Positive Feedback

I recently received some really amazing feedback from my editor on my latest project. Was my MS perfect? No, of course not. But she's edited three of my books so far, and with this one she noticed a marked improvement in the quality of my writing. “This is probably the single best thing about being an editor. Truly. The amount you’ve improved from Sweet Dreams to Angels in Disguise to this (Sea Breeze, coming this summer) is amazing.” Yes! She said a lot of other squeal worthy stuff that I’m keeping to myself, but it made my day…week actually. She sent me her notes and suggested corrections, and there were really only three places she was asking me to reword. The rest was adding in some of the dreaded comas. (Lord knows if I’ll ever figure those suckers out.) It was an incredible feeling. Does loving her comments and sharing them here make me narcissistic? Hmmm, let’s see…

Narcissistic-have an undue fascination with oneself; vain

No, that’s not it. Her words made me feel good about my work and progress, but I am not fascinated with myself by any means. Am I being vain?

Vain-excessively proud of or concerned about one’s own appearance, qualities, achievements, etc.; conceited

No, that’s not it either. I am proud of this achievement, but in no way conceited about it. I know I still have a long way to go. In fact, I’m finishing up my self-edits on another full length novel before I send it to said editor, and now I worry that it won’t be as good as Sea Breeze. Now that I know I am moving in the right direction with my writing, I’m afraid of taking two steps forward and one step back. What if, because of the length of this book, or any other reason, my current WIP isn’t up to that same level of quality? I want my writing to improve with each book I write, and now I’m doubting myself. Does that make me insecure? Diffident?

Diffident-lacking confidence in one’s own ability, worth, or fitness; timid, shy

I do not have a lack of confidence in my worth or potential, but by no means do I pretend to be an expert on writing. No, I look for advice from the experts. I want to grow and reach that level someday where other writers are looking to me for advice, commending me for my style.

I never started writing to become a famous writer. Honestly, I had a story in me and thought, “Hey, I’m going to write a book,” just to see if I could do it. It was more of a bucket list goal. But now I’m hooked. Just as good books hook the reader, I’ve been hooked into writing. I now want that praise. I want readers to discover my work, to love my work, to recommend my books to other readers. I want each book I produce to be better than the last. And I want my last book to be my masterpiece. What does that make me?

Ambitious-eagerly desirous of achieving or obtaining success, power, wealth, a specific goal, etc.

I do desire the success of achieving the very specific goal of becoming a better writer. The wealth that can come, if you’re lucky, with being a best seller someday, or the power that comes with it, is a dream for most writers. Hey, I won’t deny it would be nice.

Now, I just need to finish my current self-edits and hand over my new novel to my editor. (Bites fingernail.) I hope it’s good enough.

How do you react to positive feedback? Does it spur you on, or cause you to doubt?

You can find me online at www.jennifersenhajiauthor.com

 

Sea Breeze is coming this summer. Stay tuned.