Does This Dress Make Me Look Fat?

Everyone knows that if you ask, "Does this dress make me look fat?" what you want to hear is, "No, you look great."  This is the same when asking people to read and share their opinions on your book.  You tell them to tell you what they think, but, secretly, you hope they will tell you, "Wow!  That was absolutely amazing!"  Of course, the closest friends, who truly love you, will let you know if that dress does, indeed, make you look fat.

Before I passed out the first copies of my book to friends, acquaintances and total strangers for their opinions, I spent a lot of time in prayer.  Everyday I begged God for all my readers to be honest.  I wanted to make my book the best it could be, and I knew that if everyone simply said, "it's absolutely amazing," I would be missing out on the opportunity for improvement.  And, if this was something I really wanted--and publishing this book is something I really, really, really want--I had to be willing to hear and accept negative comments and then be willing to do something about it.

I was also scared that I might be upset with people for being honest, because no one likes to hear, "yeah, you look fat."  So I begged God to give me the strength to still love people when they're honest.  And the truth is, I didn't cry over one negative comment.  And every single one of them made my book better.  The second person to finish the book--who came as a real surprise--handed it back and said, "I liked it, but the last chapter lacked something."  He was completely right.  In fact, I had felt the same way when I finished it.  It just fell a little flat.  Of course, if he hadn't been willing to say, "this could be better," I would have left it the way it was.  Instead, I spend two days rewriting the chapter and now the ending is much more satisfying.

So, as I prepare my first book proposal, I'm approaching the possibility (okay, the reality) of being rejected with the same attitude.  Lord, please give me the strength to handle not being accepted, to use the criticism to make my book better, and to become a better writer and person because of it.  (And please, please, please let me get published!)