Toxic Feedback: Helping Writers Survive and Thrive (Paperback)

by Joni Cole (Author)
Key Phrases: toxic feedback, feedback hotlines, editorial biases, Big Time, The Club, Moment of Truth (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Drawing on her experience as the leader of a long-running writing workshop, Cole addresses the delicate process of giving and receiving constructive criticism. She offers helpful techniques for writers who want to respond productively to one another's work, incorporate such responses into their own writing, and perhaps even run their own workshops. Though the focus is on informal settings and exchanges among friends, Cole's suggestions are useful for students and teachers as well."--Library Journal

"There is a time in the creative process when everything else falls away, including the need for feedback. It is a measure of Cole's own tolerance and intelligence about writing that she knows this. Everything she advises is designed to bring the writer to the point where feedback is no longer necessary. Until the point where each writer's own individual truth can become fully available, though, feedback remains an inescapable part of the whole writing process. I can't imagine a better guide to its rewards and perils than this fine book."--American Book Review

"Despite the alarming title, young writers, about-to-be writers, maybe-writers, and dreaming-of-becoming writers will find a friend and ally in Toxic Feedback . . . the book is so helpful, likable and even kind that it deserves two thumbs (and the rest of those typing fingers) up." --Valley News

"[Cole's] writing is very engaging, very friendly. She reminds me of some of my favorite writing authorities; Natalie Goldbery, Annie Lamott, and of course, Stephen King. And as these accomplished authors do, Cole actually imparts useful wisdom, not just on finding and understanding feedback, but on the general process of writing. "--Blogcritics.org

Review
"Drawing on her experience as the leader of a long-running writing workshop, Cole addresses the delicate process of giving and receiving constructive criticism. She offers helpful techniques for writers who want to respond productively to one another's work, incorporate such responses into their own writing, and perhaps even run their own workshops. Though the focus is on informal settings and exchanges among friends, Cole's suggestions are useful for students and teachers as well. When discussing the revision process, Cole reminds writers to sift through the various changes suggested by peers: 'You are the boss of your own story.' To critiquers, she preaches kindness, citing another instructor's advice: 'If I find myself frustrated or upset when I'm giving feedback, I stop, because if I don't critique with love, they won't understand what I'm trying to say.' Though some points are repeated too often, as is the word feedback itself, Cole enlivens her compositional and pedagogic advice by interspersing interviews with writers on the order of Grace Paley, Khaled Hosseini, and Jennifer Cruise. These segments, along with many other portions of Toxic Feedback, can stand alone and would spur discussion in any writing group. Strongly recommended for academic libraries and public libraries supporting writers." (Leora Bersohn, doctoral student, Columbia Univ., New York Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information. )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: UPNE (July 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584655445
• ISBN-13: 978-1584655442
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #788,723 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Essential Book for the Writer, July 22, 2006

By	George Angwin (Vermont USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I just finished reading "Toxic Feedback". I found it fascinating, full of humor and wisdom. The chapter "The Power of Positive Feedback" was especially strong because one could see the action of positive feedback in the exchange of letters. Very convincing, even if the whole exchange was made up. My wife and I have acquired many books on writing over the years, but this is one of the handful on the 'must have' list because it addresses a central issue of the writing life in a helpful way.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Preventing Mental Meltdowns, July 20, 2006

By	writing teacher "margaret" (New Hampshire) - See all my reviews

Anyone who howled while reading Anne Lamott's BIRD BY BIRD is going to love Joni Cole's TOXIC FEEDBACK. The similarities between the two are obvious: both deal with the writing process, both offer zany, "true-life" examples (from either their lives or the lives of their friends) and both are narrated with quirky, self-deprecating humor.
While Lamott starts the ball rolling by urging readers to sit in their chairs and start writing, Cole jumps into the process at the feedback stage. The whole idea of feedback, which Cole defines as "any response to a writer or his work that helps him write more, write better, and be happier," is a topic worthy of analysis that has been ignored for years. And probably with good reason. Which one of us has gotten through school without receiving comments that filled us with rage, shame, and, it must be confessed, even murderous impulses against whatever pen-wielding teacher criticized our prose, our grammar, or our ideas? Let's face it, our value as a person?
Cole steps delicately into this landmine of criticism. Based on her experience as a writing student, a published author, and years of leading community writing workshops out of her home, Cole rejects the old slash and burn approach to criticizing student writing and offers a saner and more effective approach to giving and receiving feedback.
Her interviews with many successful writers reveal how important feedback was to them early in their careers and how they go about getting feedback now that they are rich and famous. Fledgling writer Ernie Hebert felt shamed when told at Breadloaf by the famous John Gardner that "no writer would write a sentence like that." Gardner insisted that every scene must be well-written. Hebert began taking more pains to ensure that every scene was handled with the same thoughtful attention and his career took off. Several authors confess how important positive feedback was to their growth as writers. Sarah Stewart Taylor remembers her ninth grade English teacher pulling her out in the hall to tell her "you're a writer"; Grace Paley reflects that "my nature wasn't ambitious enough to go ahead on my own. I'm aware of that encouragement that people like me need."
Cole argues that because successful writers remember feedback that moved them forward or held them back, it is clear that feedback is an important fact in a writer's life. Thus we should hone our feedback skills to empower, rather than disempower, writers. Yet she also notes that writers need to know how to process feedback effectively in order to turn it to their advantage. She describes communication strategies that help further good writing whether one is giving or receiving feedback.
In addition to casting the notion of feedback in a new light, TOXIC FEEDBACK also demystifies the often tension-ridden relationship between editor and writer. Do you have a question you'd like to ask an editor? Cole has probably asked it.
She explains in clear, simple language how to communicate effectively with editors so that the publication process can move forward with the least amount of stress possible. She closes the book describing what she's learned in the twelve years she's been running a writer's workshop in a small Vermont town. Although the general reader will enjoy Cole's book, her primary audience is writers and those who teach writing. Her humorous, no-nonsense approach for those providing and receiving feedback is timely and long-overdue. This book is a little gem.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Addicted to feedback!, October 31, 2006

By	N. Fontaine (NH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I used to be afraid to show my work to anyone, but now I crave responses. Toxic Feedback really helped me make the transition, and I can't tell you how rewarding it is.