As a writer, I deal with criticism
and harsh feedback
every dang day
from just about everyone
(including partners
like editors).
I’m accustomed to it.
On Thursday,
however,
a well known writer
posted publicly
on Facebook
about how much
she hated the ending in one of my books.
Hey, that happens.
I sent her a private message
apologizing for upsetting her
and explaining why that ending was necessary.
We talked through it.
She didn’t remove her post.
And hundreds of people chimed in,
sharing how much they hated writers
who did what I did,
giving their bullsh*t theories on
why I wrote what I did,
ranging from being a money grabber
to a hack trying to make a name for herself.
Criticism built upon criticism,
becoming more and more personal,
more and more mean,
until there was no way I could defend myself.
It was a dog pile.
They had jumped on top of me,
beating me down,
not giving me a chance to breathe.
This was a step farther
than group criticism
but group criticism
(which has become popular in some organizations)
can feel the same way.
It might seem efficient
to have multiple people critique an employee
at the same time
but I doubt that it is as effective.
Criticize one-on-one,
not in a group.