This week: Feedback On Feedback Edited by: THANKFUL SONALI 18 WDC Years!  
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| We give and get feedback everyday, not only on our writing but on all aspects of life. How do we respond? |
Dear Reader,
Since we’re a site of writers and reviewers, feedback – and feedback-on-feedback, is¬ a vital part of our existence. Today, I’m going to talk a bit about feedback-on-feedback, that is, the response one gets for a review (or any other feedback) one has given.
There are two types of feedback – solicited and unsolicited. Either you’ve given your views without being asked, or you’ve been specifically requested to read something and comment on it.
My personal view is that unsolicited feedback can be a step to solicited feedback. If you don’t know whether the person wants your opinion or not, there probably isn’t much point in spending time on details. You could give an overall perspective and ask if they’d like to hear more. The ‘Read and Review’ feature may present you with a piece the author wrote five years ago for a contest, and isn’t going to edit any more. In this case, letting them know what it made you feel and whether it was a good read might be enough for the first step, you may not need a paragraph-by-paragraph break down, unless asked specifically.
Solicited feedback may be general – “What do you think of this?” or have a specific question attached to it – “Does this read smoothly and do the dialogues sound real?” In either case, responding to the question asked and then touching on other areas you may have found to comment on will probably suffice.
Depending on your equation with the person, you’ll then get feedback-on-feedback. This will be a polite ‘thank you’ or a more detailed outline of where they’re going to implement your suggestions and where they aren’t (and why). You then choose how to continue or conclude the conversation.
(In rare instances, it might say 'you're talking nonsense', in which case you may not want to continue the conversation!  )
I attended a book launch recently and the author had on display various options for the cover design of the book. He thought he ought to showcase the work of his artist friend, even though he hadn't picked those options for the final cover.
The book is about a particular forest area where there are tribal people and endangered species of animals.
One of the 'rejected' paintings was of a wistful tribal boy, his eyes gazing at you with mute appeal. The other was a stunning silhouette of a deer.
The chosen design, on the book, has a tiny figure of a boy, a little deer (not a silhouette) and a flower. "I wanted all aspects of the book to be reflected on the cover," the author said. "The people, the flora and the fauna. What do you think?"
"Well, if I saw this one on the shelf in a bookshop, it wouldn't attract me," I admitted, in answer to his question. "I'd immediately pick up the one with the boy and read the blurb, his eyes make you want to know what the book is about. And the deer is a lovely design, I think I'd take another look at it, too."
"You don't know much about art," he responded with a smile.
No, I don't know much about art, but as a reader, I do know which book by an unknown author would scream at me from among hundreds of others in a store. Oh yes, I know you mustn't judge a book by its cover, but you must at least want to look at the cover more closely. With the cover-design he had chosen, I'd only take that book in hand if I already knew of its existence and had specifically come to buy it. It sort of reminded me of my biology text book in school, to be honest.
The author and I happened to meet again a few days later and this time he asked if I'd begun reading the book and if so, my opinion. As it turned out, I had begun it.
"I like what you say about the forest. But since your 'researchers' are fictional, for your plot, I thought their Curriculum Vitaes drag on a bit." (He actually has a three-paragraph CV of each character, a complete bio-data, as soon as they appear, without variation.)
"My readers need to know that about each character," he protested. "It's important to understand the character's childhood, education, hobbies and everything. Maybe you don't go deep enough into a book when you read it."
Right. So I gave some solicited feedback, and the feedback-on-feedback was that I'm no artist and I'm a superficial reader. Should I be forced (I hope not) to give him more feedback in future, it's going to be a polite 'oh very nice'. Perhaps he's looking for reassurance, not real feedback. Perhaps he thinks he's the cat's whiskers and his work can't be improved upon!
The thing is, if authors are people, so are reviewers. And we all need to feel validated and appreciated. Leaving aside obviously malicious or careless reviews, all of us who give genuine feedback would like some acknowledgement of our effort. And everyone needs to remember that feedback, or feedback-on-feedback, is one person’s individual opinion.
Thanks for listening!
 |
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Responses to "Cupcakes and Climatic Climaxes"
Ichabod Crane-writing-reading.  1. This is excellent. I have been reading about plot diagrams, the timing for this was spot-on for me. Thanks!!
2. And mystery of "PLEASE DO NOT DELETE THIS!" is solved. The drama produced one of its own.
Lilli ☕  I loved your DRAMA. It had the perfect setup, promise, and build, then just as satisfaction seemed imminent, no payoff! I loved the format. Applying it to a novel is hard when there is more to the story.
Thanks, Writing.Com Support  , for "Note: View this Note" |
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Drama: May 07, 2025 Issue [#13114]
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