We all hope that people will have something nice to say about our work, but what about when they don't?

What happened?

Not only was I working on a book series for the first time, but it was from my very first book, from when I was a brand-spankin'-new writer.

I sent out the second book in the series to 4 beta readers (people who give you feedback before you proceed into the publishing process) and received some mixed reviews until the last beta reader's feedback.

This last beta reader was honest with their feedback, which was exactly what we need as authors. They explained that they appreciated being able to read my story and felt honored to do so, however, they hated every minute of my story, especially the ending.

...ouch!

So, what positives do you take from that?

At first, it hurt. Something I had been nervous about doing, to begin with, had literally taken a swift kick to the gut.

So, I asked them why they hated it. If I really wanted to make it better, I needed to take this feedback constructively, because this was reality. Not everyone was going to like my storyline. The least I could do was hear them out.

They informed me that I had the bones of a good writer but I needed to work on my showing vs telling. I needed to help my readers connect with the characters.

They were a writer too, so they even gave me examples of showing vs telling using my own lines! Once I took all of this into consideration, I did a rewrite and had a much better book for it.