Getting Feedback

Getting feedback on your writing is crucial to improving your craft, and understanding when your work is ready for publication. While getting opinions from people is easy, getting strategic, valuable and useful feedback can be trickier. 

Of course, it’s important to be familiar and confident in your work before you seek feedback. Understand what it is that you’re trying to do with your piece of writing, and what you’re trying to say. Not every work will resonate with every reader, and feedback is an inherently biased exercise. There are unique elements to every writer’s voice, and there will be people who have opinions that may conflict with your personal goals—while it is good to consider all feedback, it is also important to know when to discard it, or when to seek input from a professional in the writing and publishing industry, or from an expert in your genre.

Writing Classes and Courses

Writing courses and workshops are a great way to meet people who are excited about your kind of writing. Workshops give you tangible and actionable steps to improve your craft, and can also include getting comments on your work from the tutor or from other people in the class. If you are taking a course with the explicit purpose of receiving feedback, it is important to choose relevant courses run by reputable organisations and with experienced presenters. Contact the organisation ahead of booking to get an understanding of whether feedback can be expected.

Formal courses or degrees are also an option, but they can be a big investment. You do not need a degree in creative writing to be a writer. Research the specific university and staff before committing, and determine whether you will get more value out of on-campus study or online study. Such courses can be an excellent way to grow your writing networks.

Writing Groups

Writing groups are a great way to get feedback and are usually free. Check out our resource sheet on ACT writing communities, including ones for specific genres and forms of writing. It is okay to try several groups before committing to one—it’s important to feel comfortable with the group you have found. As well as receiving feedback on your own work, you will likely be expected to give other writers critique on their work. Be kind, honest and open, and admit your biases. Feedback is about being constructive and building other writers up.

There are many online writing critique forums where you can meet writing friends or find critique partners, or websites such as Writers Bloc where you can get online feedback in exchange for feedback on other people’s writing. These are great and accessible options for emerging writers, but make sure you engage with other people and give as much as you take.

Manuscript Assessments and Mentorships

If you have money to invest in your writing, a professional manuscript assessment can provide industry-lens feedback on your writing. Full or partial manuscript assessments involve sending your writing (or a select amount of your writing) to a successful industry professional, such as a writer or editor, and receiving a written report and/or verbal consultation with feedback on plot, structure, character, theme, voice, setting, marketability, and other important elements of your manuscript. MARION can connect members with a range of professional services and will always try to match you with a professional in your genre.

Mentorships are another option, where you build a relationship with a successful industry professional to receive industry advice on your writing and career. You will often meet either face-to-face, over the phone, or via video chat, and they will read portions of your work. This can involve intense workshopping of a manuscript over time. MARION can also connect you with mentorship through a professional in your genre.If these options are out of your price range, consider applying for a grant or for an opportunity such as the Australian Society of Author’s annual subsidised mentorship program for writers and illustrators.

Other Opportunities

There may be a range of opportunities available for you, your specific genre and your target market. For example, Voiceworks is a magazine which provides editorial feedback to every piece submitted by a writer under 25. If you are a poet or write short pieces, you may like to read at an open mic night. Canberra has many poetry nights every month, and many emerging writers festivals have reading nights that are open to writers of all levels. If you apply for an opportunity or submit to a publisher and are rejected, you may also be able to reach out for feedback. You can usually send a polite email thanking the person for their time and requesting any relevant feedback, as long as they have not specifically requested that you don’t reach out for follow-up. You may not always get a response, but it usually doesn’t hurt to reach out.