Dealing with Critiques – the 30-40-30 Rule

As a writer, at some point you will reach the stage where you will need to have others critique your work. There are many reasons to do so that others have covered before, but as a former computer programmer, one way I like to look at it is: you cannot test your own code. You think you’ve written the program to do exactly what you want, you test it and hand it off to the Beta tester. And they find mistakes. The reason is because they didn’t build it and so don’t know your thinking behind it and do what comes natural to them. Consequently, they take paths you never dreamed of and hadn’t tested for. Yikes!

How does this relate to writing? You think you’ve sufficiently explained motives behind character actions, or have shown the emotional reaction sufficiently because YOU know the character so well and know EXACTLY why they’re doing it and fail to see that it didn’t quite come across the way you pictured it. Oops! A good critiquer or beta reader will find these ‘thin spots’ for you.

Okay, so you’re ready to get critiques? Are you sure? I’d like to tout again this great advice from Writer Musings: How To Get The Most Out Of A Critique, Part Three: if you don’t know the heart of your story, you are not ready for feedback. This is so true because you are going to get a wide array of feedback. And by wide array, I mean some folks will hate a particular line and others will like that same one. Soon, you’ll be wanting to pull out your hair. Or, worse, you’ll take every single suggestion as gospel and water down your story, your voice, to such a state that it will be milquetoast.

The problem is, if you’re doing things right, I think, you’ll have some people not like it. Crazy I know. But I think I’m right. Here’s why. If you have a unique voice or your characters’ voices are interesting and unique, that means some people are not going to like it. It’s just not their thang. And that’s okay. Make it bland, though? No one will find it objectionable, but are any of them excited? Probably not.

So what’s a writer to do? I like to invoke my uncle’s 30-40-30 rule. He got this advice when he became dean of a department — 30% of the people are going to like you no matter what, 30% will not like you no matter what, it’s the 40% in the middle you need to worry about. This rule is so handy and applicable that I’ve quoted it many times for different scenarios. It’s why politicians are really in trouble if they drop below 30% in the approval ratings, because they’re losing folks that would normally support them no matter what.

When writing, use this rule, too, during your critique period and also when it’s published. Make sure you show your draft to people outside of your 30%-guaranteed likes (i.e. your family and friends). One excellent place to get a wide sampling and great advice is my favorite critique forum: Critique Circle. It runs by a credit system — the more you crit others, the more credits you earn and so the more you can post for review. The other part I like is that it is broken up by genre and there are only a certain number of slots for each, so you’re guaranteed to get crits, unlike other sites where you join a huge long list and folks have to wade through. The more crits given in a particular genre for that week’s cycle, the more slots available for that genre for the next week. Check it out.

But then be prepared for diverse opinions! It can be very overwhelming and it’s tempting to take every single piece of advice. Make sure you evaluate each one, even if it’s contrary or hard to swallow. They may have an excellent point. Take a few days and let it sink in. If it will make your piece stronger, use it. If it resonates with you as the writer and fits with your vision, use it. But if it doesn’t, don’t. You’ll get ‘critters’ who don’t like your genre, so of course they’re probably not going to like your piece. Evaluate to see if the critter ‘gets’ what you’re trying to say/tell. You’ll soon get the hang of it. I had one critter in the beginning that was telling me to delete things that were what made my character different. She didn’t like the character and so was watering her down to what she liked. I didn’t take her advice because I knew this was how my character thought, and others were liking this exact aspect of her.

So, I’m going to risk that 30% will not like my character and my story and hoping the 40% in the middle do.

What has been your critique experience? Do you find this rule applicable as well?

Photo by jared

13 Replies to “Dealing with Critiques – the 30-40-30 Rule”

  1. That is brilliant. It takes so much pressure off. I always wondered how to analyze the critiques I got in proper proportion. I am going to use this from now on. Seriously. Thank you.

  2. You’re absolutely right about not watering down anything. Although I’ll say, those CC’ers sure did help me when 80% hated the direction the character was going. Nice post to keep things in perspective. Never water down the character or plot, or there would be no story left.

  3. “If you don’t know the heart of your story, you are not ready for feedback.” This is so true. I recently sent a draft of my first novel around for revisions, and while there were some great comments that helped me focus my story, there were also some that asked me to do something that I could never change about my characters or plot–because it would fundamentally change the story. Knowing where your novel stands is SO important when collecting feedback.

  4. What got my attention: 30% of readers are going to hate it no matter what. If you get a strong negative reaction from that 30%, and a strong positive reaction from the 30% that loves you no matter what, and the 40% in between is intrigued enough to read on, then you’re in the zone–particularly if your work means to have a strong taste.

    The rule’s useful to bear in mind, because when that 30% who hate it get their buttons pushed, they don’t always play nice.

  5. I should have read this before I read some of those 30% will hate it no matter what critiques. After that I only felt safe having the 30% who loved it critique my work. Now I am opening up to the 40% I need to sway. Those figures are fairly accurate ones where my writing is concerened.
    Good advice.

    1. Glad this helps put critiques in perspective! It really does help seeing it this way–glad you’re opening up to the 40% because that’s when we really grow as writers! Stay brave!

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