Spread a Little Kindness
First, a quick update: your feedback is still going out. Sending it all at once creates a backlog in the system, so we’re sending it in batches. Please bear with us — everyone will receive their feedback over the next few weeks. Thank you for your patience.
While we’re talking about feedback, I wanted to share a little of what happens at the other end of the inbox.
I thought long and hard about writing this. I want this newsletter to be a friendly place, and nobody particularly wants a bit of darkness arriving with their morning coffee.
First, the lovely emails. The overwhelming majority of our entrants are kind, thoughtful and a pleasure to hear from. We receive the most gorgeous messages from writers who have found something useful in their feedback, felt encouraged to keep going, or simply wanted to say thank you. This year, I listened to your feedback about having to wait for it and we are getting it out much quicker this year.
Providing feedback is something I’m particularly proud of. I personally spend three months of the summer working on it, and I really enjoy it. It takes a considerable amount of time and care, but I believe writers should have something useful to take away from entering, whatever the result. I started this prize becuase I felt writers should get value for money. Our feedback is almost a submission package worth around £200 and so is unique to our prize.
Financially, it would be easier to run a competition without that feedback. It would free up my time and improve our margins. But I’m proud of what we’ve developed, and I want to keep doing it.
There is, however, a difficult side.
A small proportion of entrants send emails that are insulting, aggressive or threatening. Only yesterday, someone threatened to use social media to “cancel” both me and the prize over a disagreement.
I’m human. These things can stay with me for days.
The following is just a small sample of yesterday’s emails. I’ve removed identifying details.
To: entry@cheshirenovelprizde.com
From: ██████████
██████████,
Sorry — I won’t even open your feedback email.
I won ██████████ for ██████████, and my first novel, ██████████, was superbly reviewed. See ██████████.
I am out of the British backyard league. You clearly don’t understand satire or don’t want to try to understand it. I don’t need to know what you think.
To: entry@cheshirenovelprizde.com
From: ██████████
Your competition is a shambles. My book should have been listed. I’ve read the excerpts from your listed entrants on your website, and they are not a patch on mine.
Hmm… Yes, I understand disappointment. A novel can represent years of work, and submitting it means putting something deeply personal into someone else’s hands. Feedback can sting. Missing a longlist can hurt. I am also a writer myself and have had my fair share of disappointments.
You are allowed to disagree with our judgement. You are allowed to question feedback, raise a concern or tell us something has gone wrong. A complaint deserves to be considered and will be.
But insults and threats make those conversations much harder.
Publishing is a small world, and it is also a business. There are real people reading submissions, writing feedback and answering emails. When we talk about how people should be treated, that kindness needs to work both ways.
So, a small plea for inbox etiquette:
If you’re upset, write the email, then leave it overnight before sending.
Explain the problem and what you would like us to do.
Question the feedback or decision without attacking the person.
Give us a reasonable opportunity to reply.
Please don’t belittle other entrants’ work because your own wasn’t selected.
You don’t owe us praise, and you don’t have to agree with us. Courtesy is enough. We also love feedback and we welcome it as long as it is positioned with courtesy.
To the many lovely writers who already approach these conversations with kindness: thank you. I hope you know how much I appreciate it. I get so many gorgeous messages and these ones above are a minority but it does sting every time.
I love doing this work. I want to keep giving writers thoughtful feedback and encouragement. I’m simply asking for a little kindness towards the person at the other end of the inbox - me and my team.
Thank you.
Sara