How to Get Qualified and Personalized Feedback On Your Writing

Many writers dream of writing a complete novel, but don’t know how. They either don’t know where to start or they get feedback from the wrong people. Barbara Pattee, unfortunately, has had her share of feedback horror stories. 

For as long as she can remember, Barbara felt compelled to express herself through her writing. Despite her love for writing, however, Barbara’s experience with receiving the wrong kind of feedback not only held her back from achieving her dream of finishing her novel, but also kept her writing stymied.   

One professor, a professional writer herself, read one of Barbara’s stories and drowned her in a torrent of negative criticism. Her classmates, however, told her they loved her story. These mixed messages were frustrating and confusing; Barbara was at a loss.

With no clear direction and no helpful feedback on her writing, she felt like she would never get to publish her novel. 

All of these changed when Barbara started reading Storytelling for Pantsers: How to Write and Revise Your Novel Without an Outline. She was so inspired by my book that she got on a call with me. After we talked about her future writing goals, I invited Barbara to join the Writing Gym and she accepted my invitation. 

Barbara could immediately feel the immense support from our writing professionals and her fellow writers in the Writing Gym. 

During one of the early salons, where our writers can get together to create short pieces, Barbara wrote a new story that involved slavery–similar to the one her college professor had treated with disdain. As she shared it with our other writers, she braced herself for another barrage of negative feedback.

I thought, ‘Am I going to get slammed again?’ But I wasn’t. I was encouraged, and that was beautiful. There’s no negativity. I really do love the salons because I get feedback on what other writers hear in my story. Some things I may not think are that important wind up being extremely important. That encourages me as a writer.

Now, Barbara has access to a supportive group of writers and to qualified feedback personally tailored to her writing and to the way her individual brain works. She has finally started to win against her inner critic, which has been integral to maximizing her storytelling potential. 

She has also added more emotion, something she was taught to hold back, to her stories. Her writing is thriving in the Writing Gym. Winning honorable mention in The WritersWeekly 24-Hour Short Story Contest is just one of the testaments to how far she has come.

Barbara has made her choice; she wants a writing career, and she is putting in the work to get there. 

About joining the Writing Gym-it’s really about deciding how serious you are. How much do you want to be a writer? Is it a hobby, or is it something you want as a career?

If you made your choice, like Barbara, to become a serious writer and you are willing to put in the work, then book a call with our team. We would love to help you reach your writing and publishing dreams.