Advanced Wordsmith
Has anyone else had trouble with showing a friend a draft of their story to get an opinion and have them change things in your manuscript?
Find your next favourite story now
Login
manuscripts
last reply
12 replies
4.5k views
0 watchers
0 likes
Active Ink Slinger
Why did you ask them to read it if you didn't want any input? Did you tell them "Read Only"? Are their changes beneficial? You should have your own hard copy, so any changes truly made are made by you.
I recommend a second reader, sometimes a third. We can be blind to our own flaws. But, it should be by someone you respect as a writer.
I recommend a second reader, sometimes a third. We can be blind to our own flaws. But, it should be by someone you respect as a writer.
Please Read My Latest Story (Click on the Banner):
Advanced Wordsmith
I have asked her if she liked what I had done or if it seemed right because I haven't written anything like this before and I wanted her opinion on what she thought of it. Yes I did tell her it is "Read Only" and she still changed things and I have told her before that she can't make changes to my story as it puts me off. No the changes weren't beneficial and I prefer to keep all my copies in electronic form because then I can control a lot easier who sees it and it wasn't that I didn't appreciate her opinion but I would have preferred her to tell me what she thought was wrong instead of just changing things in my manuscript without telling me. She changed the length of a couple of my sentences and added things where they shouldn't be. It would have been different if she had told me what was wrong so that I could do it instead of just changing things I wouldn't of minded it so much.
Active Ink Slinger
Quote by nekala20
I have asked her if she liked what I had done or if it seemed right because I haven't written anything like this before and I wanted her opinion on what she thought of it. Yes I did tell her it is "Read Only" and she still changed things and I have told her before that she can't make changes to my story as it puts me off. No the changes weren't beneficial and I prefer to keep all my copies in electronic form because then I can control a lot easier who sees it and it wasn't that I didn't appreciate her opinion but I would have preferred her to tell me what she thought was wrong instead of just changing things in my manuscript without telling me. She changed the length of a couple of my sentences and added things where they shouldn't be. It would have been different if she had told me what was wrong so that I could do it instead of just changing things I wouldn't of minded it so much.
Did you want the person to just say yes I liked it or no I did not like it; or did you want them to make constructive criticisms?
If you want more than just a yes or no, then making changes is the most practical means of doing it.
It seems that you want them to recommend changes that you might make, but you do not want them to make them. It would be easy for you to go back and fix any changes they made back to the original form.
I understand that feeling. My writing is like my baby, I do not want anyone touching it, but I realized a long time ago that if I wanted the help, I had to let them play with my baby.
ABG made some great points too. A second pair of eyes is always a good idea. If you want advise from an outstanding writer, she is the one to listen to. She is one of the best.
You can't get there from here, because when you get there you're still here and here is now there.
Advanced Wordsmith
I don't mind the constructive criticism however I have asked her to tell me if she is going to make changes and she didn't it is just that I want her to tell me what she thinks of it and tell me if there is anything that needs to be changed and I will change it so that I know what is being changed I find it easier if someone tells me what needs to be changed and I will change it so that I don't get confused and I know what is going on as I lose my train of thought if someone changes something with out telling me and I asked her if she liked something so it simply had to be a yes or no answer she didn't have to change anything and it was more the fact that she changed the punctuation of a sentence, that didn't need to be changed I had a sentence written perfectly and she put a full stop in the middle of a sentence where it wasn't need it. I would have preferred if she had told what she thought so that I could make the changes in case it was something important that was needed for the plot. That is also why I decided to post my stories here so that I can get feedback from other writers.
Advanced Wordsmith
I was more annoyed that she had made the changes without asking me or telling me that she had made the changes I wouldn't of minded so much if she had told me or ask me if she could make the changes
Forum Facilitator
It sounds to me like your friend is really invested in you and only wanted to be a part of your experience.. my thought would be to thank them and tell them you may or may not use their suggestions.. if they are a close friend then perhaps a discussion about how you prefer them to propose edits might be had.. good luck on your writing and welcome to SS..
