America Untold:
Forgotten heroes, Forgotten Stories
Scarlet Ingstad
Christian, Independent Author, Historian
Christian, Independent Author, Historian
Today's blog post is a bit different. After witnessing some pretty crazy feedback on other historians' work (and on some of my recent work as well), I started doing some thinking on the topic of feedback and criticism--which sparked this post. If you're dealing with negative responses to your work and feeling pretty down about it, I hope this helps.
What do we do when we get some pretty terrible reviews? How do we differentiate between good criticism and poor criticism? How do we respond to both? And, finally, how do we in turn become better critics ourselves? Here are my (rambling) thoughts: The Bad Review We've all had it happen. You create a product, whether its a book, article, artwork, etc. and receive feedback that throws you for a loop. What you thought was some of your best work has suddenly, unexpectedly, been torn apart by another person. It doesn't matter how used to receiving criticism you are, we all have to admit those words sink in deep and they hurt in one way or another. You could receive dozens of fabulous emails or reviews and then that one comes in that just hits you the wrong way. So how do we deal with this? Because we certainly cannot prevent these criticisms and, if you're putting any sort of content into the world, criticism is 100% inevitable. Here are some things I've learned from my own experience and advice I've received from mentors in various fields: Consider the Source. Who is it that is criticizing you? Is it a fellow expert in the field or practice? If the answer is automatically no, or the critic is anonymous, remember that this individual is critiquing something they likely know very little about---or at least considerably less than you know. After all, chances are you're probably well-versed in your product or subject matter. These reviews shouldn't be taken with a grain of salt, they should be taken with an entire block of it. Maybe even a mountain. Or better yet, these reviews can typically be completely disregarded. But what happens if the critic is a colleague, or a fellow expert in what you've produced? Let's dig into that a bit. To start, just because the person also creates similar content does not automatically make them an authoritative voice. Or, if they are genuine, respected expert, remember they CAN still be wrong too. Also, how did they choose to deliver their review? Did they bash your work on the internet in an open forum so that others can see? I'll be very honest with you all---the moment an "expert" does this, I question their motives. Do they actually care about helping you or bettering the field if they're essentially calling for a public shaming? Even if they are right, this behavior says a lot about them as a person. However, if the expert contacts you privately, such as through an email or private message, perhaps they are truly wanting to better the field or your own work. These are the critics to pay attention to. These are the people who truly care and are not looking for self-glorification. Now, how do we mitigate the automatic negative feelings that these criticisms create? Like I said, even if you are fairly familiar with being criticized, we are all at risk of having words genuinely hurt us. We all work hard to create our content. We spend days, weeks, months, even years perfecting our writing, art, creativity, study, research, and more. When someone steps on that, it hurts. It makes us angry. It reverberates in our brains until sometimes we start thinking maybe they're right and our work isn't so great. We compare ourselves to others, start questioning our legitimacy, and maybe even face the temptation to stop creating. Here are a few ways to break out of those darker thoughts: 1) Reach out to a trusted mentor, colleagues, or friends: Sometimes venting is the most cathartic thing when we get bad reviews. I love reaching out to a couple historians I trust and telling them the crazy takes I get on my posts or books. Sometimes just saying what you are feeling out-loud to a sympathetic party who has been there and completely understand what you are feeling helps so much. These contacts can also help us put the review into context, and help us move beyond that initial sting. 2) Read back over the positive feedback: Chances are, you probably received quite a bit of positive responses to your work before you got that nasty one. Go back over those reviews and remind yourself that while some people may not have appreciated what you put together, plenty of others did. It is easy to forget the GOOD feedback we get when we get ourselves wrapped up in the ugly comments. 3) You can't make everyone happy: No matter how good you are at what you create, you will ALWAYS have a critic. Funny example: within a 24 hour period I was "accused" of being a conservative and then a liberal as criticisms of one of my articles. See what I mean when I say you literally cannot win? People will read into your work whatever they want to read into it. They bring their own worldviews into what you present and make assumptions based on their personal beliefs, current mood, and they way they read or viewed the tone of your work. We cannot control how others CHOOSE to perceive us. That's another good thing to keep in the back of your mind when you read those less-than-helpful reviews. The Good Review Now let's move away from those "bad" reviews into what I call the GOOD reviews, or constructive reviews. I briefly touched on this at the beginning of the post. If we determine that the critic is an expert, they have genuinely reached out and presented problems they perceive in your product, then we have to approach this criticism differently. It still stings. Any review containing corrections or calling us out for something we messed up on stings, regardless of intent. This is where we have to do the hard part of switching gears, taking a deep breath, and accepting that we are NOT perfect and that sometimes correction is needed. Here are some things that have helped me with the good critiques: 1) Read the review in its entirety then walk away. You don't have to respond right away. I struggle with this because I go straight into "defend" mode and want to explain why I said what I said. Instead, the smart thing to do is to take a breath, make a snack, take a walk, or simply close your computer for a few minutes. Let the initial frustrated feelings run their course. 