You think what you have written is the best thing ever, but what do you do when others disagree?
Anyone who has ever written anything on the Internet knows the feeling. You write something you are proud of, you even proof read it. You have poured your heart and soul out to create something to either entertain or inform the reader. You have posted it and set it free. Then it comes back to haunt you. Either a blatant spelling error leaps of the page, or a grammatical error that you had missed earlier suddenly becomes apparent, or you ask your self "why did I put that sentence like that?". All too often you spot the blunder too late and others have attacked your work, called you names, and pointed out the error big time.
Typically these people are ruthless in their attacks, quick to point out errors, while over looking anything good you may have written.
What do you do?
You can write back to them and start your own little war, calling them names, but chances are this will get you nowhere, as very likely the person wrote a comment then left, never to return. It only makes you look bad.
You can ignore their comments, which is fine, except that the flaw is still there and by ignoring it as well, allowing others to see it.
Sadly these two options are ones often taken, as writers may be over committed to t heir work and too proud to correct errors or realize that maybe the reading public is correct, and their piece is wrong.
So the best option is to swallow your pride, admit a mistake was made, and take actions to try to correct it.
I recount two recent stories, one that happened to myself, and one that I witnessed.
First, the one I saw. A person had made a few simple bad grammar mistakes and spelling errors. People were posting all kinds of comments, calling the person names, making fun of their "English" and so on. The author, however, did not handle the situation correctly. They had been corrected for using the wrong "too" and for spelling "know" like "no". To which I witnessed the writer of the piece get defensive, even saying that "know" is spelled "no" in their country. It would have been much simpler for them just to fix the spelling errors and be done with it.
Next account was my own.
I wrote a long list of songs which I felt had really interesting lyrics. I am a person who likes songs with good lyrics, profound messages, stuff like that. I compiled a list of songs which I felt had deep lyrics, of course anyone who feels the same way as myself will know that Sting and Bono are both noted as brilliant lyricists, talented writers who often have deep messages in their songs, along with good music. As such I listed songs by them more than once on the list.
Additionally at one point I wanted to get suggestions from other people, so made a poll, and a large number of people requested a song by the band, Nickelback. As such I included this song, and all went well for a period of time.
Then the link hit the social network known as StumbleUpon and all kinds of chaos began. It took me a few days to notice that I was receiving many negative comments, and at first I was stunned and didn't know how to react. The list was NOT called "The Best Songs of all Time", which was what it seemed people where thinking.
Some comments were clearly misplaced, saying that ALL the songs were mainstream, which I knew was not true. Some were wrong, saying that ALL the songs were older, which again was incorrect, while many were older, I suspect the people simply did not recognize the newer songs. One common complaint was against the Nickelback song. Another complaint was against the omission of "Stairway to Heaven".
So I thought about what to do, I myself responded in the comments area of my article. I tried to explain myself, and I admit I was slow to finally realize that I needed to correct the problem. It took me a few days before I actually fixed the problem. As such I removed the Nickelback song, which indeed I should not have included. A few days, and more comments later, I made a point as to why I had not included the other song, Stairway to Heaven.
However it was too late, much damage had been done. Some of the very offensive comments I removed, as many offered no actual facts, and some were just people typing random letters. I wish I had responded earlier, fixed the problems immediately, before other people saw the problems and gave the link a Stumbleupon "thumbs down" vote. I certainly know it is impossible to please everyone, and have no intention of doing such, however when we have a problem in an article we need to fix it if we can. If we see a problem in an article we need to point it out in ways that are helpful rather than offensive to the author.
So, if you have an article that is not going well, and you are receiving legitimate complaints, act on them, ignore the other complaints, as they have no real value. Fix problems that can be fixed, and fix them quickly. Do not get defensive, recognize that some errors are bound to happen, and correct them.
