I just want to chime in briefly that if there are worries about getting in conflict with other fans, there are always pms. A lot of people use that to get in touch with me when they feel like maybe it might get lost in the thread.
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One thing I miss in the role of author is actually the ânegativeâ feedback. The âwhy I didnât like this WIPâ, âwhy I stopped reading after the first sceneâ, etc.
'Cause I found myself with a lot of insecurity about exactly that.
Is my writing too bland? Too short? Does people get turned off by the gender thing? Is the premise just not interesting?
Lots of unfocused anxiety, that wonât go away, because I donât know how to fix it, when I donât know how itâs broken.
And then I feel like a bloody hypocrite, because I do not provide that feedback either.
I read most WIPâs here, and when I donât like them for some reason, I donât post to tell the author so, because I donât feel comfortable that they will be okay with that.
Even when I enjoy a WIP, I mostly donât mention the negatives, unless I have a lot of positives to hide it amongst, or the author have been very clear they want it.
EDIT: Typos and bugs are easy to report, and generally neutral and objective.
But high level feedback? Thatâs much more subjective and intimidating.
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Ah, another personal thing:
I am regarded as very negative and biting. However, i tend to not relist what i like if it has been states before.
And if there is little i did like, iâll mention it, but i donât see a reason then to pretend there was more good stuff just to balance things.
Though with anxiety flaring up again i refrain from that now, though that leads to authors getting upset that no one told them
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I do mention the negatives thatâs my problem really. I canât be polite and say only the good because Market out there wonât sugarcoat anything. Apple stores ratings wont be politically correct. They will give you a rating in base a demo in most cases.
I think sincere here is what makes all better later. Now it could be fixed. The problem is I am the only one that thinks that way. I donât know when author wants SINCERE feedback or when want Ego feedback. People says Sincere feedback but normally doesnât mean sincere. It means ⌠all of you know what I mean. There should be a tag saying Mara feedback allowed lol. 
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Perhaps the brash tone put people off. It reminds me a lot of what was put in my performance report that I was too direct that I should put my thoughts in a mild way.
Sometimes, it is a culture thing. In my country, you shouldnât be too direct so if you noticed most of my post. It felt like I provide too much positive feedback. But most people say that you could provide feedback without being too blunt or too positive. Perhaps we should learn to balance them.
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I am from a family that does all contrary and from a culture famous for that. I try to be nicer. But for me is difficult be nicer and still donât feel like i am lying. I mean for me if I dont like X detail. I feel really bad if I donât say so. Because it is like lying the Author. Imagine if i donât say so game launches and Apple store TRASH the author for same I didnât say i didnât like it. I would feel bad and guilty. Because maybe author could have improved that point. Maybe I made the author lost money. Or a fan âŚ
I take give feedback very seriously. We are the helpers to author to launching the best possible game to have success and maybe do a career from that is not a game.
But something i should learn to balance. @Eiwynn @Eric_knight and several other people like @JimD have been patient and explain me how say or how NOT say stuff. For me is a process as i am stubborn as a mule and passionate. still I am getting the concept.
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I understand your point that you have to point it out bluntly in order to address the issue. It is difficult at times to convey your opinion, especially if English is your secondary language.
Also another issue as a non-English speaker is English comprehension. Even though I have been reading English materials ever since I was a child, I tend to misinterpret what the author is trying to say so asking for a clarification would help beneficially. So far, the authors I have interacted with were patient enough with some of us non-English readers and I hope future authors has patience for these as well.
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The thing I feel that many people donât understand about critique is that itâs a two-way street. In a perfect scenario, the person giving critique would be giving advice on ways that the story could be improved, with the awareness that their advice is subjective to their worldview and personal tastes, and the person receiving would acknowledge it, but may or may not use that advise as they see fit. What the writer does from that point is out of the the critiquerâs hands, for better or for worse.
In a perfect scenario, the person giving does so politely and does not only tear down on the weak points and the receiver acknowledges the advice and thanks them for it regardless of whether or not they decide to take it. And also, critique should be willing. If someone does not want critique, even if it would strongly improve their work, that should be respected and they should be left alone.
Not all types of feedback are critique and not all feedback may be welcome. âThe story feels weak in this part, it could be improved by so-an-soâ is critique. It points out what could be improved and provides one way (out of many) to do so.
âYou suckâ is not critique. âThis character is stupid and I want to kill themâ is not critique. âI donât like this, you should have done (unrelated plot or character point that has no basis in the canon and would take the story in an entirely different way)â is also not critique.
Unfortunately on the internet, all these types of criticism are very common. If you want a story completely different from the writerâs intent, youâre best off writing your own story and leaving the writer alone at that point, not trying to bend their will to please you.
No one wants having demands made to them. Maybe someone doesnât use a piece critique they get because they didnât feel like it or there was no place for it in the story. Thatâs fine (in a general sense). Maybe they do change their story, but in a way thatâs different from what the critique suggested. Maybe that just means that the feedback they got showed that their intent wasnât clear before, or maybe they just wanted to take a different direction entirely. Maybe they felt like the feedback they got was in a rude and/or condescending tone so they chose to not use it because of that. These are all valid responses to critique because, in the end, the writer is the one in charge of the story.
However, another type of feedback that isnât quite critique (in all cases) but is still valuable is that when an idea promoted in the story is pointed out as morally reprehensible in some way. It could range from being simply ignorant of it (which could easily be remedied) to being outright malicious in hate speech (which is less easy to deal with). Despite shockingly popular belief, someone saying that hate speech and violence is bad is not wrong or infringing on anyoneâs freedom of speech.
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I have to admit I rarely give story feedback because I tend to think this is how the author wants their story to be told.
