Fascinating. Couple things: all feedback is subjective, but as the author, certainly when you see a comment that resonates, you usually KNOW what they mean and what the fix is because you've wondered about that and now have a second confirming opinion. Do I take the time to fix that thing I was wondering about? Now you know. But also: I've read agents say that because it IS so subjective, you might end up "fixing" something that didn't need to be fixed, and that's why they usually don't provide any specific feedback when they pass. So. All you have is your instincts. Interesting view into the nuts and bolts of that platform - thanks, Garrett!
Totally, that makes sense to me why they’d not share specific feedback. With workshops in college it seemed way easier to look at feedback from the group and grant it a bit of a hierarchy (e.g. “my professor said this about it and they’re a pro while we are amateurs so I’ll give their opinion the most weight”) but once out of that environment I think the writer really has to do a combo of research and soul-searching to be able to decide what feedback to ignore and what feedback to implement / build-upon. There’s the scarcity of feedback, for example (in college workshops I’d get like 25 sets of eyes on a single piece; a very nice focus group, if you will, that’s just hard to come by when outside of it). There’s also the whole financial cost of something like WeScreenplay, where because you the writer paid for something you might expect what you get back to be something like a golden ticket (guilty of that on occasion).
And for me, it’s taken time and practice, and mistakes, to receive an opinion of a project and be like, “nah, not a fan of that,” and listen to MY taste instead.
Yes, and... ;) So I've been doing this volunteer editing, and I always try to give really specific reasons for all of my feedback, because it's as incumbent on the editor to not just say "ugh" but why ugh. Then at least the person can say, Oh, right, that makes sense, or Oh, right, I understand why you said that - you're wrong, but maybe I just need to change this one word, and it will all be that much clearer. Anyway, the less an editor provides that kind of feedback, the less weight it carries.
I LOVE the idea of turning this project, or a different one, into a podcast. There have been a couple fiction podcasts that have resonated with me fairly recently; it seems like a space where there’s still ample opportunity to experiment / explore. Thanks Claudia!
Fascinating. Couple things: all feedback is subjective, but as the author, certainly when you see a comment that resonates, you usually KNOW what they mean and what the fix is because you've wondered about that and now have a second confirming opinion. Do I take the time to fix that thing I was wondering about? Now you know. But also: I've read agents say that because it IS so subjective, you might end up "fixing" something that didn't need to be fixed, and that's why they usually don't provide any specific feedback when they pass. So. All you have is your instincts. Interesting view into the nuts and bolts of that platform - thanks, Garrett!
Totally, that makes sense to me why they’d not share specific feedback. With workshops in college it seemed way easier to look at feedback from the group and grant it a bit of a hierarchy (e.g. “my professor said this about it and they’re a pro while we are amateurs so I’ll give their opinion the most weight”) but once out of that environment I think the writer really has to do a combo of research and soul-searching to be able to decide what feedback to ignore and what feedback to implement / build-upon. There’s the scarcity of feedback, for example (in college workshops I’d get like 25 sets of eyes on a single piece; a very nice focus group, if you will, that’s just hard to come by when outside of it). There’s also the whole financial cost of something like WeScreenplay, where because you the writer paid for something you might expect what you get back to be something like a golden ticket (guilty of that on occasion).
And for me, it’s taken time and practice, and mistakes, to receive an opinion of a project and be like, “nah, not a fan of that,” and listen to MY taste instead.
Yes, and... ;) So I've been doing this volunteer editing, and I always try to give really specific reasons for all of my feedback, because it's as incumbent on the editor to not just say "ugh" but why ugh. Then at least the person can say, Oh, right, that makes sense, or Oh, right, I understand why you said that - you're wrong, but maybe I just need to change this one word, and it will all be that much clearer. Anyway, the less an editor provides that kind of feedback, the less weight it carries.
100%. The why is incredibly important from editor to writer and it's so great that you provide that, Troy. Truly.
How about turning it into a fiction podcast?
I LOVE the idea of turning this project, or a different one, into a podcast. There have been a couple fiction podcasts that have resonated with me fairly recently; it seems like a space where there’s still ample opportunity to experiment / explore. Thanks Claudia!