I'd never given much thought to defining what I mean when I say, "feelback appreciated!" And believe me, I'll still be very grateful to receive feedback -- heck yeah! However, after a rather sour experience with some feedback that basically amounted to complaining that I hadn't written The Watcher's Tale in the manner that this particular reader expected (guess my clairvoyance was off), I went and read Peg Robinson's The Mannerly Art of Critique. I stewed, I fumed, I reminded myself that I'm supposed to have a skin thicker than an armadillo's, I recognized that I was feeling defensive and sulky, but also decided to follow Robinson's advice to warn readers what kind of "constructive criticism" I'm looking for. Because I am interested in truly constructive criticism -- I'm not perfect, I'm not even half as good as most of the writers whose fic I've recommended over at my Recommended Fanfiction page. But I may have a peculiar idea of what constitutes "constructive" criticism.

The basic rule of thumb is: I don't plan to re-write any of the stories I've posted any time soon. They're up, they're out, they're done, I'm tired of working on them. I trust my betas to give me suggestions prior to posting, and in many cases, I do my best to incorporate those suggestions in the interest of turning out a better story. But once it's up, I want to go have a nice, stiff margarita and not worry about it any more.

So, I will find advice most useful, even if it is critical, if it is phrased in such a way to give me ideas about what to do in the future; a catalogue of everything that you might have written differently if it had been your story (expanded the scope of the timeline, had some sexual tension between characters where I didn't allude to any, etc. etc.) will not be well-received because it doesn't give me practical ideas about how to go forward, only a clear idea of how disappointed you were with what I already posted. It's all a question of timing.

I may be in for some serious radio silence after this lengthy disclaimer, since nobody likes a touchy writer, but since Robinson suggested that a good way to avoid nasty exchanges over feedback is to be clear, up front, about the kinds of feedback you're looking for, I figured I should be clear. Thanks a bunch.