- Sharing your work with others can be really helpful, but it can also be dangerous. I want to share with you two things I've learned to watch out for when it comes to feedback. The first thing I want you to be wary of is lazy feedback. Lazy feedback is super common. It's feedback from someone who feels they need to give you feedback, or knows they do because you expect it, and so they give you their opinion even though they didn't read very carefully or even at all. 

Here's how to spot it. The more generic the feedback, the more likely that it's lazy feedback. If someone says show, don't tell, you may wonder if they really read your chapter that carefully, or if they did it while they were watching TV. This is another reason I don't like go-to sayings like this. I think they're often fill-ins for actual constructive feedback. 

Another kind of lazy feedback is feedback that isn't lazy because people didn't read carefully, but because they're not articulating their point specifically. I don't like this character, is lazy feedback. I don't know why this story, why now, is another example. The irony is that these are the kind of statements that can spin you, the writer, into existential crisis. 

But listen, if you get sweeping feedback that you don't know what to do with, very likely it's not you, it's them. Respond to feedback that resonates with you, that makes you think I see what you mean and I can do something about that. Otherwise, say thank you and move on. Because, again, people's feedback is often as much about them and what they want you to think of them as it is about your work. 

Finally, please don't rewrite your entire draft based on what one person says. That is a very small sample size. And when it comes to literature, everything is subjective. Everyone I know loves Game of Thrones. I don't love Game of Thrones. Isn't it good that the writers of the show didn't ask me to read their pilot and then cancel it based on my reaction? 

If one reader tells you she doesn't understand page 8, maybe take a look at page 8, but don't necessarily take her opinion as gospel. If five readers tell you they don't understand page 8, looks like you may need to rework page 8. 

Ultimately, remember that this is your story. Don't hand over so much power to your doubts that you start to let others rewrite it for you. Listen to people's feedback, but keep it at a healthy distance and analyze it critically before you use it to chop up your work. 

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