My job is to teach young people how to communicate in words, and how to get the most out of the words of others. It is in the context of nonfiction, but I think there are some similarities to the world of fiction (if I'm remembering right from my creative writing classes). In the written communication classes we do a lot (as in multiple times for every paper) of peer reviews.
The hardest thing to get through the reviewers' heads is that they are not allowed to complain about what the author is saying. They can complain the logic isn't clear, they can explain why certain passages didn't "work" for them, but they don't get to ask the author to change his or her thesis. Their job is to help the authors communicate their ideas clearly and effectively.
The hardest thing to get through the authors' heads is that they need to listen to the critiques with an open mind, but that ultimately they shouldn't be slaves to the criticism they receive. They have to assess the criticism they receive, decide what they believe will genuinely improve their writing, and then do their rewrites, because ultimately, their name is on it, they are responsible for it, and the grade goes to them, not the reviewer.
no subject
The hardest thing to get through the reviewers' heads is that they are not allowed to complain about what the author is saying. They can complain the logic isn't clear, they can explain why certain passages didn't "work" for them, but they don't get to ask the author to change his or her thesis. Their job is to help the authors communicate their ideas clearly and effectively.
The hardest thing to get through the authors' heads is that they need to listen to the critiques with an open mind, but that ultimately they shouldn't be slaves to the criticism they receive. They have to assess the criticism they receive, decide what they believe will genuinely improve their writing, and then do their rewrites, because ultimately, their name is on it, they are responsible for it, and the grade goes to them, not the reviewer.