How Do You Like Your Feedback?

[anthrodisiac]

Feedback! We love it, and sometimes hate it. Over the years, I've noticed people have pretty distinct preferences for what type of feedback they get: how honest it is, how direct, how specific, varying ratios of praise/critique, what have you. There's also varying degrees of how well people take feedback, and critiques in particular.

So, pretty simple question, how do you like your feedback?

Bonus question: How do you like to give feedback?

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Feedback! We love it, and sometimes hate it. Over the years, I've noticed people have pretty distinct preferences for what type of feedback they get: how honest it is, how direct, how specific, varying ratios of praise/critique, what have you. There's also varying degrees of how well people take feedback, and critiques in particular.

So, pretty simple question, how do you like your feedback?

Bonus question: How do you like to give feedback?

This ties into a recent comment that I made on another of your posts in a different thread.

I prefer feedback on a whole body of work. When I used to publish in chapters, I would get annoyed at commenters who tended to "jump ahead" with the assessment of the plot or characters based upon only what they had read so far. That feedback was worthless because it didn't really apply to the story in its whole. It was like a food critic panning the appetizer without yet knowing how that part of the meal complimented the entree. A realization once reached, frequently proved them wishing to delete their previous opinion. Now, if they want to finish the story and then state that "it started out slow", or something similar, I could appreciate that feedback.

I am the same as a reader. I seldom comment (only on specific inconsistencies notice, etc.), and never vote on individual chapters of a story. I review the whole body of work and provide feedback on that alone.

 

[Omenainen]

I love honest feedback. Praise is worthless if I can’t trust people to tell me what sucks. This could be a cultural thing, us Finns are mostly of the type of “if you don’t want my opinion then don’t ask, because if you do, I will tell you,” or then just a personal quality, I can’t tell.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I like getting it. I get about a comment a week, or less if I haven't published anything recently. Preferably something that proves they read the piece.

AO3 only has about 10% of the views or less compared to Lit, but a much higher proportion of engagement.

 

[StrentWriter]

So, pretty simple question, how do you like your feedback?

Honest feedback is good. I am in a bit of my novel at the minute where I know what’s going to happen but no one else does, and they are actively angry at the main character, so the feedback is very intense at the minute.

I do draw the line at abuse though, which I have had a couple of times - those comments I decided to delete this morning.

Bonus question: How do you like to give feedback?

Yes, every time, but it has to be constructive, fair and evidenced.

 

[TheLobster]

So, pretty simple question, how do you like your feedback?

Shaken, not stirred.