It depends on the reader's knowledge and expertise.
Yes, I have always been able to take the good and look for good in other people statements
Yes a lot. I took several writing classes and work shopped the novel I am currently writing, and the critiques were a huge help to me.
Yes
Yes, readers have their pulse on the finger of your writings, it becomes alive to them or it dies.
Sometimes.
I crave reader feedback, even criticism. It lets me know I've struck a chord.
I intentionally set up a blog on myspace prior to writing my first book. I used this blog to post sections- sometimes a paragraph, sometimes a few lines - just to see what readers thought. I found this to be a great way to interact with my audience before offering a finished product.
Of course! But at times I remain stubborn and say that I will write as I will.
It helps me to know it's being read, which is important. Thoughtful feedback also helps me know what I'm doing right, what I'm doing wrong, and what people want from me. Really, the only feedback I dislike getting is nonspecific negative feedback--it tantalizes but it doesn't actually help me.
Yes, it does, though you have to know when to ignore it as well, or you end up changing everything and have an unrecognisable book. But if there are trends, it helps pinpoint those, and you know that enough people have found a particular bit confusing/boring/unnecessary or whatever, and it helps you improve your book. Then someone comes along and says, 'I absolutely loved such and such' and you think, 'Oh God, I've just changed that.' It can be confusing at times.
Absolutely! I can't imagine why the answer to this question would ever be "no." It is true that I may not take every suggestion and thought from my readers and put it into motion, but I do value opinions and desires and thoughts from others. It is important to have a sense of validation that what I am doing is getting where it needs to go and having the intended effect. Only readers can give that! It's also interesting to see what people may be thinking that I hadn't counted on, or that I hadn't seen or thought of myself. As a writer, I'm never going to see all of my mistakes or subliminal suggestions until someone points them out to me.
The feed-back of my writing partner help when I'm writing the novel. Oftentimes, I think I've shown something I haven't shown. Or a scene lacks heart, or the setting and description isn't quite right. So my writing partners help immensely.
When the book is published I'm always happy to hear that it as touched someone.
A few trusted readers - yes.
It depends. If it's a commercial venture, designed for a specific audience (for network television, for example, or a mainstream movie), feedback is desired. But you have to be thickskinned about it, and know what to use, and what to ignore. |
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