Sometimes you are the bug. Sometimes you are the windshield. Yesterday, I was the bug.

I sent my manuscript to a professional editor. This was after six beta readers had already given me feedback and I had worked for weeks on revisions. I added sections, delected chapters, and made both major and minor changes. I was feeling good. I was confident. I was on top of the world.

Until I got the feedback.

From an unsatisfactory ending to the lack of character growth, the feedback was brutal. I am talking Olivia Rodrigo, “Ego crush is so severe,” level of brutal.

The feedback was a torrent of critique pointing out flaw after flaw after flaw. Imagine paying someone to come to your house, pick out the item you treasure most, and spend hours telling you everything wrong with the item and your love for it.

Not that the editor was all wrong. On the contrary, one of the reasons it was so brutal was because so much of the criticism was spot on. There is work I need to do on character development. There are parts of my dialogue that need to be tightened up. There are times I tell more than I show.

Feedback is tough. Every writer wants to hear nothing but praise. Hell, most of us would be happy going through life hearing nothing but positive feedback on anything we attempted.

But that’s not how we grow. That’s not how we improve.

Sometimes, it’s brutal out here for a reason. My ego took a beating yesterday. But because of that, my manuscript will improve. The story will get better, the dialogue will get tighter, and the overall reading experience will improve.

It still sucks, though.

What’s a time when you got brutal feedback that hurt at the time, but ended up being a positive influence in your life? Let me know in the comments below.