One sentence of feedback killed my entire editorial workflow

Had a reader email me last month and said 'your posts feel like they were written by a committee.' I was furious for like 2 days. Then I looked back at my last 10 articles and yeah. They were all templated with the same intro, same bullet points, same conclusion structure. I had this whole kanban board and approval process that stripped all personality out. Now I write the first draft in whatever voice comes naturally, then edit for structure later. It slows me down but engagement is way better. Anyone else get feedback that made you tear up your process?

3 comments

3 Comments

lindamartin16d ago

Wow, a reader actually said that to you? That's brutal but kinda honest in a way most people wouldn't be. I had a similar thing happen when someone told me my writing "felt like a robot with a thesaurus" and I was so mad I almost deleted the email... but then I went back and yeah, I was cramming in all these fancy words nobody uses. Now I just write like I'm talking to a friend over coffee and it's way more natural. That kanban board thing sounds so rigid, glad you broke out of it.

jesse_fisher16d ago

Felt like a robot with a thesaurus" omg that's my villain origin story lol

the_margaret16d ago

and honestly that "robot with a thesaurus" thing hits different when you realize it was probably true. @jesse_fisher I bet you wrote some killer stuff after that feedback though, once you stopped trying to sound smart and just wrote what you actually wanted to say. the thing nobody talks about is how rejection of your voice can actually make you a better writer if you let it. like yeah it stings but it forces you to look at your words through someone else's eyes. I had someone tell me my stories felt like they were written by a dad trying to be cool and I was so mad but they were right. now I lean into being awkward on purpose because it's way more real than trying to sound like a literary genius.