If you wish to see my article which went bad, but has been fixed, you can find it here.
very interesting topic indeed,i agree with all your points,we are human beings, we are not perfect,
#2 by Anne Lyken-Garner, Aug 1, 2008
Poeople sometimes make comments in answer to previous comments left, WITHOUT reading the article itself. I've seen this happen many times as soon as the article gets out of Triond and hits Digg or SU. Don't bother too much about negative comments. A writer has to develop thick skin.
When you put your article in the public domain, you invite people to view and comment on it. Your invitation is not only for people who agree with you,but also for people who feel differently. Just hold your head high and keep on writing.
Many times the public will deal with the people making negative comments by showing them where they went wrong. I wrote a funny article and a few people who had no sense of humour complained about it. Before long, a host of other people left comments to say that I was joking (and I had to say nothing).
If there is an obvious mistake, just go ahead and use the 'fix' option.
Fine article
#3 by Anne Lyken-Garner, Aug 1, 2008
'Poeople' is meant to be 'people'.
#4 by PR Mace, Aug 1, 2008
Good advice. I hate to see negative comments on anyones work. We all make errors and because we know what we are trying to say we as writers don\'t always catch them. I have my husband read my work and he doesn\'t always catch my errors. I use a ruler under each line and slowly read it to check for problems. That works well for me. I had one article, a poem, that was printed wrong, not my error. I was quick to fix it. So, see it is not always the writer at fault. I liked the fact that you submitted this article. I hope people read it and take your advice.
#5 by PR Mace, Aug 1, 2008
See what I was talking about above. I did not type a / between the n and 't on the word don't. What can I say. Let me see if this one does the same thing once I post it.
#6 by Catherine South, Aug 5, 2008
I quite enjoy it if a row breaks out over something I\'ve written, because anyone who takes the time to read the article and the comments gets not only my opinion on the content, but all of the commenters\' opinions.
Those guys who try to act all mighty by slating articles often end up getting bruised by other commenters. If they aren\'t pointing out a valid mistake; I don\'t let it bug me.
But they do have the right to voice their opinion.
I must admit; I can deal with a few errors in an article (Everyone has a blonde lurking within them), but I get frustrated when someone publishes sloppy work.
If I take the time to go to the article, I want to read it, comment on it and appreciate the hard work of the writer. I don\'t enjoy clicking a link only to be frustrated by incessant spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.
The music list was quite a risky submission, because everyone thinks they\'re a music critic and that they have the best taste in music. I know I do :D
But then again, everyone loves a good argument. Writing is like throwing meat to the wolves and seeing if they bite. Sometimes they\'ll sniff at it, take a lick and then decide they\'re not hungry. Other times a frenzy will break out; the wolves will attack each other and bite the hand that feeds.
Luckily this all happens online, so no actual blood gets spilled.
*No animals were harmed during the writing of this comment*
#7 by Denny Lyon, Sep 14, 2008
I never have suffered fools gladly. A jerk is a jerk. Nasty people enjoy vomiting all over someone else: bullying. These days usually someone else comes along and slaps them into line and the frenzy calms down. I usally roll my eyes heavenward in disgust and move on to the next article where people are smarter.
As to errors, I have seen quite a number of them from writers on this site where English is their second language and I just don't say anything to embarrass them publicly. Usually, I take a long while to get to know folks and eventually will bring it up in private email IF I think they are strong enough to handle it. If not, then I just wince when I view those repeated same errors. Oh, well.
I'm not much for hurting sensitive people as creative types end up shutting down emotionally and then things are an even bigger mess. So, I guess the deal is, anyone reading my comment here and wants to know about some of their work, write me privately and I'll be glad to correspond. Humiliating folks just isn't my style here or anywhere else! ~ d
#8 by Liane Schmidt, Oct 9, 2008
Dear B Nelson,
I truly appreciate this article. I realize that the more visible you become in the face of the public the more care you have to take with everything. People notice everything. Keep your heart and mind focused on your dreams and the message you are trying to convey - beauty, inspiration, entertainment, etc. True angels will always see the message past natural human error.
