I love your book and can't wait for the next one! But I'm curious to know if you have ever read the one star reviews on Amazon or Goodreads? Do you have any advice for aspiring writers who are scared to put their souls on the line for fear of public reje

I know only a few writers who manage not to read their reviews. I’ve read a lot of reviews and the harsh ones sting every time. Even the good ones get in your head because they carry their own expectations.

But there is no perfect book. There is no book that everyone will love. So all you can do is write a book that you love. Shut down every critical voice, silence that internal editor that says, “It’s not good enough,” and tell the story. Get it on paper. Because that will give you strength.

And when it comes time to put it out there, there will be people who don’t love that story and who let you know in no uncertain terms. But there will also be people who adore your work and who take the time to tell you that. You’ll never quite believe the kind words as much as you do the cruel, but still they’ll give you strength.

And when you finish that first story, you’re going to find you have a thousand more to tell, and you’ll write those stories too. So your soul won’t be caught up in a single book. You’ll be able to step back and see that your first book is just one moment and that there will be many more. That will give you strength too.

And if none of that helps, you can always vent to me and we’ll have a good laugh about it.

Don’t let fear stop you. It held me back for years.

You can do this