Taking Criticism: Are You A Dinosaur?

March 14, 2008

A writing project got bumped back to me today (not one I’d written, but it doesn’t matter), and it got me to thinking about how writers deal with criticism. The following lines are taken from How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague, and they sum up how many of us feel when our work is criticised.

Does a dinosaur slam his tail and pout?

Does he throw his teddy bear all about? …

Does he mope, does he moan, does he sulk, does he sigh?

Does he fall on top of his covers and cry?

No-one likes to be criticised, but when you’re a writer, criticism is part of life. Whether you are working for an editor or a client, there will come a time when someone won’t like what you’ve written. If clients are paying for your writing, then they will feel free to tell you so.

Sometimes clients are not clear about what they want, and even if you ask questions, you can’t deliver. It’s a hidden brief, which you have no hope of unmasking until you fail to deliver. Sometimes the brief is clear and you may still get it wrong.

Well, guess what? This stuff happens to writers. Even the best and most competent of us sometimes miss a client’s wishes by a mile. It may not always be our fault, but we have still have to suck it up and move on.

There’s no point in behaving like the dinosaur in this children’s story. If you do, you will lose your client. Whining will only reduce your credibility. The thing to do is to say: ‘Sorry, I misunderstood you’ and find out what you need to do to fix it. Make the changes quickly and behave gracefully and you will still end up with a happy client.