Writing Wednesday: The Mistake About Getting Your Own Work Critiqued

I’ve been in a lot of critique sessions, in writing groups and in professional situations, casually or at conferences. And I think people are always making the mistake of thinking that the most important part is when their own piece of work is being critiqued. People take careful notes, they ask questions. They thank everyone involved. They sometimes ask if they can have more of their work critiqued, if there’s time. They are often defensive about critiques, saying that “You’d understand if you read the rest of the book.”

Well, it is entirely possible that the critiques would change if everyone had read your whole book. Or they might not. A first chapter critique does at least tell you what an average reader will probably feel about the first chapter. That is, it’s designed to help you see your work from the viewpoint of those who are only ever going to see the first chapter, that is, editors and agents you are querying. If your first chapter isn’t good enough, they’re not going to read more. Of course, once you get a first chapter up to snuff, then you have to worry about the rest of the book.

Here’s the thing you’re forgetting. In a critique session, writers are always focused on themselves. It’s a huge mistake to think that this is actually where the most important information is going to come from. After your own work is critiqued, you will often feel emotionally drained. You may want to cry (I know I do). You may think briefly of giving up writing entirely or putting away your novel for a while and coming back to it with fresh ideas and a better attitude. You get hurt and those hurt feelings can get in the way of making your novel better. Sometimes what happens is that you get TOO MUCH critique and it can be so overwhelming that it isn’t useful at all.

On the other hand, when you sit quietly and listen to what other people are saying about someone else’s piece, you don’t have those defensive feelings at all. You can actually listen better that way. And it should not surprise you to discover that there is going to be a lot of crossover between what someone else is doing wrong and what you yourself are doing wrong in a particular piece. But instead of feeling like you’re getting everything you’re doing wrong at once, you will be able to see just a few things and you won’t have the emotional reaction of wanting to give up. Because, after all, you’re choosing to see your own work this way. No one is actually telling you something you’re not ready to hear. You’re telling yourself what you’re ready to hear.

When I sat down a few weeks ago and listened to a long 6-hour critique session of another author’s work, I actually learned so much about my own WIP that I was astonished. I am not at all sure that I could have learned as much if the 6 hours had been spent on my book, because of the defensiveness that I still have after all these years of writing. And it was all my own vision, so there’s no one to argue against.

If you’re someone who can’t afford to pay the expensive fees to get your own work critiqued by an editor or author you admire, think about trying to get into a critique session at a local conference where your work isn’t going to be critiqued. You can volunteer to be a gopher or get in for half if you just want to audit. And believe me, you will get a bargain. You’re going to learn a lot about your book, and it’s going to be what you tell yourself.