Getting Bad Notes

If you get back bad notes from a producer or publisher about your work. What does that say about you as a person?

Nothing.

As long as you don’t identify with your work, that is. As in, connecting your self-worth with the opinion about your work of others.

Why is this important?

First of all, you are not your work. What you wrote was somewhere inside you, has to do something with how you experience the world and your opinion about it.

And depending on how well that fits with something that a producer or publisher thinks he can sell you might get back “better” or “worse” notes.

But those notes are nothing more than that: the opinion of another person under specific circumstances, looking for something specific on a specific day in a specific mood.

Tomorrow, circumstances might be completely different. Another person might see it completely different. Being in another mood the same person might see it completely different.

Do you see how volatile this opinion is?

And even if, let’s suppose you get back the same bad note from a couple of feedback sources that you deem trustworthy.

What does THAT say about you as a person?

Still nothing.

What does that say about your ability as a writer?

If you accept the feedback (if you get the same or very similar feedback from three different sources you should look into it), you’ve just found your next area to approve in.

And once you’ve done it you will be a better writer than before.

Don’t link your self-worth to your writing ability. They are two completely separate things.

How to learn to stop linking your self-worth to things and abilities?