Handling (Writing) Criticism

Photo: Canva

In the fall of 2020, I entered Gray Horse at Oak Lane Stable, Book 2 in the middle grade horse series, into the Midwest Independent Publishers Association annual Midwest Book Award contest. I placed the novel in the Young Adult Fiction category, which really should have been placed in the Children’s Fiction category due to the age of my intended reader. It was my mistake for not paying better attention to their guidelines. I sent off the novel in September, but had to wait until April, 2021 when the finalists would be notified. Then, I had to wait until the final winners were announced in June, 2021.

In April, 2021, I received an email notification that Gray Horse had been chosen as a Finalist for their book award. I was delighted that my novel had received the recognition and next prepared for the online Zoom award ceremony in June. When the Young Adult Fiction category winner was announced on the awards night and it went to another author, I felt disappointed but still honored to have had Gray Horse win a Silver Medal Finalist badge for its cover. After the awards night, I was emailed the 3 judges’ remarks and their points given for Gray Horse’s entry. I was not prepared for what I was about to read.

I opened the document and read through the first two of the three judges comments, both stating that Gray Horse should have been entered into the Children’s Fiction category, not the Young Adult Fiction category. They thought it was better suited for a younger reader and not a teenager. But both judges gave strong marks on the five categories used to judge the books. Judge three, however, did not.

In fact, judge three wrote horrible, scathing remarks about the novel. Things like, “No teenager would read this,” “I got so tired of all of that horse terminology I lost interest in reading the book,” “No one talks like this.” (meaning some of the slang words used briefly), “The story could have had more going on,” “The only good thing about this book is its cover - I guess.” Gray Horse barely received 5 points out of a perfect 50, and only because this judge actually had to do his/her job, which he/she also grumbled about having to do.

I was shocked - and deeply wounded. So much so, even though I was halfway through writing Dark Horse (Book 3), I stopped working on the novel (or any writing) for 6 weeks. Six. Whole. Weeks.

Now, I am a seasoned writer/artist. I have had years of practice dealing with constructive, artistic criticism at both Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design when I was as a design student and when I was an English graduate student at Mount Mary University , but there is still something to be said about the sting of cruel criticism that takes time to process, even by those of us with years of experience.

I remember avoiding my laptop for those six weeks, finding anything else to do other than writing. Since it was summer, I am sure I spent a good portion of my time pulling weeds and gardening rather than returning to finish my novel-in-progress. I assumed since Gray Horse was flagged as the worst middle grade novel ever written, why should I bother writing another one? I was feeling sorry for myself and being too stubborn to do anything about it. I needed time alone to heal.

Photo: Canva

I walked along our country roads for solitude, and thinking. I would pass by a neighbor’s farm, where her three horses would greet me and hope I had carrots to share with them. This neighbor is also a huge fan of the book series, and this neighbor was waiting for Dark Horse (Book 3) to arrive. I could not let her down. She was the motivating factor in getting the book completed. I seriously thought about finishing the manuscript, printing up a copy and giving it only to her. Why share it with the world if it would be criticized? But I finally made up my mind to go home and get back to work.

Before I started back on the novel-in-progress, I pulled out the scathing judge’s notes and went over them again, this time stepping back and determining if there were any nuggets of truth I needed to pay attention to instead of writing them off as hurtful nonsense. What could I learn from his/her remarks? As it turned out, plenty.

Instead of picking up where I had abandoned the in-progress novel, I went back to the beginning and searched for slang terms or any other words that seemed clumsy or out of place. I also asked myself could the story be stronger, and how would I change things to make it better? What needed to go, and what needed to be added? I looked at the work with fresh eyes. I seldom do a major edit on a novel until I have the first draft down, but cleaning up the chapters before I had finished it made a difference in how the story changed, then flowed onto the page. The novel came together in ways I had not anticipated. Dark Horse at Oak Lane Stable (book 3) was published May 1st, 2022. The book was dedicated to my horsey neighbor, who was so excited when she read it in the book’s beginning. Dark Horse (Book 3) tied for First Place for Middle Grade Fiction in the 2022 Purple Dragonfly Book Award, and I am waiting to find out if the novel is a Finalist in the 2023 Midwest Book Awards and made the 2023 Eric Hoffer Award Short List.

Recently, I have had the opportunity to edit and revise Gray Horse’s manuscript in preparation for some changes that are ahead for me. After going through the first editing pass, I realized that I deserved the harsh criticism from the judge. The novel needed cleaning up - I removed over 5,000 words, but did not change the actual story line. I cannot be hard on myself, since I wrote the novel over 4 years ago. I was at a different place in my writing. And I will be at a different place again in another 4 years - we are always evolving, changing.

Our first instinct when our work is being criticized is to lash out at the “offender” and move off to lick our wounds, be angry, instead of stepping back to see what we can learn from someone else’s comments. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but it’s what you do with that opinion that counts. Are you going to be a professional, or are you going to sulk (like I did) and waste precious creative time? We only get so much in this lifetime. Use it wisely.