I gave a Best-selling Author TOUGH *HONEST* FEEDBACK and...he SHOT ME--

--a big "thank you" email.*

So, an author whose work I LOVE sent me a private message asking if I would be willing to read an early draft of their next book (non-fiction, personal development) and provide them with feedback.

Hint: if someone you want to remain pals with ever asks you for feedback on their creative work, you must confirm WHAT KIND OF FEEDBACK they want.

LESSON: CONFIRM WHAT KIND OF FEEDBACK THEY WANT BEFORE PROVIDING FEEDBACK

(when it's not their heart, soul, blood, sweat, and tears on the page this step might not be necessary but it usually IS their hsbst on the page so...)

Word-for-word, this was my message to him:

"Approaching this the same way I do when I give feedback on screenplays, do you want to hear everything that's excellent and that's it? Or do you want to hear about the things that don't work for me in the draft?"

Response:

"Both, please! Thank you!"

You asked for it, brother. THE WHOLE THING IS TRASH!!!! Of course, I didn't say that because it wasn't all trash. It was actually really good.

Notice how I'm not saying, "It was GREAT!"?

It wasn't great. He miscommunicated in a few sections. I know that because that was included in my notes document and he confirmed I was right. He FAILED to effectively communicate his own concept.

LESSON: ACTIONABLE HONEST FEEDBACK FROM SOMEONE YOU TRUST IS ESSENTIAL

There were other spots where his wording would almost certainly work for MOST people but was open to misinterpretation.

I was able to point out to him that if he eliminated ONE WORD in a sentence he repeated three times, he could (greatly) increase his credibility AND "evergreenize" his book.

LESSON: TINY CHANGES CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE

His response to my notes:

"Thank you so much for the feedback! Very helpful and actionable. Going to implement basically everything you suggested."

I also received a follow-up response:

"Just updated the book with all your suggestions. Really good stuff, man. I especially appreciate the need for clarifying that [omitted for privacy]. And to make the whole thing more [omitted]. Done! Thanks again."

If you want honest, actionable feedback from someone you can trust, or help creating memorable content, for the first time in years I'm taking on new clients.

https://calendly.com/jasonlevinson/conversation

Now go out there and create something excellent!

Jason

*In screenwriting when we break up a sentence we use hyphen-hyphen (some Gen X and all boomers only use one hyphen. They also still double space after a period. Okay. Boomer!