I have a handful of trusted early readers who aren’t afraid to tell me the truth and I thought that meant I was good at taking criticism. But you never realize how hard it is to take criticism until someone tells you your baby is ugly.

The book I just wrote apparently isn’t very good. And even though that was hard to hear, I think I was expecting that response. Because it doesn’t feel like the other Alexander books. The story is there but it doesn’t have the heart. The saddest part is that I kn...