Active Ink Slinger
Quote by rolandlytle
ABG made some great points too. A second pair of eyes is always a good idea. If you want advise from an outstanding writer, she is the one to listen to. She is one of the best.
Your check is in the mail
Quote by nekala20
I don't mind the constructive criticism however I have asked her to tell me if she is going to make changes and she didn't it is just that I want her to tell me what she thinks of it and tell me if there is anything that needs to be changed...That is also why I decided to post my stories here so that I can get feedback from other writers.
This sounds like a reoccurring problem. Why are you giving it to her if you don't like what she does? I know that if I am reviewing/editing something lengthy, it's easier to make changes and notes directly in the document. I won't remember everything if they are expecting me to discuss it with them later. If she cares, you are sort of asking a lot. She is caring enough to "really" read what you are writing. You are saying don't change it, but vocally tell me what you would change. The best reader I have rips me to shreds, each and every time. I don't agree with him sometimes, but he is an excellent writer and even if I don't agree with him it causes me to be able to defend why I choose to do something other than "that just felt right". That even helps me with my writing and to examine myself. I wish he had more time for me. But I'll tell you this, it can hurt. But, don't you prefer honesty? Isn't that necessary to get better.
This is a personal thing, don't subject the SS readers to "ruff drafts" for editing feedback. It's a lot to ask of the mods and the readers. Everyone's time is valuable. Learn how to edit yourself. Keep a list of bad habits--a checklist of sorts to go through before you submit. Give us what you truly have worked hard to make the "final copy"--even if you are going to have to rethink things after readers feedback. And, asking for feedback doesn't mean the same thing as "just compliment me". I'm not saying that is what you are doing, it's just something to think about. I'll stress it again, in the end you are the only one that's actually going to go to your computer and make any changes.
Please Read My Latest Story (Click on the Banner):
Advanced Wordsmith
When she did it I asked her to read it I asked her for more of an yes this is good or no this could use some improvement. I have spent a lot of time perfecting my manuscripts and the one that I am posting is only go to be a small sample as it is currently being looked by a publishing house and I had asked her to look at it to see if it sounded right as I haven't written a kissing scene before and I want to know if she would think it would work or if it needed work. It was the fact that she made changes without my permission if she had asked I wouldn't have minded but she didn't. I also asked her to read a small paragraph and she went past the paragraph and started adding extra to it that had nothing to do with what was happening in the manuscript at the time and it made it harder to get back to where I was at in the story
Advanced Wordsmith
and I would also never post a "draft" of stories on here I take the time to edit and re-edit my stories a couple of times and I also do a number of drafts before I am finished with it. Also I have only asked her twice and after I asked her the first time not to rearrange things in my manuscript I thought that she would respect my request enough to not do it again and to give a yes or no answer to what she thought
Rest in Peace
Quote by nekala20
I would have preferred if she had told what she thought so that I could make the changes in case it was something important that was needed for the plot.
You're right...it should always be the author who makes the changes, not anyone else...I've worked with professional editors, and the correct way to do it is for them to highlight what they have issues with, and then leave notes in the comment section on the side...you can do this in either MS Word, or Google Docs, or whatever...this is a couple of pages of my story "Sexual Healing" after I got it back from editor Rosemary J. Kind as an example...
But yeah...you should end up with a bunch of pages that look like this...or red underlines in MS Word...I'm just posting two pages to give you an idea...
I once knew a drinker who had a moderating problem...
Advanced Wordsmith
I lucky realized and was able to identify what changes she had made and change them back as the were not beneficial at all and was a great hindrance the only copy I have is the copy she had changed as the copy I have backed up is older and not up to date and that is what I would have preferred her to do Martini but she just changed it and didn't even say it as a suggestion before hand
Advanced Wordsmith
I lucky realized and was able to identify what changes she had made and change them back as the were not beneficial at all and was a great hindrance the only copy I have is the copy she had changed as the copy I have backed up is older and not up to date and that is what I would have preferred her to do Martini but she just changed it and didn't even say it as a suggestion before hand