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Your Literary Works - Defend Or Accept Criticism

By Krystalina Soash

Well, there you are with your best written work staring back at you as you get ready to submit it. The spelling and grammar is correct, the punctuation is in the right places, the message is clear, your word count is right on target, and you’re feeling on top of your game. Your written work is perfect, and it’s your moment to shine!

But wait a minute, what’s this? What? Oh, No!

Your work receives criticism. What do you do? Do you get mad and take your work someplace else, or do you accept the criticism and work with it. You have options, and realistically you have to make a choice as to what you will do with that hard work that you’re so proud of.

Allow me to point out the two options that may be available to you:

1. Defend your work to the hilt! By golly, you worked hard at your writing and you deserve the credit for your work. You want respect for your work and you will demand it! Modification is not in your vocabulary, and neither is correction, revision, or altering. You will stand by your work one-hundred percent and won’t budge. It’s your best work and they can take it or lump it!

2. Accept the criticism: You accept the criticism in a dignified manner and use it to improve your writing; and as a result enhance what you already have. More often than not, you will find that by accepting and working with literary criticism you actually learn lessons you’d never learn without it. Your finished product just needed a little polishing for a better shine.

If you chose option number one, your writing may sit in a drawer for years and years and years. On your deathbed you might say, “Hmm, maybe I should’ve made some revisions”. Too late!

But seriously, for best results in your writing projects, accept criticism gracefully. Never allow yourself to fall in love with your work to the point that you will shut out all possibilities of improvement for future opportunities. Ask yourself, “Who am I writing for anyway?”

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By Lance Winslow

There are always jobs for writers and marketers, especially the good ones. They are always in demand no matter how many competing individuals there are for those jobs. Everyone wants to hire the best and the best writers indeed, well, they most often get the very best assignments by far. I had a friend, a coffee shop acquaintance that is a travel writer.

The SOB (I use that loosely, because quite frankly I am jealous as hell) gets paid to go on Caribbean Cruises and exotic travel destination then he writes about it and does his own digital photography too. Wow, you should see this guys screen saver, it’s filled with beautiful architecture, landscapes, sand beaches, and the hottest babes on the planet. Yes, that is a writer’s dream job.

But, the other day, I met an individual who was the speech writer for a famous politician and he got paid handsomely, and he was one of two speech writers, the other a woman, who has been doing speech writing for nearly 2-decades. Of course, it’s a very hard job, there is tons of data to go over, and you must be completely politically savvy, and understand all the political correctness demanded of our society these days.

Sometimes he’ll spend three days on one speech, then have to modify it based on the organization listening. He has written 141 speeches and variations on each of those. He also works with a PR firm and an advertising agency to make everything gel as they work on image building. He travels 25-days a month, he is on call 24/7 and he works on every crisis. Still want the job?

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By Dr. Gary S. Goodman

One of the very best communication classes I ever took in college was with an instructor that had a good academic background from Stanford, but more important, he was one of Dale Carnegie’s initial cohort of trainers.

A member of and past president of Toastmasters International, Sheldon Hayden loved to speak, and I’m sure he was most gratified by the adoration he received from pleased-as-punch audiences.

One of the secrets to his success as a speech teacher was the fact that at each class, every student had to deliver at least one brief talk. Add those one-minute chats to the formal speeches which we also had to deliver, and this meant during a semester we would be giving somewhere around twenty-five speeches.

That is a lot of experience “Popping off on your hind feet,” as he used to colloquially call it. With all of those successes under one’s belt, how could a student NOT improve?

Frankly, that was impossible. Failure wasn’t an option, because if you speak enough, you’ll become competent. Speak more, and you’ll grow adept. And outdo that level of performance, and you’ll excel, and probably learn to enjoy it, immensely, as I did.

I have come to embrace and apply this principle, also known as The Law of Large Numbers, to nearly every endeavor. If you’re a salesperson, make more contacts, and they’ll turn into more prospects and they will become more sales.

If you are a writer, do a lot of it, more than you ever thought you could.

Sooner or later, you’ll feel capable of writing anything, any time.

Someone once defined “luck” as preparation meeting opportunity.

I look at it this way. Prepare a lot, and you’ll meet even more opportunities than you ever imagined, creating your own luck along the way.

Watching Mr. Hayden leave our class, hopping into his silver blue Cadillac convertible with white leather interior, navy blazer set off by his shock of white hair, always gave me the impression he was very lucky, indeed, as were those of us that studied with him and emulated his example.

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By Gail Hamilton

If you want to show you really care, send a written thank you letter instead of a dashed-off e-mail or a quick phone call. It means you think the gift important enough to make the extra effort. For business and charity, a proper thank you can make all the difference to your future success.

Follow these easy steps and your letter will be a joy, not a chore.

1. Be organized.
Keep careful track who needs to be thanked for what. After a shower, wedding or riotous birthday celebration, it is very embarrassing not to remember who gave you the expensive stainless steel juicer, the matching set of whoopee cushions or the envelope stuffed with cash. The giver is dying to hear just how thrilled you are with their particular contribution.

2. Be prompt.
Though it is better for your letter to arrive late than never, respond as promptly as you can. Write within a day or two for dinner and within two or three days after receiving hospitality. You have about two weeks to thank for gifts unless they are wedding gifts. In that case, you send notes right after the honeymoon. To answer expressions of sympathy for a loss or death, it is fine to reply within six weeks when you a feeling up to the task.

3. Choose the right style.

The style and degree of formality is determined by the party you are addressing. A formal letter strictly observes all the rules of letter writing which can be found in many excellent reference books. A few lines of thanks to a close friend can be dashed off by hand on a leaf of green froggy note paper. Always address your letter to a specific person, not a department or a title. When a gift comes from a number of different people, each must receive a thank you note.

4. Be direct.
Unless you have reason to expand, it’s best to keep to a single page. Take an easy, conversational tone, just as though you are talking face to face. Let your words flow straight from the heart.

5. Begin with the reason you are expressing your appreciation.

“Thank you so much for the lovely lava lamp you gave me for my birthday.”

“I appreciate the time you took from your busy schedule last week to meet with me yesterday.”

“I don’t know what our charity would do without generous donors like you.”

6. Show how the gift affected you.
Expand your appreciation by explaining how what you are thanking for made you feel, affected you life or thoroughly delighted you. Recognize thoughtfulness and generosity.

“The lava lamp is a perfect match for my orange shag rug and fits right in with our retro decor. Every time I turn it on, I will remember your thoughtfulness and be transported back to the that first college dorm we decorated together.”

“The advice and contacts you so kindly provided have already helped enormously in developing the project. Ms. Wilma Hanes has agreed to analyze our marketing plan. You have greatly improved our prospects of success.”

“Your donation provided a new water pump for a well in Africa so village children can finally have clean water.”

7: Wrap up with more thanks and sign with a flourish.

“Thanks again for giving me a gift that reminds me of so many happy times.”

“Once again, please know how deeply I appreciate your efforts to help me with this important task.”

“On behalf of the children, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for caring enough to help.”

Your prompt, warm, well-written thank you letter will succeed in its goal - to make the recipient feel truly special and appreciated.

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