Meggin’s Current Articles

5 Tips to Move Past the Fear So You Can Get Feedback on Your Writing

6th April, 2010 - Posted by Meggin - No Comments

Do you ever worry about sharing your writing with others?

Trade papers. You remember hearing that phrase in school, don’t you? “Alright children, trade papers.” You knew you were going to be grading or reading someone else’s paper and that child would be reading and grading yours. Find a partner who is also writing and see if she/he would be willing to trade papers with you.

Hire someone to read your writing (so then when they do and give you feedback, they are just doing their job). You can find people locally, nationally, or internationally who makes a living reading, editing, revising, and responding to others’ writing. If you are PAYING the person for feedback, then you will get feedback and that’s what you want. A paid editor is dispassionate about the writing – and about you. You will get the kind of suggestions and tips that will help you improve and there are no interpersonal issues mixed in.

Have a trusted person to share with – who you know will still think you’re wonderful even if your writing stinks. Think of a friend, a special colleague, or someone from graduate school who thinks you are just the “bees knees,” as one of my former colleagues would say. This is a person that whether you write well or not (or whether you write at all) still thinks you are fabulous. Ask this person to read and respond to your writing – honestly.

Have someone read who has a vested interest in whether you succeed. It could be a business partner, an advisor in graduate school, your boss, or a family member. Choose someone who wants you to succeed and it will have an impact on him/her if you do (or not). Folks like this will strive to give you the most helpful feedback possible because it matters to them if you get your work published or not.

Ask yourself, what is the worst thing that can happen? I am here to tell you that I’m living proof that you can get negative feedback on a piece of writing and survive to tell about it (and write about it). You won’t die from negative feedback.

Writers, by the nature of the work, are “putting themselves out there.” It is incredibly scary as any author will attest. However, if we never put our writing (and ourselves) “out there,” then we might as well just write on scraps of paper and then tear it up. Be brave and choose one of the five ideas shared in this article. You and your writing will be better for it.

And for weekly sets of writing tips like these, you’re invited to join others around the globe who subscribe (free) to the Top Ten Productivity Tips for Writers:

** http://TopTenProductivityTipsforWriters.com

(c) 2010 Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D. | The Ph.D. of Productivity(tm)