Critics...We All Need Them!

“Everyone’s a critic” I’m sure you’ve heard this phrase multiple times in your life. And if you’re an artist, you probably say that every time you get a negative comment about your work.

Well, I’m going to tell you a truth that is probably not a popular belief. Artists NEED critics!

Let me give you a recent example from my writing. I was working with an avid reader who I initially wanted to be an editor. To make a long story short, it didn’t work out. My writing wasn’t her genre and she missed a lot of concepts that I was trying to convey to the reader. But she turned out to be a phenomenal beta reader.

She pointed out several “pet” phrases and words I used that I never noticed before. And she found description areas I needed to work on that even my regular beta readers never picked up on before. It was certainly an eyeopener and I made sure to keep note of these things for my future writing. Now, the question is, will I keep sending my work to be read by this individual, probably not as my “out-of-this-world” concepts are a bit hard to understand for her. But I certainly appreciated the help she gave me.

Critics are not bad in general. Yes, you’ll get those people who just want to see you fail. Sadly, that’s a thing in this day and age. But there are those critics you’ll meet that genuinely want to help you and will point out areas you need to work on in your art!

So, if this story resonates with you and that one critic comes to mind, don’t dismiss them like I initially wanted to do with this one. They might find something that will improve your work!