Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes

Greetings, Storytellers. Diana here today. I just had the great pleasure of visiting my old writer’s critique group and gabbing about books with a few people who became dear friends. It seems a good time to hammer home the importance of peer feedback.

My first book was a masterpiece, of course. I poured my heart onto the pages, begged my family to read it, and labored over revisions until it was undeniably sublime. Then I sent my newborn tome to agents and publishers, certain they’d coo with delight and sign me up with a fat advance. The result: Reject…Reject…Reject…Reject…Reject…

“What went wrong?” asked silly, starry-eyed me, a clueless look on my face. Little did I know (literally).

I discovered the answer to that question when I joined a writers’ critique group. With tender support and pointed criticism, my peers taught me that my baby was far from beautiful. Apparently, I…