Critics

You slave away for possibly years on a work that now has your blood and sweat in every page.  You sacrifice family time and maybe even work time because you can't control when you're inspired.  You finally finish re-reading for the 27th time to make sure you have edited everything correctly.  You manage to work with your publisher on a great looking cover, after ditching the first 30 ideas.  You have your book published and now for the first time in a long while you can smile because you feel like you accomplished something you can take pride in.  Sales even start strong which  means that you start working on the sequel right away.  All is right with the world until.....

You hear from your publisher or a friend that there is a Critic who printed a review on your book.  The word review can be foreboding in itself.  Review? Someone that reads books for a living has read your new masterpiece?  What could they possibly think?  

They obviously think that it is as wonderful as the many who have purchased it.  They must sing the praises of the perfect characterization and intriguing sub-plots!  They must rejoice at how masterfully you pieced together the continuity and graphic details of each and every locale!  Surely, they must be in awe of the fact that you did not overuse the dictionary to describe your setting!  Of course they are mesmerized by the twists and turns that they themselves never saw coming?  Nice try.

Instead, they hammer your overuse of the word, "literally"; dissect the weak plot line;  and they skewer your predictable ending.  Welcome to the world of criticism!

If you're shocked when you get your first real review it's probably because most of the people that have been telling you how wonderful your book is, are most likely your family and close friends.  Don't get me wrong, maybe your book is really good.  You have to remember that the major critics are in bed with certain publishers, just like most major movie critics are in bed with certain movie studios so  they are biased.  That's probably not the case with your critic.  Maybe he or she is just taking an unbiased look at your masterpiece.

Either way, you need to look at negative criticism with enthusiasm.  Yes, I said enthusiasm.  You have the opportunity to see your work through someone else's eyes.  Someone's eyes who aren't related to you, or who haven't known you for the past twenty years.  They are using what I like to call "Reader's Eyes".

"Reader's Eyes" means reading the book, as any other reader who doesn't know you would read it.  When you receive constructive criticism, make sure that you actually listen to the criticism.  Maybe someone has noticed something that can help you in the future. Here's the important part: You have to read the criticism the same way the critic read your work.   Don't read what isn't there.  Don't read too much into it that you lose the intended meaning.  Don't dismiss it because you think the critic is stupid.  If you reject any criticism then you might as well give up writing because it tells me that you don't want to learn and you think you know more than anyone reading your work.

I always ask for honest feedback because I want to know what each person thinks.  These people took the time to spend their hard earned money to buy something that will possibly give you a great career.  They are taking the time to read the book that took so much of your time.  They need to be heard.

So encourage everyone to give you feedback and let them know that whether they liked your book or not, you need to hear their thoughts so you can improve as a writer.  I will always do this, no matter how popular my writing becomes; I suggest you do the same.

Rumors and who you are as a writer.

When you are just starting out as a writer in any genre, you will tend to be a victim of rumors.  What I call a rumor is more like unproven gossip about the writing process and how to get published (or selling your screenplay, TV script, etc).

Hearsay is a major contributor to pushing a writer off of their chosen path, especially if you tend to believe someone close to you.  "Well BLAH BLAH told me that they got an agent through BLAH BLAH agency and..."  Or..."SO and SO said that BLAH BLAH Publishers is taking submissions and they know someone on the inside."  etc, etc, etc...Always do your own research to avoid looking stupid.  Some people that tell you these things may not even be in "the business" and may have heard something on Entertainment Tonight that sounded cool.

You have to take charge of your writing future as soon as you start writing.  First, you have to decide whether you are going to be what I call the "Parental Writer".  This writer will love their own work so much that their "babies" will be made exactly the way they want them to be made or they won't be made.  Please realize that Hollywood can live without you.  ALL SCRIPTS WILL BE CHANGED!  What you hand to your agent or whomever will eventually be changed.  If the story is good then the changes will keep the story intact for the most part.

This would be where you have to decide if you want to write for writing's sake, or if you want to have a career.  If you just want to be a writer who writes for the simple pleasure of it without the pressure of trying to get it sold then more power to you.  If you want to sell your script, book, etc. then be prepared to possibly inserting dancing girls in the background while the Baghdad Museum blows up.  Maybe it won't be as drastic as that but I talked with one screenwriter who wanted to be a successful Hollywood writer.  He wrote a non-fiction book about the 2003 Baghdad Museum thefts.   Hollywood optioned his book to be made into a movie but they wanted the museum to blow up at the end.  He didn't want his "baby" changed in any way.  FACT: Even if somehow your script miraculously makes it to the Director without little to no changes (not possible but it's fun to think about it), the Director will have the best vision of how it will look on screen and how to make it so.  Your script then will go through some major changes while still leaving the plot intact.  My philosophy is do whatever they want you to do to make your movie; meanwhile your gaining contacts and saving money to make your other babies the way you want to without throwing out an ego to people who are known to eat egos for breakfast.   This is mainly for scripts and screenplays.

Rumor: YOU MUST DECIDE NOW! No.  Never make a decision when you're upset or confused.  Make sure you have all of the facts.  There's this wonderful thing called the Internet...

Rumor: YOU HAVE TO PAY TO GET PUBLISHED OR FIND AN AGENT: The real agents work on commission and will put you through the ringer just to get their attention.  Anyone who says they will represent you for a small fee up front is lying and will cheat you.  I know a few people who paid $4000 to an unmentioned book publisher.  This is mentioned as a marketing fee but they don't edit the book the way they say they will and you can get the exact same job done with an online free publisher.  My suggestions is publish with amazon.com because it's free, you design the cover, you set the price for the book, and you can add it free to the Kindle market.  Did I mention it's free?

Rumor:  I NEED TO HIRE AN EDITOR, AND SCREENWRITER(TO TURN MY BOOK INTO A MOVIE), AND THIS AND THAT...  No.  Although I created Riehl Faith Productions to do all of these things for you at a fraction of the cost anywhere else (including filming), you can do it yourself.  Is it hard?  Hell yes!  Will it be a longer project? Yep Will you save a heck of a lot of money and establish great new contacts while learning about the "biz" first hand?  You bet!  

How do you think I'm where I'm at now?  All self taught!!!  Shameless plug alert! Riehl Faith Productions offers:
screenwriting TV script writing, novels, comedy writing, (let's just say all writing for any genre)
filming movies, editing, all pre and post production
marketing and fundraising and all aspects with making a movie

Now if you want my company to do it all for you then that's okay, buuuuuuuuuuuuut....
1.) Buy software like Movie Magic which has templates for screenplays, plays, TV scripts and more for about 200.00.  Play with it for awhile and then begin writing!
2.)Google your butt off about what some organizations are looking for when it comes to screenplays, etc.  You do not ever want to submit anything to anyone who doesn't want it.
3.) Make friends with people who have actually been there and done that.  Their advice can be invaluable.
4.) Apply for jobs at TV stations.  Even if they don't hire you, your information is where they can reach it.
If you need anymore advice please feel free to email me.  God Bless.