Writers Need To Parse Criticism Carefully Before Making Changes

When your whole job is making sure you have a happy audience, it's important to keep an eye out for criticism. I've said more than once that if you create something, and people don't like it, that doesn't mean the audience doesn't "get" what you were doing as a creator; they're the ones who have the final say in whether or not you are successful. Talent, vision, a large platform, a big marketing budget, all those things can help, but at the end of the day the question is whether or not this thing you made pleased your audience.

But there is a flip side to that coin. Because there's going to be criticism of your work no matter what you choose to make... the question is whether the people and quarters the criticism is coming from matters, and if it should require you to change course or not.

Original comic by Phillip M. Jackson

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If They Aren't Part of Your Audience, Who Cares?

I talked about this back in my post Cancel Culture is Not a Thing, but I wanted to reiterate it this week for all the authors who are feeling skittish here. You cannot please everyone. Period. You could write the most heartfelt romance with absolutely soul-clenching drama, and there are going to be people who hate it. They might not be fans of the genre, or they think it's too bombastic, or they feel there's no substance; whatever it is, there will be people who hate your work. You cannot avoid that.

And that is not the kind of criticism you should be worrying about. At all. Why? Because the people who are making these complaints aren't part of your audience. There is nothing you can do to please them, so it's pointless to try to do so because (as the comic above proves) you're more likely to alienate your current audience than you are to win over a new one.

Your complaint has been noted. Now piss off.

Imagine for a moment that you ran a burger restaurant, and someone came in off the street to complain about your menu. You didn't offer pasta, or your vegetarian options were lacking, or you didn't have a smoothie machine, and they're mad about it... what difference does that make to you? Are they an existing customer of yours? Have they been loyally supporting your operation, and they're simply making a request about something they'd like to see you offer in the future? Or are they someone who doesn't actually patronize your establishment who is loudly complaining that you aren't catering to them, even though they aren't actually part of your demographic?

Because if we're looking at the former, those are people you might want to listen to. They're already interested in what you're making, and they'd like to see more of it, but they also want you to take their wants into consideration for future expansion. If we're talking about the latter, though, who cares what they want? Especially if the things they're demanding aren't part of your service, and it isn't something they're going to support, they're just blowing wind.

Consider Who You're Trying To Please

Too many of us just assume that if people are criticizing us that we must be doing something wrong, and we need to fix it before we do damage to our reputations and careers. And that might be true... or you might just have blowhards screaming at you because they're mad they aren't the center of your universe.

And sometimes, if you listen very carefully, the criticism you're getting can actually tell you if you're going in the right direction.

The guy with the Confederate battle flag in his profile is upset? Good.

Give you an example. When I was working on my 100 Kinfolk Project for Werewolf: The Apocalypse I had all sorts of less-than-desirable folks slinging negative criticism my way. I had people who were upset that neo-Nazi characters were only present in the villain book, and not available as "edgy" allies for heroic characters. I had people throwing hissy fits that I "overrepresented" gay and trans characters in the project (something I addressed in A Response To The "Flaw" in My Kinfolk Project for those who are curious). However, given that the whole purpose of the project was to be more inclusive of the sorts of people usually ignored by the game's material, and to make it clear that we were no longer playing in the 90s, these were basically people who were mad I'd baked a chocolate cake. They didn't want chocolate, they wanted vanilla, and they didn't want to share it with anyone else.

If you get my drift.

Should I change the content I'm putting out to make those people happy? No. If they don't like it, or they think it isn't white or straight enough for them, I don't really care. If my work upsets somebody because now they can't play a neo-Nazi without everyone calling them out for it, good, I helped in a small way. But if someone who was part of a marginalized group reached out to me and told me I'd messed something up, or used hurtful language? If someone wanted to correct a mistake I'd made regarding a tribal identity for an indigenous character? Now that I would listen to, because that is literally the audience I'm aiming for, and the purpose the work was supposed to fulfill. So if I can't make my intended audience happy (or if they appreciate the effort, but feel I should fix problematic aspects) then that is something that is definitely a problem that needs corrected.

So keep that in mind when your work is being criticized. Are the people pointing out factual errors that should be fixed to make the work stronger? Are they trying to be helpful, or telling you what they want to see more of when you come out with your next piece? Or are they just screaming at you because you aren't catering specifically to them, and they're mad about it?

Consider the source, and if what they want is something you want to serve with your work, before taking out the red pen.

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That's all for this week's Craft of Writing! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my cat noir novel Marked Territory, its sequel Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, or my most recent short story collection The Rejects!

 

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Don't Worry, Cancel Culture Is Not a Thing

Over the past year and change I have heard a lot of creators wring their hands about so-called "cancel culture" and the effects it could have on them and their careers. Generally speaking, though, cancel culture exists only in the way that writer's block exists... it's a term we've come to accept as real, but the thing it describes is not what you think it is.

And if you're willing to put in the time, the energy, and the creativity to understand and circumvent the issues in the industry, neither of them will hold you back.

So take a deep breath, and screw your heads back on for a second.

People Don't Owe You Anything

The idea of cancel culture, as I understand it, is that when a public figure says or does something that people find problematic, hurtful, or otherwise objectionable, people who disagree with what was said or done withdraw their support for that person. Like, for example, when an author of a beloved young adult series keeps making anti-trans comments, so her fan base makes it a point to stop buying her merch, cease reading her books, and to move their support to other authors who write stories they like, but who don't come with baggage.

In other words, "cancel culture" is just the free market at work. You need to keep the mob happy if you expect them to cheer for you.

