Just a quick plug here for any writer who does not yet have a writing group.  Over my short writing career the past few years, I have found that there is no more valuable asset to my work than an honest, intelligent voice to tell me, "Yeah, this is working," or "You know what, this sucks!"  Writers need to have a thick skin in this business for sure, but once you get past the whole, "I can't take criticism crap," having another writer help you through the process is irreplaceable.  For my past two books I have worked closely with another North Star Press writer, Karlajean Becvar.  She is an expert editor and her advice has been monumental in my work.  I was going through some of her comments and edits tonight and it makes me wonder how any writer could ever do this on their own.  So, in a nutshell, suck it up, put your work out there (when it's in a good enough place) and find a group of voices you can trust.