Ooh, this is something I have very strong opinions on.
I *hate* it when writers and artists tell me that their work sucks or lay out a list of everything that's wrong with it before I even have a chance to make up my mind. And BELIEVE me, this is the voice of the converted speaking. I've been there, done that. I did it for years. I am the most insecure artist that you could ever hope to meet. Once upon a time, I would not-infrequently preface my sales spiel for my comics at conventions by telling people at conventions by telling people everything that I thought was wrong wtih them.
But over time ... you know how sometimes, you'll look and see other people doing something that annoys you, and then you'll look very closely and critically at yourself and realize that you're doing it too, and want to kick yourself through the ceiling? That's exactly what happened to me. Not instantly, but slowly, and in large part through fandom, where SO MANY people seem to draw what basically amounts to a cloak of exaggerated and ostentatious modesty around themselves.
And I realized that by telling people who wanted to buy my books, or read my webcomic online, all its flaws and then STILL offering it up for sale/viewing, I was being a horrible hypocrite. And I was obliquely telling people, "Your opinion doesn't matter. Here's how I want you to feel about this. I'm having this creative crisis and I hate it, so I want you to hate it too. I want you to validate my feelings of artistic self-worthlessness. OR I want you to tell me that it doesn't suck and it's awesome, so I can bask in my artistic depression and still get my ego stroked!"
But we don't get to tell our readers how to think. And trying to do so will just make them feel manipulated and angry. When I see someone on ff.net put IN THEIR STORY DESCRIPTION something like "This is not my best effort" or "This is my first story and it isn't very good", then my first reaction is, "Thanks for the warning; I won't read it then. And if you feel THAT strongly about it, then why are you putting it out for people to read? Take it down, polish it up, get a beta, and bring it back when you feel it's worth reading."
If it's worth pointing out the problems in your work, then it's worth fixing them. By pointing them out to your viewers, you're basically saying, "Yes, I know there are all of these specific problems, but I can't be bothered to fix them." Is that REALLY the impression you want to leave them with? I TOTALLY understand, believe me, the fear that your readers/viewers will think less of you if THEY spot flaws in your work that you didn't. Believe me, I know, I know! You're afraid that your viewers will think you're inept if you don't point out the flaws in yuor perspective/coloring/shading/proportion/whatever. But think about it -- how much MORE inept will they think you are if you know all about the flaws but didn't bother fixing them?
And believe me. I speak as someone who has been there, done that and got the emo T-shirt.
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I *hate* it when writers and artists tell me that their work sucks or lay out a list of everything that's wrong with it before I even have a chance to make up my mind. And BELIEVE me, this is the voice of the converted speaking. I've been there, done that. I did it for years. I am the most insecure artist that you could ever hope to meet. Once upon a time, I would not-infrequently preface my sales spiel for my comics at conventions by telling people at conventions by telling people everything that I thought was wrong wtih them.
But over time ... you know how sometimes, you'll look and see other people doing something that annoys you, and then you'll look very closely and critically at yourself and realize that you're doing it too, and want to kick yourself through the ceiling? That's exactly what happened to me. Not instantly, but slowly, and in large part through fandom, where SO MANY people seem to draw what basically amounts to a cloak of exaggerated and ostentatious modesty around themselves.
And I realized that by telling people who wanted to buy my books, or read my webcomic online, all its flaws and then STILL offering it up for sale/viewing, I was being a horrible hypocrite. And I was obliquely telling people, "Your opinion doesn't matter. Here's how I want you to feel about this. I'm having this creative crisis and I hate it, so I want you to hate it too. I want you to validate my feelings of artistic self-worthlessness. OR I want you to tell me that it doesn't suck and it's awesome, so I can bask in my artistic depression and still get my ego stroked!"
But we don't get to tell our readers how to think. And trying to do so will just make them feel manipulated and angry. When I see someone on ff.net put IN THEIR STORY DESCRIPTION something like "This is not my best effort" or "This is my first story and it isn't very good", then my first reaction is, "Thanks for the warning; I won't read it then. And if you feel THAT strongly about it, then why are you putting it out for people to read? Take it down, polish it up, get a beta, and bring it back when you feel it's worth reading."
If it's worth pointing out the problems in your work, then it's worth fixing them. By pointing them out to your viewers, you're basically saying, "Yes, I know there are all of these specific problems, but I can't be bothered to fix them." Is that REALLY the impression you want to leave them with? I TOTALLY understand, believe me, the fear that your readers/viewers will think less of you if THEY spot flaws in your work that you didn't. Believe me, I know, I know! You're afraid that your viewers will think you're inept if you don't point out the flaws in yuor perspective/coloring/shading/proportion/whatever. But think about it -- how much MORE inept will they think you are if you know all about the flaws but didn't bother fixing them?
And believe me. I speak as someone who has been there, done that and got the emo T-shirt.
(continued...)