Why am I getting so much negative feedback?

[NathanTKenny]

SO I'VE been writing a novel for an awfully long time – I've honestly lost count of how long it's been – and so far, all I've received is negative criticism. That doesn't mean it's not constructive, but . . . really?? Is it truly that bad? I honestly can't help but get defensive. Because whenever I ask specifically what's wrong, it's usually something like "overdone" "too much detail" "bad pacing." But when I look and reread a thousand times, no matter what, I don't see where they're coming from in that it makes it bad. For example: "You're sentences are hard to read." But when I look at what they specifically pointed out, it's clear as day. And then I check with some others and they say it's clear too. Are people trying to find some stuff to criticise or is it existent?

Now, on Scribblehub I dont have the complete version, so there are what I would consider minor issues (typo here and there). But at the same time, even when I show people the completed version that has been revised countless times (4 drafts at this stage) they are still finding shabby sentence structure and not pointing it out. And sometimes they do and it ends up being perfectly fine in my eyes because I've read similar things in published books.

Other things I hear are "info dumps", but it's all relevant to what's going on in my opinion. It doesnt just pop out of nowhere. And then there are things like "not important to the plot". I can name 10 well-received novels that give unnecessary information to make things more immersive. "He ate eggs for breakfast" (NOT IMPORTANT YOU AMATEUR!!!) Not a quote btw. Just an example. It just makes things seem easy to fall into personally.

I'm really just questioning my ability at this stage because so many people hate my story. And I really can't see what the big deal is. Some people are hating on my story and end up giving incorrect grammar suggestions. Is that just hate then? Or am I just confusing?

I am susceptible to getting defensive as many other writers but I feel that a lot of what I'm hearing is unfair, since so many great published works do the same thing and are revered for it. And I'm not trying to mimic them, I just like the same as those writers do.

Are any of the above elements things that make my story bad?

 

[Deleted member 29316]

Let me check out your work in a bit.

Err...what work are you referring to? All of them have high ratings.

 

[NathanTKenny]

Let me check out your work in a bit.

Err...what work are you referring to? All of them have high ratings.

Amongst The Sky.
Feedback across multiple platforms sorry

 

[Deleted member 29316]

Now here's the thing

Amongst The Sky.
Feedback across multiple platforms sorry

I sampled your story, and it's fine with me. It's pretty quick to immerse myself in your world, and you did explain it well. I'm going to read more of it later, but so far, I've got no issues with it.

Now, as for the shabby sentences, I've read before that the simpler the sentence, the better. You don't need to be super-articulate with your words to get your image across. Just enough for the readers to understand it is good. Even my brother, who's a journalist, says it is so.

There' s a bit of info-dump, but it doesn't affect the story flow detrimentally. As I've said before, it's easy to immerse in your world.

Now then, what are my thoughts about this? As long as you reach your goals in storytelling, it's fine. Audiences have different preferences, and if you're going to listen to ALL of them, then you're going to lose your own style.

My suggestion is to find a trusted buddy or two who's into writing and who would discuss your work honestly with you. Only get the criticism that is in-line with your goals as an author.

Reading your work, I could say you're a good author.

 

[AkalE]

i checked in RR and SH. Among the sky has good (in not many) ratings.

And calm down, you've just started posting less than a week ago. You need a much longer time to attract readers.

I know we all want our writing to turn out amazing, but it's much healthier (and safer) to not consider the writing you put out as the next harry potter or sherlock holmes (or MoL, Worm or Everybody Loves Large Chests)
Keep your expectations low and try your best. If things don't go your way and you do get 1-starred, you expected it. And if you do get a lot of success amazing.

But just stick for a few months of writing. You can complain after that. Four to five days is too early to mop or get my sympathy.

 

[clover2218]

I've got my story out for over 2 months with barely any feedback, so trust me, any feedback at all is good news. Just be patient and don't complain, or you'll make poor guys like us jealous...

 

[NathanTKenny]

i checked in RR and SH. Among the sky has good (in not many) ratings.

