A Tale of Two Types of Feedback

 

Photo Credit: Mikhail Nilov via Pexels

 

Ah, feedback. That Golden Fleece so many writers wish a rejecting editor would give to them, just so they know how to improve their work!

 

I am grateful to the editors who DO take the time to provide feedback when rejecting a piece, because those nuggets of wisdom are what will help me to improve the work for the next editor I submit it to, but not all editors who reject our work will provide that feedback. Alas! But it’s understandable, given that editors receive So Many submissions (I know of one editor who received 700 submissions for an anthology call), and nothing will bring on serious writer’s cramp like ALL of that typing involved in providing feedback to Every Single submission being rejected.

 

But when we do receive feedback from an editor, whether they are rejecting our work or giving us another chance, that is when the writer will sit up and hang on every word they read.

 

Yes, there are many writers out there who are already soliciting feedback – from both alpha and beta readers – but the type of feedback we are most hungry for is the kind we receive from an editor who is in charge of accepting or rejecting our work. THAT is the kind of feedback we want, the kind of feedback we hope for, because if there is something in our work that makes the editor say “not for us,” then we want to know what it is! We want to know what that THING in our work is that has editors rejecting our work, because we want to fix it! If that is the thing keeping our work from getting published, then we want to fix it so that we have a better chance of our work being accepted somewhere else.

 

For the longest time, I had a novel rejected by one publisher and agent after another. I finally tossed the thing to my beta readers and asked them if they could figure out what was wrong with it. My beta readers told me what was wrong with my manuscript – they literally tore into that thing! – and after I revised the manuscript based on their feedback, it was accepted by the next publisher I submitted it to.

 

This has also happened with poems and short stories I have submitted. One story was rejected many times, but after I received feedback on certain things that were wrong with the story, I fixed those problem spots, and it was accepted by the next editor I submitted it to.

 

However, recently, I received two different forms of feedback from editors that really made me do a double take.

 

In one case, the editor rejecting my poetry showed me exactly how to fix those poems so they would meet the standards of what is acceptable in literary journals. Unfortunately, this made me realize that my poetry is not right for that journal, because I don’t write those kinds of poems. My horror poetry is not written in the style of literary horror. So, I thanked the editor and removed this publication from my list of places to submit work to.

 

In another case, an editor providing feedback was not doing so while also rejecting my submission. This editor pointed out some things in my story which were taboo and therefore unacceptable. This editor said, “If you change those things, as well as how they affect the character, I’ll give your story another look.” This particular feedback blew me away, because the editor saw things that I hadn’t. Of course I am grateful to this editor, but I had to wonder if this story was rejected by other places because of that very reason. I never received that kind of feedback from one publication that rejected it; their gripe was mostly about the character arc in the story. But I could see how that taboo subject would have bothered them, as well as other editors who had rejected this story. None of them told me what this editor did. If they had even seen those things, it would have been nice to know about it! But I’m grateful THIS editor told me, and that THIS editor is giving me a second chance.

 

And that’s another thing we writers hope for: A second chance. Or even a third or fourth chance. (I’m looking at you, Carnage House. You’ll be hearing from me again!)

 

In my role as acquisitions editor at Twisted Dreams Press, I do give authors that second chance – as well as others, if needed. I’ll read a manuscript and, if there’s something that I feel could be fixed to improve the story, I will let the author know. For example, with one manuscript, the story had characters dying and the friends of these characters did not react at all. There was no emotion, no tears, nothing. They just continued on their way. After I finished reading the manuscript, I asked the author to revise those areas because, hello, their friend was just murdered, and they’re not going to react at all? With another manuscript, I asked the author to change a nurse’s reaction to a patient’s story of ALL of the horrors she has been through, because the nurse’s reaction was not realistic.

 

So, yes, the feedback we receive from an editor can be amazingly helpful. Our alpha and beta readers may provide helpful feedback on our work, but it’s the feedback from editors that gives our work a better chance of being accepted, because those editors are the people more attuned to what kind of work is right for publication, as well as what aligns with the publication they are in charge of receiving submissions for.

This Author Does NOT “Rush to Get Published”

 

Image credit: Mikhail Nilov via Pexels

 

I have said it before and I’ll say it again: I never allow rejections to get me to stop writing. Just take a look at ALL of the book-length manuscripts, short stories, poems, essays and articles I have collecting dust and you will know that I’m the kind of writer who will keep writing no matter what!

