SFA 123 – Dealing with Criticism as an Author

Our topic for today’s show is criticism. From feedback early on from beta readers and workshops and editors, to reviews and blogs and social media posts once your book is published, it’s a big part of an author’s career. That doesn’t mean it’s easy to deal with.

How do you deal with criticism, how do you get out of a funk if it’s harsh, when can it be helpful, and when should it be ignored as much as possible? We discuss that and more on the show.

Here are the specific points we touched on:

• How do you deal with solicited criticism, such as from an instructor/beta reader/peer at a workshop?
• How do you deal with unsolicited criticism (usually after the book is published) such as reviews on stores or book blogs?
• Does anything change for you when it’s private (i.e. emailed) or public (i.e. on a social media site that may or may not be addressed to you)?
• Sometimes, criticism is good and should be sought out so that you can make your work better, but sometimes, it’s not helpful and you should probably do your best to ignore it or at least minimize the effect it has on you. Do you guys agree, and do you have any examples?
• How can you know when the criticism is right and you should make changes versus when the critiquer was off and isn’t right?
• How do you get out of a funk when the criticism seems to be outweighing the good things, and it’s making you doubt yourself and whether writing is for you? (Jo suggests having a “proof of awesome” folder, and Lindsay suggests listening to Teddy Roosevelt’s Man in the Arena speech, as well as Brené Brown’s talk on Why Your Critics Aren’t The Ones Who Count.)
• How do each of us give criticism when asked? First, to experienced authors, but also to newer authors? How has this changed over the years?
• How do you tell genuine criticism from trolling?

Thanks for listening to the show!