You DON'T suck!

Last week was WriteOnCon. If you missed it...shame on you. I mean, go register and check out the awesomeness. It should be posted for a long time :)


I have a TON to catch up on. The week was packed with unexpected things and I fell way behind. But not until I had this experience.


I debated whether or not to post anything in the forums. I knew agents would be lurking and I knew that my MS wasn't 100%. But I also knew that it didn't matter if it wasn't all the way ready. I was looking for a critique, not a deal. So I posted my first 250 words. 


And who was the first person to comment? AN AGENT!!! They were fast too. They commented almost instantly.


You know what they said?


"You can cut all of this."


My first reaction. "I SUCK."


I closed my laptop and wanted to throw it. I questioned why I ever decided to write in the first place. 






Eventually, meaning a day or two later, I realized something. 


I don't suck. I've worked on this thing for months. I've spent all my time and energy writing and revising. And even if I don't ever get it published, the whole experience has gotten me one step closer to where I want to be. 


And really, the agent wasn't saying that I suck. What they were really saying was that I started in the wrong place. I just took their advice the wrong way.


So my advice today is to take criticism. Don't let it get you down, though. Not for too long anyway. Turn it around and learn from it. You know the saying, "No pain no gain?" Well, it was painful for me to hear that my first 250 words were worth cutting. But after I read over it a few times, I realized the agent was right. It was boring and definitely not needed.


And my beginning is that much better now. Maybe not perfect but certainly one step closer to awesome!