How to Give Effective Writing Feedback

It is impossible to write a good book alone.

Writing can feel like a solitary act that you must struggle through, hunched over at your computer desk, without any support. This is not only far from the truth, but it’s dangerous! Getting outside eyes on your work is critical to ensuring that the story you want to tell is translating to the page the way you intend it to.

Of course, if we want to get feedback on our work, we need to be willing and ready to return the favor by giving feedback to others. This can feel intimidating. Writing and editing are separate skills, but they’re both useful. Giving feedback to others will improve your craft skills and show you how to edit your own work. Often it leads to deep, life-changing friendships!

Whether you’re a beta reader, critique partner, an editor, or anywhere in between, the following tips will help you deliver feedback that is useful and impactful to your fellow writers (and maybe yourself as well).

#1—Be specific.

Imagine your friend just asked you to read through a draft of a scene they’ve been struggling with and they want to know what you thought. Here are two examples of feedback you might share:

Example 1: “The scene feels kind of flat to me.”

Example 2: “I think you’re missing agency in this scene. I am not seeing your character make a choice or pursue a goal.”

Which example of feedback is most helpful? The second, for sure. But why? Because it’s specific, which means it’s actionable.

Feedback that lacks specificity doesn’t help or teach writers anything. A writer can’t take action from general feedback like “this section needs some work” or “this part is awesome.” Writers need to know exactly why something went wrong or right. In order to make your feedback more specific, explain the ‘why’ behind your opinion, and if possible offer clear examples to back it up.

#2—Give positive feedback.

This seems like a given, but you’d be surprised how focused people become on giving negative feedback (also called constructive criticism). When someone asks us for our opinion, and we truly want to help them get better, we usually default to all the ways we think that should happen. This can result in more constructive criticism than positive feedback which can not only be discouraging but also not representative of the writer’s actual work.

Focusing on someone’s strengths can be much more effective for encouraging improvement. In fact, positive feedback is critical for learning. By focusing on what the author has done well and reinforcing those strengths, you ensure that they continue to embrace their strengths.

Just don’t forget: be specific with what the author is doing well and why! Knowing that someone loves something about a story or scene isn’t useful to the writer unless they can replicate it, which they can’t do if they don’t know why it’s working.

#3—Be a good listener.

Feedback should be an ongoing and open conversation. It’s your job to listen carefully to the author’s needs, justifications, and thought processes. Ultimately, the book is their work. You should always ask clarifying questions to get to the heart of what they are trying to do, especially with something that you think needs to be revised.

You are there to help, but your feedback should contain suggestions, not prescriptions. Always listen with the intent to understand, rather than the intent to respond or be “right.” You can best support them by helping them achieve their vision, rather than pushing your vision for the story onto them. Recognize that you are helping the writer serve their story, and check your ego at the door.

#4—Avoid the shit sandwich.

One of the most counterproductive pieces of feedback advice I see is the “shit sandwich.” If you haven’t heard of it, it’s the idea to provide your negative feedback (constructive criticism) sandwiched between two pieces of positive feedback. Here’s an example:

You did great on that dialogue between your main character and love interest! The characters lacked agency so they came off as a little weak and unrelatable. But I really loved the descriptions!

Personally, I see the shit sandwich used when there is important constructive criticism to give, but the person does not have confidence delivering it. The sandwich is often used as a cop-out to avoid specificity and the positive pieces are usually afterthoughts simply to cushion the “bad news.” This thinking is backwards.

Instead, focus on tip #1. Feedback is meant to be specific and direct, because our purpose is to help each other get better. If your feedback is specific, don’t shy away from it. Trust that the writer wants to hear your honest opinion (see tip #5). Of course, per tip #2, you want to give positive feedback, but the writer deserves to hear what’s working in their story as it is relevant and important, rather than just thrown together to soften the blow of something critical.

#5—Assume positive intent.

Giving specific feedback requires courage and vulnerability. Just as it is hard to share your work with others, it is also so difficult to be honest and direct with our feedback because we don’t want to hurt another writer’s feelings. However, approaching feedback with the ‘assume positive intent’ mindset is crucial to overcoming those hesitations.

“Assuming positive intent” means that you assume the person you are giving feedback to (or the person giving you feedback) has the best intentions at heart. I wrote about assuming positive intent in our post about receiving feedback, but it’s still just as important in giving feedback because it gives you confidence to be honest and direct.

When you assume positive intent, you believe that the other writer wants to hear what you have to say and that they are open to your feedback. You believe that they will be receptive because they, too, want to improve. Even though you cannot control another person’s feelings or gut reactions, you believe that they will appreciate and respect what you have to say just as you respect their willingness to open up themselves to feedback. Feedback can be a transformative conversation, and it all starts and ends with assuming positive intent.