Your editor
Your agent
A professional you have hired to help you.
Critique group members who get what you’re trying to do.
Yourself. Seriously, you are your own best/worst critic. Set a book aside for a while and then take a good, close look at it. Write your own notes. You’ll find a lot of what you need to hear is in your own heart.
And remember—once the book is finished, you can’t change it anymore. There’s not a lot of point to criticism then. A book isn’t a widget where customer feedback might help you make a better one in the future. I think too much of that kind of feedback is apt to make you think of your creativity as a customer service representative, and that’s not what I think creativity is for.
Who You Shouldn’t Take Criticism From
Random goodreads/amazon critiquers.
Your mother/father/family members (good or bad, really)
Non-professionals, even if they are readers
People who work in publishing but not in a genre that you are writing in
Anyone who hasn’t actually read your work.
Published on May 27, 2015 07:52