Everyone’s A Critic

“Rejection is not fatal.” – Author Unknown.

Well, that’s a relief. For a while there, it was touch and go.

Mr. Unknown sounds to me like he knew a thing or two about the life of a writer.

In my role as Editor-in-Chief, I proudly consider myself a professional nit-pick. Since I manage a team of writers that I work with on regular basis, I have a sincere commitment their professional growth. So, if I find myself correcting the same errors repeatedly, I pick up the phone and call them. This is a painful conversation (mostly for me) especially if the error we’re discussing is a particularly elementary one:

“You see…um…it’s just…this darn plural versus possessive thing…it just keeps popping up…you sure love those apostrophes!”

My writers are amazing though. They hold my hand through the process, soothing my nerves and offering me comfort. They listen to me stumble awkwardly through my Strunk and White justifications, and when I finally come up for air, they assure me that their feelings are not hurt; they’re professionals and I’m only doing my job. In fact, they even say, “Thank you.”

That’s the spirit of a professional writer: to calmly acknowledge honest criticism with gratitude and humility; to listen and not get defensive or demoralized. A true writer’s spirit is unbreakable, no matter what the criticism.

A writer must understand that everyone is a critic. While some criticism will be constructive, coming from people you respect whose opinions you value, that won’t always be the case. Let me repeat: everyone is a critic – even those who have no business critiquing your work. In fact, those folks will often be the loudest and most persistent.

A professional writer takes this in stride. They don’t feel the need to argue and they don’t let it get them down. They don’t let every persnickety comment shake their foundation. Instead, they listen for any nuggets of potential gold and simply discard the rest.

So, what do you say to those finicky folks, whose opinions you couldn’t care less about? A simple “thank you” will do. Take the criticism for what it’s worth, which sometimes isn’t much. But always keep your ears open. You never know when those golden nuggets of wisdom will appear.