2) Go back to the review and read it again, paying attention to the most important parts. Pick out the main criticism(s) and highlight them. Then go back to your product and read back through it with these corrections in mind. Maybe do some additional research to see if the critic is indeed correct. 3) Write up your response without worrying about editing. Just get your thoughts out and respond to the various elements they picked out. It's best to do this all at once and just put it on the paper. Then, walk away again. 4) Share the response with a trusted friend or mentor. Let them check the tone before you send it. You don't want to accidentally burn bridges if you're still heated or defensive in your response. Trust me--this is a struggle for me. I am very grateful for colleagues and mentors who help me frame my responses so they are professional and not--well--the latter. Becoming the Critic Finally, let's talk about what to do when WE are the ones providing the feedback. For the purposes of this post, I'm going to focus on our responses to something we see in passing as opposed to a professional, paid review. This means an article, or a book, or even artwork we see that evokes a negative response. If we are the expert in the field, or we know for a fact the information being presented is inappropriate or incorrect, there are a few things to keep in mind: 1) Remember what it felt like the times you've received negative feedback: this is important. We cannot forget that awful feeling of receiving criticism. Remember the person you are about to critique is going to likely feel a very similar way. 2) Write out your response to their product, then walk away from it: Just like before when we respond to negative feedback, we also need to pause before we submit our critique, especially if the product evoked a VERY negative emotion in us. Walking away from the write-up and coming back a little while later can help us mitigate our initial emotional reaction. Many times I have re-read an email before I sent it and thought "Oh that would have been awful if I sent it in that tone!" Also, like before, consider sharing your feedback with a trusted friend or colleague before sending it out. 3) Consider the mode of feedback: try to avoid the public correction method if the feedback is negative. This isn't to hide the fact you disagree or dislike the product, but rather to be respectful of the creator. When we correct someone in public (i.e. social media) then we come off as arrogant, self-serving, and we encourage cyberbullying. I get it. It's very hard to not do this, especially for something that sets us off. I've been guilty of doing this myself and have since made an active effort to avoid repeating it. It's not worth it. Hurting people or shaming them is almost always a terrible idea for so many reasons. Don't damage your own reputation--I have seen VERY popular historians do this and it immediately changed the way I viewed them as a professional. We don't want to lose our audience by indulging in self-righteous behavior. Additionally, when we correct someone in private messages, as we discussed in the earlier section, we demonstrate not only our own competence and maturity, but we also demonstrate that we honestly care about the field and the person putting the content into the world. None of us are above criticism, but we should all be above the pettiness and tearing each other to pieces in a vain effort to prove how "intelligent" we are. 4) Content of the feedback: Make sure if you're correcting something that is wrong, you do cite sources. Simply stating "that was incorrect" is not constructive feedback. Like I said, we want to be taken seriously and we want to help the fields of study we care so much about. Final Thoughts This blog post was in no way comprehensive. There are many other ways to deal with criticism, both receiving and giving. These are just some thoughts I had rattling around the past couple weeks after receiving weird feedback, and witnessing several historians and artists I follow also get some interesting criticisms. Furthermore, take it easy on yourself. The holiday season doesn't bring out the best in everybody so chances are feedback is especially chaotic right now. Remind yourself that your work matters, and that those who dislike it are not your whole audience. Plenty of people love what you do and what you do matters. Be willing to take breaks when you need to. I am currently on a break from writing my historical fiction books based on the American Revolution era. I write American Revolution content for work and run the Friends of Mount Vernon Book Club, but aside from that I am stepping back. That world seems to be getting more and more toxic (sadly) as time goes on. It's okay to step away and take care of yourself or explore other fields of study. Heck I'm over here reading about the Persian Empire and working on a novella about that time period! For those who can't 100% escape your creations because they are part of your work duties, try and take more time for yourself. Go on hikes, hang out more with friends, do what helps you clear your mind. We cannot create our best content when our brains are all muddled with negativity. Finally, PLEASE SEND ME YOUR CONTENT!!! Especially if you are in the history or self-published worlds. I would love to promote your work! Send me an email at [email protected] or on twitter @Scarlet_Writes. Thanks as always for reading! - Scarlet
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Scarlet Ingstad
I am an independent author and historian seeking to uplift the stories of the lesser-known heroes and heroines of the American Revolution, alongside modern-day heroes and heroines who have served in the U.S. military and continue their service through their historical work. Archives
March 2022
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