Everybody who reads your work is liable to respond differently. Even in a group of smart, knowledgeable writers or editors, you might get responses ranging from abject boredom to wild acclaim.
The graduate school I attended is famous, so good writers apply. I went there expecting that most every participant in the workshops would give me wise insights. Most of them didn’t.
But I didn’t need the comments of fifteen people. From the critiques of two or three with whom I felt some accord, I learned plenty.
Everybody brings his background to his reading. When a reader appreciates my work, I know it could mean he relates for his own reasons. Say we both were raised by our grandmothers. Or she may dismiss my story in reaction to something personal, such as a hurt she suffered or a bias with which she has armed herself. A person who grew up with alcoholic parents may bond with a story about a boozer or recoil from it.
The odds of an agent or editor accepting a book she reads over coffee in the morning may be higher than the odds of her buying one she reads in moments snatched between phone calls.
Suppose several readers point to the same problem. Odds are good your story has failed to communicate the way you’d like it to. But that doesn’t mean the readers’ suggestions for fixing the problem are correct. They’re worth considering, but not necessarily the best way to solve the problem.
When critiquing an early draft of a novel by Kevin McIlvoy, I noted that a certain section dragged along, earning more yawns than the rest of the story. I suggested cutting some details to speed it up. Kevin later told me he’d solved the problem by adding to the section, using more details that made it more gripping.
Your task is to listen to critiques with your mind open, then ponder each comment as much as it deserves, all before you decide whether to revise. And if you decide to revise, consider suggestions, but also look for alternative ways. Suggestions can come from other people, but revisions have to come from you.
About Ken
Some of Ken’s favorites are early mornings, the desert in spring, kind and honest people, baseball and other sports played by those who don’t take themselves too seriously, most kids, and films he and his Zoe can enjoy together.
He reads classic novels, philosophy, theology, and all sorts of mysteries. On his blog, he offers some hard truths and encouragement about living as a writer.
He has long been the author of novels, stories, articles, poems, and essays. Lots of honors have come his way, including a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship; Poets, Essayists and Novelist’s Ernest Hemingway Award; Private Eye Writers of America Best First Novel and Shamus Best Novel; and several San Diego and Los Angeles Book Awards.
You can find Ken here: https://www.kenkuhlken.net/
Ken books are available for purchase here:
Midheaven
Barnes & Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/midheaven-ken-kuhlken/1001188066?ean=9781719585774
The Very Least
Amazon: https://amzn.to/30FEa91
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-very-least-ken-kuhlken/1129158286?ean=9781725909786