And calm down, you've just started posting less than a week ago. You need a much longer time to attract readers.

I know we all want our writing to turn out amazing, but it's much healthier (and safer) to not consider the writing you put out as the next harry potter or sherlock holmes (or MoL, Worm or Everybody Loves Large Chests)
Keep your expectations low and try your best. If things don't go your way and you do get 1-starred, you expected it. And if you do get a lot of success amazing.

But just stick for a few months of writing. You can complain after that. Four to five days is too early to mop or get my sympathy.

The story has been around for a while. As in its been published on RR for months, but I've taken it down for revision. Either way dw I'm not talking about ratings; I was referring to feedback from readers on servers. Thank you for your input anyway!

 

[NathanTKenny]

Now here's the thing

I sampled your story, and it's fine with me. It's pretty quick to immerse myself in your world, and you did explain it well. I'm going to read more of it later, but so far, I've got no issues with it.

Now, as for the shabby sentences, I've read before that the simpler the sentence, the better. You don't need to be super-articulate with your words to get your image across. Just enough for the readers to understand it is good. Even my brother, who's a journalist, says it is so.

There' s a bit of info-dump, but it doesn't affect the story flow detrimentally. As I've said before, it's easy to immerse in your world.

Now then, what are my thoughts about this? As long as you reach your goals in storytelling, it's fine. Audiences have different preferences, and if you're going to listen to ALL of them, then you're going to lose your own style.

My suggestion is to find a trusted buddy or two who's into writing and who would discuss your work honestly with you. Only get the criticism that is in-line with your goals as an author.

Reading your work, I could say you're a good author.

Thank you so much!

 

[HJ]

Are people trying to find some stuff to criticise or is it existent?

You cannot please everybody.

I was referring to feedback from readers on servers.

If you can glean something from comments then pay attention to what they say. Drop your defensive shield. Step back from the author's perspective. Adopt a stranger's POV meaning be like a stranger reading the story. Immerse yourself in the story as a reader not as an author who is editing their work. It's when you adopt different perspective that you become more critical of the story you are reading.

I am susceptible to getting defensive as many other writers but I feel that a lot of what I'm hearing is unfair, since so many great published works do the same thing and are revered for it.

Well, if you think that you did great, then there is no need to listen to criticisms. It's your work anyways so you decide what you put in there. You just have to accept that any content released in public is guaranteed to receive mixed opinions be it from well intentioned readers or even readers who just love to nitpick everything but don't even offer a sound alternative.

Growing a thicker skin is useful for an author's peace of mind.

 

[NathanTKenny]

You cannot please everybody.



If you can glean something from comments then pay attention to what they say. Drop your defensive shield. Step back from the author's perspective. Adopt a stranger's POV meaning be like a stranger reading the story. Immerse yourself in the story as a reader not as an author who is editing their work. It's when you adopt different perspective that you become more critical of the story you are reading.



Well, if you think that you did great, then there is no need to listen to criticisms. It's your work anyways so you decide what you put in there. You just have to accept that any content released in public is guaranteed to receive mixed opinions be it from well intentioned readers or even readers who just love to nitpick everything but don't even offer a sound alternative.

Growing a thicker skin is useful for an author's peace of mind.

I 100% agree. I don't think it's great at all, just not as bad as they think it is. You just see so many books that are new and ongoing, barely just begun, and people are like "Best thing I've ever read". I don't mean just books with typos, ones with plot-holes and inconsistencies etc.. And then when someone who's spent so much time on polishing something decides to upload or ask for feedback: "Worst thing I've ever read." Obviously that's just an exaggerated example, and thick skin is pretty much the solution to it. Since we cannot please everyone, but at the same time I like a solid reason as to why they didn't like it (an author in the comment section of my book gave very good reasons as to why it wasn't for him), and when I hear things such as the aforementioned I find it difficult to swallow. Luckily an author explained to me the preferences on web-novels and whatnot. So I think I understand now.

Thanks for your input! :)