Getting Published - 4. Giving Feedback

This is the counterpart to my post on Receiving Feedback. You’ve been asked - either as part of a writing group or by a writer friend - to give feedback on their piece of writing. Giving feedback to writers is fraught with dangers. “Be honest,” they say. But writers are notoriously sensitive - how honest should you be?

I think the key is all in how you give your feedback. Depending on how you put it, you can be pretty honest. (Unless, you sense that, honestly, your friend really just wants praise and you would rather not give them the truth for the sake of your friendship. And that’s a judgement call I have to leave to you.)

All things being equal, the “Sandwich” technique usually works well. You sandwich the more challenging apsect of the feedback between two good bits.

1. The first good bit. What did you enjoy? Which aspects were well-written? What phrasing did you like? Be specific. It gives the writer a specific reference they can go back to to see where their strengths are.

2. The challenging bit. What could be improved? What were you not clear about? Which sentence could read better? Again, be specific so the writer can compare specific weaker passages with the stronger passages you pointed out in the first good bit.

If there are a number of points you might make, choose the one that needs the most improvement. Leave the others for now. It can be better for the writer to work on one concrete thing sensibly than to try to fix too many things at once, especially if they are new at this game. You can always help them with the other issues in the next feedback session.

Try to use neutral or objective phrasing. Compare “That really sucked” with “Perhaps you could give us more of a sense of Jim’s reasons for acting in that way” …

Ask: what was the writer trying to achieve in that passage/ chapter/ book? Sometimes what we intend to portray doesn’t quite come out and it can be useful to be told that by an objective voice - at least, I find it useful.

3. The second good bit. Overall, what were the strengths? What resonated with you? Which passages will stay with you?

Sum up in a positive light.

But, at the end of the day, be warned. The writer is likely to obsess over the challenging bit and find it difficult to absorb and retain the two good bits. (Or is that just me?!)

What are your experiences of giving or receiving feedback? Are you part of a writing circle? Do you and your writer friends help each other out by reading each other’s work? Do you have a different technique from the Sandwich? I’d love to hear from you - and I’m sure the other writers reading Fusion View would, too - so please do add a comment.