASREP messages, and the occasional JAGMAN investigation and recommendation for disposal of government property or the loss thereof. What did I learn? Proofread, proofread, have a shipmate proofread your work. Criticism/feedback could be very brutal for the smallest typo or failure to follow the required or preferred format. I inherited most of my writing duties because others failed. That was a curse and a blessing. What you wrote, Ms. von Sassy, is very good advice. And re: "Don’t take criticism from someone you wouldn’t ask for advice." About advice, let's remember that often people seeking advice only embrace it if it has the spin they are looking for. I try to mumble my mantra to myself every morning when I am having coffee and am most receptive: "Dale, you are not as clever as you think you are". <-- How many times has that saved my bacon? Always best to disengage one's ego when getting feedback. And, treat all criticism as (useful) feedback. Thanks for sharing, Ms. von Sassy.
Thank you for sharing this. It really puts things in perspective. I know that y’all are super busy and it would be super hard, but I wish you all had a podcast for things like this.
Remember when reading a criticism of your work, it is much likely that the critic has correctly identified *that* there is a problem than *what* the problem is.
Thank you for sharing this. Getting feedback has become one of my favorite parts about writing. It can be disheartening to make mistakes, but it's exciting too. Finding out our flaws gives us a chance to fix them, and make sure they never happen again. Because of that, honest beta readers are some of my favorite people.