I receive a constant stream
of emails, private messages,
reviews,
telling me
what I did wrong and right
with every book.
One reader loves
that my cover is pink.
Another reader hates
that my cover pink.
Which opinion
should I listen to?
(In this case,
the answer is neither.
The cover was pink
because the proceeds
of the novel
was going towards
breast cancer research.)
I always evaluate
who is giving me advice
before I consider it.
Dorie Clark
has a great post
on when to ignore feedback.
(the entire post
is great)
“Everyone may have an opinion,
but that doesn’t mean it’s useful.
Just as, in the Internet era,
it’s easy to drown
in information overload
if you don’t meter your intake,
the same is true of feedback.
The best way to sort
the wheat from the chaff
is to decide in advance
who you respect,
and only choose to
listen to those people.”
Acknowledge all feedback.
It’s a sign that
the person cares.
Listen to feedback
from the people you respect.