[FFML] The mailing list active!!!!!! shocking....

[Gary Kleppe]

On 10/14/2018 06:57 PM, Ragman Jack wrote:
> Speaking for myself, I am always interested and grateful for feedback. If I don’t respond, it’s usually because either someone else replies with a better response than anything I could say and/or I go “Welp, they’re right" and then implement the changes in the next draft. I also tend to fail at the social aspect so I tend to default to silence for fear of being annoying or rude.


I would say that it's important that the author respond, even if 
somebody else has already addressed the particular points. You can say 
something like "Thanks, but I agree with third party commenter B's 
reasons why this isn't a valid criticism." At least this shows that 
you're thinking about it.

If you agree with a suggested change and will use it, just say so! 
There's probably nothing a critic would prefer to hear more than that.

If you don't agree, there are ways to say so without escalating it into 
a major conflict. This is a skill we will all have to learn if we ever 
write for an audience other than ourselves. There's a lot of ways to do 
this depending on the situation.

"I appreciate your taking the time to think about my story. I've thought 
about your criticism, and I don't quite see it the same way, because...."

"Thanks for your ideas. The alternative you're suggesting sounds great, 
but it's really not the story I'm trying to tell here. Have you 
considered writing it yourself? Just a thought."

"I'm sorry you didn't like my treatment of character X. It's clear that 
you and I have different views of this character. In my view...."

I've probably been in all of these situations, either as the writer, the 
commenter, or both.

If an author doesn't respond at all, or dismisses a thoughtful review 
with a clearly thoughtless one-line comment, there's no way for me to 
tell the difference between what you're describing, and someone who 
thinks "What, me improve? I have no desire to do that. I just want 
people to tell me how great I already am." I've known authors like that 
and have no desire to deal with them. So always take the time to 
respond. It costs you nothing, and it's the only way to actually show 
people that you really do appreciate that feedback.