The Equally Lost Art of Receiving Notes

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Since I started writing these bi-weekly articles, the reader responses have been pouring in. (remember, no fact-checking) Like this one from Alphonse Realreader, who writes, “Do people find it hard to take you seriously as a written content specialist because of your undeniable good looks?”

Well, A. Realreader, that’s an excellent question, it’s one I get quite often. I have to say, it is shameful how our society so easily stereotypes and dismisses the impossibly handsome. And while I could go on about this topic ad nauseum, I would instead prefer to turn my attention to another completely real and not at all made up reader question which asks, “You wrote about tips for giving notes on creative feedback. Do you have any tips for writers and content creators on receiving creative notes? Signed Rhéal-Guy Francois”

I’m so glad you raised this, Real Guy, er I mean Rhéal-Guy. I’ve long believed that one of the hardest parts of being a writer is learning how to take creative notes and feedback. I have seen more than a few professional writing careers stall because of a complete inability to process feedback and turn it into a stronger next draft.

The biggest challenge lies in determining what notes to take and which ones to discard. If you ignore everything, you’re not going to have a long career in a collaborative creative environment such as client work. But if you accept and make changes based on every single note you receive, you’ll lose your own voice, and the piece will be a creative disaster.

Consider the following two cases from Hollywood:

?When?The Walking Dead?was being pitched to various networks, NBC wanted to put it on the air with one caveat – they wanted to make it a procedural where lawman Rick Grimes solves a Zombie-related crime each week. Any fan of the show knows that the executive who wanted to take this path needs to “look at the flowers.”?(Don’t scoff, that is a solid 2014 reference)

Then there is the well-documented saga of M Night Shamalan’s Lady In Water, where the executives at Disney begged him to make changes to clarify the story because they were afraid the script he wanted to shoot would confuse and disappoint audiences. He stuck to his guns and the result was a creative and box office disaster that practically drove him out of Hollywood completely.

When it comes to processing notes, the dilemma for corporate writers is no different. How do you know if they are NBC Walking Dead idiotic suggestions or Disney Lady in Water lifelines? This question has tormented content creators since the first time a Neanderthal looked at a cave wall and said, “I’m liking the Woolly Mammoth motif, but is there a way we can skew to a younger demographic?”

There are no easy answers to filtering and processing feedback however, here are some things to consider that can help you with this difficult task.

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Tip #1 – Be of open mind and heart

Receiving feedback on your writing can be difficult for everyone, no matter how long you’ve been doing it or at what level. It is very natural for any writer not to want to hear a critique on something they have poured their heart and soul into. But sadly, opting out is not an option. You will receive feedback throughout your corporate writing career, and you need to approach the process with an open heart and mind.

What do I mean by ‘open mind and heart’? Primarily, I mean do not give in to your first instinct, which will be to adopt a defensive posture and reject any critical feedback out of hand.? Your subconscious will seek to protect your ego by dismissing the notes as misguided and not worthy of your attention.

This would be a mistake. My experience is that if someone bumps up against something in the written content, there is an issue there, even if they can’t articulate it properly. Look beyond the text of the comment to try to best determine what raised a flag in the first place.

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Tip #2 – Consider the source

There will be times when you receive bad notes—notes that, if implemented, will make the piece considerably worse. So, how can you tell good notes from bad ones? Start with who sent the notes.

Work long enough in a corporate environment, and you’ll find that you receive feedback from people whose primary responsibility is to provide feedback. They aren’t so concerned with making the piece better as with making sure they put their stamp on it so their superiors can see they weighed in.

This is why I suggest you develop a close network of people whose opinion you trust so you can use them as a second opinion. I can’t count the times I’ve flipped notes on a piece to a trusted co-worker and said, ‘Am I crazy, or is this going to ruin the entire thing?” Often, they would confirm my first instinct but as part of the conversation, we would usually come up with a solution that spoke to the note without doing any structural harm to the piece.

?I can’t stress it enough – find people whose voice you trust. They will be a lifeline when you most need it.

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Tip #3 – Give yourself a cooling-off period

This one is for when you receive a particularly harsh set of notes. I think any writer who receives extremely critical feedback will go from ?? to ?? almost immediately.

?I had to learn the hard way the best technique for processing difficult notes. I had a feature film project in development with a national funding agency, and we were getting notes on our application package. The notes were not very positive and pointed out many structural and thematic holes in the project. So, I reacted like any other professional would—I hit the roof.

?I showed colleagues the notes and went through them one by one pointing out how the reader completely missed the point and was bringing their own personal agenda to their evaluation. I couldn’t believe how off the mark a so-called professional reader could be.

?Jump ahead a week. I decided to give the notes one more look-over just so I could once again revel in how right I was. Except, upon a second read, something strange was happening. As I read them, I started thinking things like, “Well, I guess they have a point there,” and “Yeah, I suppose I hadn’t considered that.” I read them yet again a month later, and after an even longer cooling-off period, I could see the merit in what was being said.

Here’s the valuable lesson I learned from that experience: notes that incite anger have some merit. If they were truly off the mark, we wouldn’t care. But when confronted with notes that contain inconvenient truths, we writers protect ourselves by using anger to shield us from those truths.

My best advice is to not react immediately when you are faced with notes that turn your anger meter to 11. Give yourself as much time as your deadline schedule will allow you to get some distance and return to the notes after a cooling-off period. You’ll be able to see what you could not in the moment.

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Those are my thoughts on handling notes on your writing. I’m curious to hear your thoughts and experiences. What is the best note-receiving advice you’ve ever received in your professional career?

If you have any questions that you’d like me to address, please feel free to send them along. No pressure, though. I mean, it’s not like I have to make up fake questions from non-existent readers. (softly whistles while averting eye contact)