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Biggest Mistakes New Writers Make #4: Resisting Feedback

Posted on June 29, 2012 | 33 comments

Do you resist feedback. Are ya sure? Come on, now… Let’s be honest with ourselves, shall we?

At a recent NJ Author’s talk on “Getting Published” the authors (Listed and linked below) discussed the biggest mistakes they think new writers make.

***Don’t be resistant to feedback***

Danielle Ackley McPhail (Author of the Literary Handyman, and Editor of Bad Ass Fairies) commented during this discussion (see the other posts if you are just tuning in) that “you can’t be resistant to feedback”. She said if you resist what editors say, and you seem resistant in general, they might not come back to you. She said to recognize your role in the relationship. If you won’t budge, then you won’t move forward. (And we all want that second book deal, right?)

For those of you who are not lucky enough to have publishers or editors yet, the same can be said about your beta readers. If you have them listen to them. You might not always agree, but if more than one person thinks something is weak, and you think it’s great, you need to consider that you might be looking at your work with blind eyes. Take a deep breath, and LISTEN. Be open minded. Put your guard down, and you just might be surprised by what happens.