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Iâd like to address this a bit, if I may -
Part of the publication process for HG titles is to gather feedback. If a title doesnât get enough feedback, then it may be in danger of being delayed for publication.
So, everyone contributing critique and feedback is providing a service to the author.
One of the reasons feedback is needed for HG authors is to tell them if their story is likely to sell.
Even if an author wants to tell their story in a way which does not work, they still might want to change the game so that it will sell.
Ultimately, it is the authorâs choice to act on feedback given - that is very true.
If that feedback is never given, then the author no longer has a choice.
Even if the author rejects your feedback (as is their right to do) you are still providing them a chance to make change. If you decline to provide that feedback then tat choice never opens up for them to accept or decline.
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Thank you for the sound advice. Perhaps I tend to be too much of a people pleaser that it will not help both parties in the long run.
Iâm going to crosspost my post in the other topic in case this helps or if people want to ask questions.
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I also want to touch on receiving constructive criticism. There has been a lot of productive commentary on how to give, but very little on how to receive.
It is really, really difficult to be told by someone that they didnât like x, y, or z, no matter how nicely they state it. Because this work is an extension of who you are, as a person. For all intents and purposes, it is your baby. You are creating it, molding it, and putting it out into the world.
The most productive way to accept criticism, especially if it hit a sore point for you, or youâre not used to hearing criticism, is to take a step back. Wait 2-3 hours before responding. Read through the points that the criticiser put forward, particularly if specific examples are given. Try to view the work not as the author, but as the audience.
Then, thank the person for their time and just tell them you appreciate the thought that went into their criticism. You donât have to tell them âyes, I am going to change this,â or âno, this is my work. Leave me alone.â Just say, âThank you. I will take your thoughts into consideration. I appreciate your time.â
Being careful about how you respond, especially if you donât like the criticism, or it hurts your feelings, is very key in keeping things from escalating. Trust me, I know from 14 years of experience posting my writing online. I have made some baaaad mistakes that ended up making me feel way worse.
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Very well put!
I would also add, that in my opinion, for me, something that also plays a role is that it is very important to know how to hold different opinions and to learn to disagree. I think this plays a role in both giving feedback, but also receiving it, and can make the whole exchange a lot more pleasant and helpful.
If a reader states their opinion about what doesnât work, even if the writer doesnât agree, and after careful consideration decides not to implement it, or if two readers have two different opinions, thatâs okay. This spreads into a wider issue, sure, that can be applied through the forum and throughout the internet, and just in general in life, but is also relevant for giving feedback and receiving feedback.
Someone having a different opinion than you does not always need to be debated with, and you donât always need the last word. You can each respectfully state your thoughts, and sure, you can have some discussion on it if you think itâs helpful, and as a writer you should carefully and as honestly as possible consider if theyâre right, but sometimes itâs best to just judge that the benefit of discussing the point has run itâs course, and thatâs okay to just end it there, respectfully and happily and with mutual respect.
Honestly if you apply mutual respect to the process, I think you go a long way in improving feedback: the way you give it and the way you receive it.
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sandwich critique
I know itâs a popular method of giving critique, but itâs so pervasive that it can often come across as disingenuous.
Positive: I liked that you put so much work into this! You tried your best!
Negative: Your grammar is unreadable. Every word is spelled wrong. None of the plot makes sense and all of your characters are unlikeable. My advice to you is to take up golfing instead.
Positive: You might make a good golfer! You never know until you try!
Obviously thatâs a bit extreme but it often feels like the two âniceâ things are just there as a way to soften the blow of the âmeanâ thing, which is the main crux of the critique anyway. The nice things arenât important, as it seems.
I mean most of the time the nice things arenât even related to the mean thing, which is a dead giveaway that they were just searching for something nice to say.
Positive: I like the ⌠uh ⌠use of ⌠alliteration ⌠in this particular part â
NEGATIVE: THIS ENTIRE SCENE IS PACED POORLY BECAUSE OF X, Y, AND Z
Positive: â and also this character had a really nice name?
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Well, I disagree a little bit on that front. While it may sometimes come across as disingenuous, it can be a lot better received. Iâve seen some people, in the past, come under attack for just putting the negatives in their comment, regardless of whether theyâd been singing the authorâs praises before.
Not to mention, it can be really hard to take, from the authorâs perspective. Hereâs this random person, seemingly nitpicking everything about your baby. In your mind, it can be like, âBruh, why even comment, if you hated it so much.â
So I, personally, like to say something along the lines of, âI really enjoyed the WIP so far! It has an engaging storyline, however sometimes it feels as though the main character is meant to be male, rather than female. A lot of masculine verbiage is used. Perhaps you could try to make it more gender-neutral or just gender-lock it to male. That said, I really did enjoy it, and I hope to see more in the future.â
I may not have gone as into detail about the positives as I did the negatives, but generally, a positive doesnât need further explanation. You already like it, so why tell the author to fix what ainât broke, right?
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Thatâs the two-edged sword: Do it like this, come under attack for mocking the author with false positives. donât do itâŚ
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I think the sandwich or oreo technique (wow Iâm getting hungry) is a good template for how you should formulate your feedback if youâre not used to giving feedback. For people who are experienced at giving constructive feedback, this technique may not be necessary, so really⌠to each their own! 
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Yeah, not to mention that all the other ways have their own drawbacks as well.
Having positive, then negative makes the post end on a down note and can be equally as disingenuous.
Having negative, then positive can seem patronizing.
Having positive sandwiched between negatives⌠thatâs just a tsundere. 
At least with a âI hope to see more in the futureâ at the end the author knows youâre somewhat invested â and that bit of cheering on can make all the difference.
The good, the bad, the WTF where you thinking?!
How about that?
im joking
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