 

Rejections? Market incompatibilities? Overdone topics? Feh. They don’t stop me! I will keep writing and submitting even if I can’t find a home for my poems, short stories, essays and articles.

 

The same is true for books. I started writing books as a teenager and I have been writing them ever since. In fact, one year I actually stopped to count how many books I had written so far, and was surprised to discover that there were nine of them.

 

I have books that are untyped. I have books waiting for me to remember they even exist. And I have several drafts of books that have gone through rewrites and revisions.

 

I am constantly writing, revising, and editing my books. Even if I don’t have a publisher for a book, I’m still working on fixing it up.

 

So when it comes to an opportunity to get a book published, you can bet that chances are good I will have something in my arsenal to submit.

 

This was the case with a publisher that eventually shut down. I sent her a bunch of book-length manuscripts that were ready to submit (five children’s books manuscripts among them). And she published three of those books in one year.

 

It was this particular thing that someone took notice of on social media and contacted me through email saying that I shouldn’t rush to get books published.

 

That particular email left me feeling puzzled. Why would someone see my post about having three books published in a year and automatically assume that I would rush to get a book published?

 

Because that is certainly NOT how I do things!

 

People who know me know that I tend to overthink things. I also tend to be paranoid. So of course I will occasionally revisit a manuscript I have written to revise, change, delete and sometimes even rewrite the whole thing again for some reason or another. As it is, I’m in the process of changing the genre of a YA novel I wrote. And another YA novel is getting a complete rewrite.

 

There is no rushing going on here.

 

When I feel that a book-length manuscript is ready to submit, then I will put it into my “books ready to submit” folder. But not before!

 

I didn’t respond to that person’s email, but only because they ended up touting their services about how they help authors get their manuscripts ready for publication. It was obviously spam. So, no thanks, I’ll pass.

 

I have my spidey sense telling me “this book I wrote needs work.”

 

I have my beta readers.

 

I have the MANY rounds of revision and edits that I put these manuscripts through.

 

I have editors editing my manuscripts.

 

And I have that other spidey sense that will let me know when a manuscript is ready.

 

No rushing to get a book published going on here. I’m all about quality, not quantity. As far as my books are concerned, I want to make sure that quality is there before I submit it for publication – or, in the case of self-publishing a book, start the process for self-publishing.

What to do when you hate the book you are reviewing

 

Image by Jannik Texler from Pixabay

Nobody likes a bad book review, especially the author of the book! But then again, not everybody will love every single book they choose to read. This is also true for the book reviewer – but sometimes, they can’t decide they’re not going to review the book after all. That’s when you need to adjust your book reviewing strategy.

 

Most authors and publishers who send out books to review understand that there is a chance the reviewer will not like the book. Nobody who offered me a review copy ever tore down my door screaming bloody murder because I opted not to review their book after all. What I don’t tell them is that I didn’t like the book, couldn’t finish reading it, or that I hated it. Instead, I say that I’d rather not review the book after all. And, usually, I never hear from them again. Which is fine with me.

 

But if you’re in a position where you MUST review the book even if you hated it, here are some things you can do to get that review written:

 

Write about what you DID like.

I recently stopped reading a collection of short stories I received a free review copy of (I only got this book because I was on somebody’s list of reviewers). I stopped reading it after I noticed I kept passing over a lot of stories that I did not enjoy reading. However, some of the stories in this book were pretty good, so that is something to highlight in a review.

 

Keep your review short.

I have seen very short reviews online. We’re talking reviews that are only one or two sentences. These reviews are usually accompanied by star ratings. Guess what? You don’t HAVE to justify or defend your star rating! If you give a book a two- or three-star rating and add a couple of sentences like “Interesting concept. I think it has potential.” Then be on your way, that is just fine. You did your review.

 

Change how you write your review.

I have noticed some reviewers basically summarize what a book is about. If you must leave a review but you didn’t like the book, try doing this instead.

 

There are a number of ways to handle writing a review for a book that you didn’t like. The above suggestions are just a few strategies you can use.

 

It’s a blessing to book reviewers to have the chance to decline a review or to opt not to review a book that was sent to them, but not all book reviewers are allowed this option. Should you find yourself in such a situation and you don't like the book, figure out a way to write the review that is both fair for you as well as the author of the book.