Win the crowd, win your royalties.

Your work does not exist in some vague nether realm, apart from the things you do and the stuff you say. It is your product, and if you do something that upsets your fan base, they are under no obligation to keep reading your books, buying your stuff, or coming to your events. It is your job to make them happy. So the onus is on you to be what your audience wants, not on them to be understanding of your situation and to be forgiving of your mistakes.

Another thing that I think gets lost in the conversation about this is that you are never going to be able to please everyone. Sooner or later if you have any success at all, you're going to end up disappointing or angering someone. What you need to do is stop and ask if you're doing it for the right reasons, and to make your thoughts and positions clear for those deciding whether or not to support you.

Respond Thoughtfully For Best Results

As an example, let's go back to Rowling's work. She was often criticized for her depictions of strict gender roles, relatively few characters who weren't white (even fewer of whom were important in the series), and almost no female characters with agency. Those criticisms didn't stop her from selling millions of books, nor did it stop her fan base from growing, but there is also no denying it's a blind spot in her series.

How you respond to that criticism can make a big difference in how you're perceived.

Once that is pointed out, you could say something like, "That is a valid point, and one that did not occur to me while writing this series. Now that I have fleshed out the world somewhat, and I have been made aware that this is something my readers care about, I will keep it in mind going forward." That might be something of a milk toast answer with no specifics attached to it, but if you back it up by writing a more diverse cast in the future, you'll prove to your fans that you're listening to them, and that you are trying to make them happy.

What you don't do is argue that it's your book, and you can write it however you want. You don't angrily tell your readers to go read someone else if they don't like your book. And most importantly, you don't belittle them for the willingness to criticize. None of that helps you. Listen to the criticism, determine if it is viable, and then once you've thought about it consider if you need to take action on it.

If the criticism is valid, address it. If there's a way you can keep your audience happy without sacrificing your artistic vision, then it can only help you to do it. You're not obligated to bend with the whims of the market, but you gain nothing by pissing off the people who buy your books, and pay your bills.

And if you don't want your income to be impacted by your political views, then keep them to yourself. Because we didn't "cancel" Orson Scott Card just because he said some things we disagree with. Readers stopped supporting him because his platform allowed him to undermine gay rights, and he actively gave money to organizations that tried to remove protections for LGBTQ+ people. Huge swaths of people refuse to eat at Chick-Fil-A for the same reason. They don't want to be party to that.

But How Are You Supposed To Learn?

I've seen this criticism several times. That if you just yank away your support, how are creators supposed to recognize they made a mistake, and do better?

Well, I'm not an economics expert, but generally when the actions you take negatively impact your income, you figure out pretty damn fast what you did wrong, and that maybe you should stop doing it if the impact is big enough.

Looks like you need a little motivation.

Generally speaking, "cancel culture" refers to people who have an audience, and a platform. If you want them to listen to your criticisms, and take you seriously, you defund them. Because that makes it clear there are real repercussions for the actions they've taken, things they've said, etc., and that they need to adapt if they want to keep your support. And if it's a hill the creator is willing to die on, then readers who disagree will part ways with them.

It is not the job of your customers to educate you, or to make you a better person. It is your job to give them a product they want, and to make sure they don't have to question where their money is going once they hand it over. And, generally speaking, it's not all that hard to do. Write a good story, pay attention to problematic tropes, and try to be on the right side of history.

Contrary to popular belief, if people like a thing you've made, they will not just shit can you the instant you say something offensive, or release something with a problematic description. People will bend over backwards to help the creators they like. So stop clutching your pearls, and worrying about someone "canceling" you because you didn't present exactly the right blend of diversity in your sci-fi novel, or because you had a villain use a slur because you wanted to make it clear they were the bad guy.

If you want people to cancel you, generally speaking, you have to try. Especially if you're making something they really want to enjoy.

Edit: "But What About Organized Mobs!?"

So, this has gotten more conversation than I expected, and a constant point people keep bringing up are, "What about mobs of organized people who try to take down your work and ruin your career? Doesn't that prove that cancel culture exists?"

Not really, and for a very important reason. By the definition we're using, you actually have to support something before you try to take away your support. Nine times out of ten when you see organized groups of people trying to ban something, they're not fans of that thing who were disappointed by a creator. Those Internet hate mobs who tried to drive Anita Sarkesian off the Internet weren't fans who disagreed with the direction her work had taken; they were enraged trolls who didn't want to hear a woman's opinion on their precious video games. Those angry mothers who tried to ban Grand Theft Auto years ago weren't huge supporters of Rock Star who wanted their voices heard; they just wanted the company to suffer. And so on, and so forth.

The behavior of groups of people attempting to ban media or behavior they don't like is not new. We've seen it with rap music in the 90s, and heavy metal in the 80s. We saw it when Christian activists targeted tabletop roleplaying games, and when advocates for sobriety got Prohibition passed. That's not a new phenomenon, and acting like it's this weird force that was birthed from the Internet is disingenuous at best.

And I would also put forth that there's no such thing as bad publicity. Because if a bunch of people who aren't patronizing your platform are upset by what you're doing, well, who cares? They have no bargaining power (in a financial sense, anyway, people can and will do awful shit, and GamerGate is a perfect example of unfettered, horrible behavior) because they can't support you even less than they are already. And if they make enough noise, they might draw people who will support you.

Like, Follow, and Stay Tuned!

That's all for this week's Business of Writing! If you'd like to see more of my work, take a look at my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife as well as my recent collection The Rejects!

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!