How to Take Critiques - Guest Post by Julie Hedlund

It's Wednesday!  That means we've got a guest on the blog.  Today we welcome a real "knockout."  Welcome, writer Julie Hedlund!

Critiques:  How to Take Them
By Julie Hedlund

My brother was a boxer as a kid.  One of the first things his coaches taught him was how to take punch.  If you're going to take one in the gut, you have to harden your belly to reduce the impact.  It might still hurt, but probably not enough to bring you to your knees. 

Critiques are like that.  As writers, getting feedback on our work can be like taking that punch.  But if we're not willing to take it, we can't even enter the ring.  Nobody - and I do mean nobody - is so gifted a writer that s/he can birth a masterpiece with no input from others. 

Yet, many writers are so in love with and so protective of their "babies" that they can't even hear feedback, much less incorporate it into their work.

At a workshop I attended a couple of years ago, author Alane Ferguson said it best.  Sometimes she comes across writers who are so unwilling to consider revisions "it's as if they think they are channeling God's words."  To which she said she always wants to respond, "Honey, God is not that bad of a writer."

So, how can we "get over ourselves" enough to use the golden nuggets of feedback we get from critique groups? 

Mind your defensiveness.  I have noticed, in critiques, that when someone gets very defensive, it’s usually over an issue that is very important to the direction of the work, and one that almost all of the other critiquers agree upon.  I know I do that too.  So take note: the points that make you feel the most defensive are probably also the ones you most need to hear.  When you start thinking, "They just don't 'get' it," or “She doesn't recognize my genius," or "S/he doesn't know what that s/he's talking about,"  that is precisely when you need to stop talking and start taking better notes.  You'll decide later after you have more distance whether the feedback makes sense, but if you tune out or talk over it, you'll miss a huge opportunity to evaluate your work.

Pretend everything is true.  Nancy Mercado, editor at Roaring Brook Press, said she had one author that used to get riled up every time he received her edits.  They always spent lots of time wrestling over them.  Then one day he called her and said, "For two weeks, I decided to pretend everything you said was true."  He revised the manuscript according to her suggestions and found that the vast majority of them made his work better. I've tried this myself, and I’ve found it gives me the emotional distance I need to decide whether certain comments work for my manuscript or not.

Give it time.  Do not make revisions immediately after receiving a critique.  You need a bit of a "waiting period" while your brain comes to grips with the suggestions so you can decide what is true for your work.

Writers can be sensitive souls. But even though the feedback you receive from critiques might sting sometimes, remember that even the act of considering it will ultimately make your writing stronger.

Believe me, because I know how to take a punch.  My brother was four years older than me, and he had to practice on somebody. :-)

Julie Hedlund is a picture book author, a member of SCBWI, a monthly contributor to author/illustrator Katie Davis’ Brain Burps About Books podcast, and the founder and host of the 12 x 12 in 2012 picture book writing challenge. Julie’s website is http://www.juliehedlund.com.