
The Book He Wasn't Supposed to Write - smacktoward
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/08/the-secret-life-of-a-book-manuscript/536982/?single_page=true
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nkoren
I had a similar experience, which was more concise and, for me personally,
more transformative.

My career as an architect had reached a point where I knew it wasn't going to
satisfy my life goals. I needed to understand more about finance, innovation
theory, management, etc. I needed an MBA -- not a bullshit one for the title,
but to actually learn things. I decided I'd go to Oxford.

This was going to be challenging: I had neither the funds to pay for it nor
the shiniest academic record. Good GMAT scores, but not much else. The
admissions essay had to be a knock-out.

So I wrote something I thought was amazing, and was preparing to submit it,
when I realised: _wait a second, I need some more eyeballs on this._

I looked around the coffeehouse where I sat. There was a guy there -- I wasn't
sure of his name, but he was a regular. A philosophy student (part time?
dropout?) of uncertain provenance. We'd had a few conversations occasionally,
and he seemed bright. So I asked him, somewhat rhetorically, whether he had
the time to read 4 pages and give me his feedback. He happily agreed...

...and he _hated_ it. Tore into almost every part of it. Didn't remotely grok
the point I was trying to make. Made it clear that the essay failed on pretty
much every level.

That was unpleasant to hear, but he was right. What mattered wasn't _my_
impression of what I'd done -- it was how it impressed other people. So I
rewrote the essay from the ground up, keeping his criticism at the forefront
of my mind.

Oxford ended up giving me the largest scholarship they had. Afterwards I
stayed in the UK and built a life there.

Don't even know that guy's name, but _damn_ am I glad he was that asshole.

~~~
anitil
Nicely done on accepting the criticism! I would hope I could do the same.

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jackgavigan
_> “Sometimes my job is to be an asshole,” he explained..._

It's _so_ difficult to give frank, negative feedback without coming across as
an asshole but, sometimes, it's necessary.

"Constructive" feedback only goes so far. Sometimes people need to be told
that their work is bad, so that they can improve. Accepting mediocrity in
order to avoid hurting someone's feelings is doing them a disservice in the
long run.

~~~
JoshTriplett
You can constructively tell someone their work is not up to the standard
required, and not accept mediocrity. You don't have to be rude or uncivil to
do that.

~~~
DamnYuppie
Yes and many times the recipients of that message do not seem to either
internalize it or act upon it.

There seems to be a need to for continual escalation of feedback until it is
processed. Often times this processing doesn't occur until they are
uncomfortable, or as in the case of family, tired of listening to you!

~~~
JoshTriplett
> Yes and many times the recipients of that message do not seem to either
> internalize it or act upon it.

Then phrase it another way until they do, or otherwise find a way to
communicate it that makes the issue clear. That's still not a reason to become
hostile or toxic, or berate or denigrate someone.

And bringing things back to the article we're commenting on, here: it doesn't
actually look like that happened at any point here. Despite how the person in
question self-described themselves, it doesn't seem to me that they actually
_behaved_ in a problematic way. It's perfectly reasonable to offer precise,
to-the-point, clear criticism. None of that requires being rude, uncivil, or
unconstructive.

The comment I was replying to said '"Constructive" feedback only goes so
far.'. I emphatically disagree; the article talks about a ten-page letter full
of what sounds like highly constructive feedback.

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voidhorse
This is a great article for those unfamiliar with publishing, but rather
sparse on any interesting material for anyone with a basic knowledge as to how
it works. To be honest the most surprising thing in this piece is the fact
that the author didn't have this experience until his _sixth_ book--you mean
to tell me this guy wrote five books without ever having to do a major revamp
--without ever running into the knowledge that each book often brings mental
collapse, incredible stress, and emotive highs and lows with it? I'm not sure
whether I should be impressed or disillusioned.

~~~
Amygaz
My impression is that this is mostly a publicity feature for the book and the
author than anything else...

~~~
Angostura
More like an extended public thank you to his editor. Not that that's a bad
thing.

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ruytlm
Refreshing to see narrative discussed as a tool to get a good story out, and
to help an audience, rather than as a tool to bend an audience to a particular
view.

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Animats
So much has been written by and about Churchill that, short of some new
revelations (like Magic), adding to the pile is hardly worth it.

If you want to learn about Orwell, read Orwell. He does write about himself
occasionally, and rather critically.

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mrmondo
Blocked behind a paywall if you have privacy add ons / tracking protection
enabled.

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davidgerard
I have just uBO and it worked for me.

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Freak_NL
Fine even with uBlock Origin and Privacy Badger. Perhaps they are only doing
weird stuff for certain regions?

~~~
mrmondo
Interesting, uBO and Privacy Badger on Firefox here in Australia gives the
paywall, as does 1Blocker on iOS (safari)

