So one day I hope to be publish one of my stories, it's the dream. But I work for a company that I write articles and I find it really hard to take criticism, like I feel it as a personal blow and feel really upset even when it's not phrased nastily? So I'

Here’s the thing: nobody’s good at taking criticism. Some people are better at it than others, yes, but nobody likes it. Even when well-meaning and diplomatically phrased, it always sucks.

If you really want to be a published author, though, constructive criticism is something you just have to get used to. And the only real way to do that is to keep exposing yourself to it, kind of like you’re trying to build up an immunity.

Please note that I’m talking about constructive criticism here. There is a huge difference between constructive criticism and regular plain old criticism, and another important thing an author needs is to learn how to tell the difference.

The kind of critique you’ll get from a professional editor (if they’re good at their job) is nothing like what you’d hear from someone who’s reading your book for pleasure. The reader is invested in their own enjoyment (as they should be!); the editor is invested in helping you make a better book.

In my experience, editors are quite skilled at communicating their thoughts tactfully, in ways which make it clear that they want to help you improve your writing and not just tear you down. Most importantly, when an editor makes a suggestion, they will always give a rationale for it: “This sentence flows a little awkwardly; what if we tried rewording it like this?” “This character’s action here isn’t quite believable because earlier she said [x], so let’s look at ways to make this more plausible.”

That rationale is the main difference between constructive and non-constructive criticism. Constructive criticism targets the more objective aspects of writing, inasmuch as anything about writing can be objective: creating a smoother, cleaner writing style; addressing structural issues; catching continuity errors; etc.

Any statement that starts with “I like/dislike/love/hate…” is not constructive. Those statements are certainly valid for the person who made them, but they’re only a commentary on how well something suited that particular person’s tastes. And of course it’s impossible to write something that suits everyone!

If you really want to move forward with your writing, my advice is to find people whose judgment you trust and who you know can be constructive in their approach to helping you improve. When you hear something difficult, give yourself a moment to deal with that instinctive pain, and then examine the advice closely. I can’t tell you how much I learned about writing in my internet-publishing days through discussions with readers! These days, every time I go through the editing process with a book, I learn new lessons that I carry forward with me into the draft of the next one.

As for negative, non-constructive criticism, that always hurts - but since it won’t help you become a better writer anyway, you can just ignore it! The best way to do that is to not even read it in the first place, if you can manage it. 

But if you do run into that situation, it can help to remind yourself of something you don’t personally like that a lot of other people do. For me, that’s pistachio ice cream - it grosses me out, for no reason I can explain, but tons of people love it! There’s nothing wrong with pistachio ice cream as a flavor. It’s just not my thing. Books are no different - and that’s great, because think of how boring life would be if everyone liked the same stuff!