THE WORST THINGS TO DO (AND HOW TO FIX THEM) There are a few things you should never do in terms of feedback: DO NOT put some pages out on Facebook/Twitter for feed- back: This is a disaster. You will deeply regret it. In my 15+ years as a writer, I have never seen this work for anyone. There are so many reasons this goes wrong it is hard to list them all. Just think of it this way: If you wanted advice on your clothes, would you stand in the middle of an amusement park and randomly ask people who walked by? Of course not. Well, asking for an opinion of your writing on social media is the same thing. I cannot stress enough that you should not do this. Do pick specific people to ask for help: There is nothing wrong with asking specific people for specific forms of feedback, as dis- cussed above. The keyword there is “specific people.” Experts at writing, or experts in your field or people in your audience. That is the key. DO NOT give your manuscript to someone without asking for specific feedback: Do not throw your manuscript to someone and say, “Hey take a look at this and tell me what you think.” That is a recipe for all kinds of wasted time and effort. DO be specific in your ask. There are definitely situations where asking for feedback is both appropriate and helpful, but always say something like, “Hey, can you tell me if you think my voice in the book comes off as too unprofessional for an accountant?” SHOULD YOU LET FRIENDS AND FAMILY GIVE FEEDBACK ON YOUR MANUSCRIPT? Be very careful with asking friends and family to give you feedback. ShOUlD yOU ASk PEOPlE fOr fEEDBACk? · 179