How Do You Know You're Ready for Critique?

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Getting critiqued is never easy. It can be tough to have all of your book's flaws pointed out to you, and see the pile of work you'll need to do to fix it mount up. It can be intimidating—and even a tad embarrassing—to see your manuscript's mistakes and shortcomings highlighted as you ask yourself why you hadn't noticed them before.

Which is why, when going into a critique, it's important to have the right mindset. But how do you know you're ready?

Writers work with critique partners at different stages, largely dependent on personal preference. Some work with readers as they first draft, largely for encouragement and bouncing ideas back and forth. Some send their first drafts to their critique partners the moment they've finished the manuscript. Some, like myself, wait until they've revised the manuscript at least once by themselves before they start gradually working with critique partners.

In the end, the when will depend on how you work as a writer and what you're able to handle. I'm a very practical person, so I prefer to work with critique partners later on in the process so I can fix a bunch of the biggest issues on my own before my critique partners see it. That way, for the most part, they rarely tell me something I already knew, and it allows me to get a more polished draft at the end. But other writers need the back and forth earlier on in the process, and that's okay too.

But how do you know when you're ready? I think readiness for critique is something you actively develop, not something that magically appears on its own. It comes with understanding the critique process—that they're critiquing the manuscript, not you, and that ultimately, the critique process is necessary for you to make your manuscript the best it can be—and reminding yourself however often is needed that this critique is going to help you and your manuscript.

Critique can be a daunting thing. But the important part is to take a deep breath, remind yourself why you're getting critiqued, and take a step beyond the initial emotional resistance to digest the critique and consider how it will help you.

Sometimes, it takes a long time to hit the point where you're comfortable with critique—and that's okay. Just take it a step at a time, and it'll become a regular (if not slightly nerve-wracking) part of your process that you've figured out how to cope with however works best for you.

How do you know when you're ready for critique?

Twitter-sized bite:

How do you know when you're ready for critique? @Ava_Jae shares some thoughts. (Click to tweet)