One of the most important skills you’ll learn as a writer is how to take constructive criticism.
Feedback is an instrumental part of improving your craft. Without it, you would continue writing in a proverbial closed room, evolving in ways that don’t truly address what might be missing in your work.
The problem is that constructive criticism is a bitter pill to swallow. The same sensitivity that allows you to create your art also leaves you vulnerable to destructive comments. These are notes that don’t improve your writing, but harm your confidence and leave you less willing to share future projects with the world.
In this article, I will share some avenues where you can find truly constructive criticism, offer a few tools for you to both give and receive feedback in these environments, and finally leave you with a Story Weapon on how to protect your spark without closing yourself off to more growth.
Constructive criticism is essential for improving your writing, but learning to receive and give it well is just as important. With the right mindset, you can grow without losing confidence or your creative spark.
Where to find beta readers and editors
“Beta reader” is an industry term for someone who offers initial feedback on a manuscript. They tend to notice things you, as the author, can no longer see clearly (having lived inside the story for months or even years).
If you don’t already have a good set of writing friends to send your work to, there are online marketplaces that can connect you with beta readers.
- Fiverr is a budget‑friendly option where you can hire readers to offer feedback on your book, either on the first few chapters or on the entire manuscript.
- Writerful Books offers more in‑depth manuscript assessments and editing services, typically at a higher price point.
Beta readers can also be found within your family and social group. This is a valid way to find readers, though the tradeoff is that the sensitivity shown by trusted friends may come at the cost of truly honest and unbiased feedback. Or vice versa, where brutally honest feedback might affect your relationship with that person.
If you’re looking for editors, you could try our own in-house editing services. Our editing team can offer a professional treatment of your manuscript — including a free, five‑page sample of edits for writers who are interested in working with our team.
How to receive feedback
Once you’ve found your beta reader or editor, you must learn to receive their constructive criticism with an open mind. As difficult as it was to write your story, it may be even harder to accept that it needs more work — especially if the feedback you receive is substantial.
Our first instinct when hearing constructive criticism is often to clench up, and shake our heads. When receiving feedback in person, the impulse is to start explaining, “Well, actually, the reason my character does this in that scene . . .” or “What that section is really getting at is . . .”
Remember that in your reader’s pure experience of the book, you will be nowhere in the room. The reader has to make sense of the story using only what is on the page. If a certain section is confusing, you won’t be there to explain what it means.
When working with a professional editor, it can be equally difficult to make constructive use of the “proofed galley” they return (in publishing, this is a copy of the manuscript that has been copy-edited and marked with corrections). It can be daunting to see just how many changes are suggested — but, depending on the editor, it can also be surprising, and exciting to read their notes.
It is, after all, a privilege to work with a good editor — and one which many writers never get to experience. It means that a professional is engaging with your work in an earnest attempt to make it even better. Once you get past the initial discomfort, you may even find joy in this new perspective, and in watching these improvements take shape on the page.
Throughout the process of receiving feedback, it is important to self‑regulate.
Notice when you need a deep breath, or an extended break. When working through the edited pages you’ve received, focus on each note rather than the whole stack at once. You wouldn’t have been able to finish your book if you didn’t already know how to take things one page at a time. Give yourself some space between your initial emotional reaction to feedback, and consider if the suggestions are indeed pointing to something that needs to change.
How to give feedback
One of the best places to receive critical feedback on your work is in a writers’ workshop. These are groups of writers who share pages from their work in exchange for comments. It can be a great way to receive feedback in real time, and to gain multiple perspectives on a piece in a single session.
However, the “price” of entry for most writers’ workshops is that you must also offer insight and attention to the work of others. Sometimes that’s as simple as saying what you enjoyed about their story. Other times, it means figuring out how to speak honestly about a piece that clearly needs more work than you feel comfortable pointing out in a group setting.
First, it’s important to know that writers’ groups generally have a specific culture of critique. They are not meant to be spaces where work gets “thrown to the wolves” and everyone takes turns tearing it apart.
Instead, they are (or should be) “safe spaces,” where writers can trust other members to be sensitive, conscientious, and not make their criticisms personal. Of course, every group is different, but wherever you find yourself, you can help cultivate that safety through your own comments.
Maybe a piece does need substantial rewrites. Maybe your honest opinion is that the writer should move on and write something new. There are many stages in the process of writing, and if you’ve encountered someone in an earlier stage, think of their work as a new garden. You can’t bring it to full growth in one season, so be gentle. Don’t flood them with notes, but water the parts you’d like to see grow, and gently point out the weeds.
Keep in mind that your job is not to directly fix their writing. The only way to truly improve as a writer is to practice, and the most helpful role you can play in that process is to encourage them to keep writing!
Your story weapon: Getting in the right mindset
Most writers know that constructive criticism can be uniquely painful. If you’ve done your work correctly, then a piece of your soul resides in the pages — which also leaves you vulnerable to gut‑punch comments, even when they are valid and well‑intentioned.
Whether you are giving or receiving feedback, one of the best things you can bring to the process is a sense of self‑awareness. Often, the writers who have the furthest yet to go are the ones who believe they’ve already arrived.
Being honest with yourself before you open your work up to critique can steel you against whatever notes you receive. If you can admit that your book needs work, you won’t have to endure the shock of hearing this from someone else, while still holding onto the idea that it’s already perfect.
At the same time, once you accept that your story has flaws and weaknesses (even if you aren’t sure yet what they are), you’re in a much better position to field comments that may not serve your book. Not all feedback is created equal, and many notes you receive can be rightfully discarded.
Personal growth and progress as a writer are often said to go hand in hand. Both giving and receiving constructive criticism requires empathy, humility, and a healthy amount of self‑awareness.
By learning to filter feedback without shutting it out, you position yourself for steady, sustainable growth over time. If you are ready to engage in a writing environment where thoughtful critique and consistent practice are central to the process, join my next Rewrite Master Class.
