WIP Wednesday: Always Seeking Feedback

Writers should always be on the search for feedback.By feedback, I'm not speaking of reviews, per se, but actual critiques of one's work. This is one way in which a writer improves his/her craft.

Sometimes reviews offer helpful critique; sometimes they're drivel. Not all reviews are created equal, regardless of what I've written in the past. Sometimes they come from unexpected corners. Take this snippet from a review at an Elftown wiki:

It's hard to tell if the main character, Aaron (yeah, same name as the author) is hallucinating the paranormal events (seeing dead bodies in the dumpster at work, thinking he sees the old man they killed lurking in all corners), or if there is something truly amiss, which is one of the things I rather like about the story. It's a horror story, but you don't really realize how horrific it is until the end.

Thanks, Ixel, whoever you are. I appreciate every reader.

Every time I tell my wife I've received a new review, she asks "Who is (insert reviewer or review publication here)?" Good question. I usually can't answer--even when a review is published at a "professional" site.

So why is it authors hang on reviewer's words? Why is it we seek feedback, and keep seeking even when we are disappointed by the quality/quantity/content?

What does this have to do with my WIP? I'm juggling how to go about landing critiques for In the Memory House before loosing it on the world. I'm wondering if I should or let readers be my guides...