This Monday, under my Reviewstack section, I’ll share the editing notes I provided for a short story by
at Short not Sweet. You can read the original story here:
On Sunday, she’ll make the next two drafts available, and Monday morning, I’ll publish my notes.
This editing pass is a little different than the ones I’ve done before. Haley is a genre writer from South Africa, and the original story had already been published on her Substack. I reached out to her and asked if she’d be interested in my editing notes, guiding her through a couple more drafts of the story, and that’s where this is different. In the past, I’ve offered my feedback, and that was it. This time, that feedback came in stages with Haley going back to work on the story each time.
God bless her. That took a lot of patience for a story that was supposed to be finished. It also took bravery, both because such a process can be painful but also because there’s no guarantee that my opinions would help improve the story. For me, that’s the bonus of this approach of offering feedback only in cases where I feel so inspired and believe that I have something to add. I come into this already certain I could help.
I’ve shared my opinion on editorial and writing advice in the past. Some people are gifted and skilled editorial artists, and the man I’ve called “Substack’s Editor” is one of them. He and I may no longer be friends, but talent is talent.
The problem I have with most editorial feedback probably doesn’t apply to any of you, but you know people it does apply to. Some writers give bad writing advice, and they love telling everyone what to do. It’s one of the reasons I don’t support the idea of publicly giving advice on people’s fiction without consent.
Substack authors see the efforts being made to support other writers and think its masturbatory; the better use of our efforts, they say, would be to tell writers where their work could improve.
No matter what ideas we get from Notes, Substack isn’t just writers writing for writers. If we flood stories with unsolicited advice, that writer’s readers will see that, and they don’t know enough to understand when advice is warranted and good and when it’s not. I don’t see that being helpful.
Even if the advice is wonderful, it’s not always appropriate in that space.
So, do I think I’m an exception to the rule? No. I’m not offering unsolicited advice in a writer’s comments. Nor do I come to this believing I’m the answer to Substack’s problem.
I see a story with issues I believe I can address, and I offer to do so, if the author is interested. I ask to do it publicly (in my Substack not theirs) to make my time spent worthwhile, and that’s an option for anyone who’d like to do this. Offering thoughts privately is also a good option.
Check out Short not Sweet, and if editing notes interest you, watch for Monday’s post.
—Thaddeus Thomas
Excellent. Fair and respectful. Criticism is, foremost, subjective and depends on the writer's intent, especially on public forums. Well said.
Thanks Thaddeus, I am looking forward to it.