The point is to get a pro's eyes on your work. Whether that's a career writer you admire, an agent, or an editor working with a legit publisher, their feedback can often give you the barometer for where you are and what you need to do to level up.
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Delilah S. Dawson
Delilah S. Dawson is an American author, primarily of fantasy and science fiction, whose works have been published since 2012. She writes fantasy as Lila Bowen and erotica as Ava Lovelace. 2Career Dawson's work includes the Blud series of steampunk paranormal romance novels, the Shadow series of Weird West novels (as Bowen), as well as several young adult novels and erotica. She has also written Star Wars tie-in short stories, including the 2015 Bazine Netal adventure "Star Wars: The Perfect Weapon", and the 2016 Greer Sonnel story "Scorched", published in Star Wars Insider #165. In September 2017, Dawson released Star Wars: Phasma, a novel chronicling the backstory of Captain Phasma. 2Personal life Dawson lives in Dahlonega, Georgia. 2Reception In 2016, Alex Brown of Tor.com wrote that Dawson is "producing some of the best underappreciated books of the last few years", noting the "difficult subject matter [and] intense imagery" in her young adult works, and her diverse protagonists. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly appreciated that in Dawson's Wake of Vultures, "themes of self-worth, gender, and the complexity of identity are treated with frank realism and sensitivity", as well as her "gritty and well-realized paranormal Wild West". Kirkus Reviews wrote in a starred review of Wake of Vultures that "Bowen has created a fascinating, textured Wild West worl
Plenty of people with talent doubt themselves. Plenty of writers I know are deathly afraid they stink. Confidence is great and all, but you don't have to have it to be a good writer. You just have to keep going and committing yourself to leveling up.
Whatever gets the job done and doesn't make you hate yourself or self-destruct is the right way to do it. Whenever I give advice here, I'm speaking to the writer I was in 2009.