Sir,
I just followed the link on your website and read your advice to aspiring, first-time authors. Brilliant, helpful, encouraging, and self effacing as only someone with your background could be. A best-selling author and you are still as humble as pie.
Had I read your piece several years sooner, not only would my confidence have been goosed, but the obvious shortcomings contained within my initial foray into being a writer might have been avoided. (As your agent said, thus I still worry, that “It must be a f***ing awful book.”
Actually, I don’t think it is completely awful, even though I still have the thin skin of a novice. But it would benefit from a thorough and shameless editing. At this point, however, I think I have moved on. Live and learn.
All this to say that I appreciated your essay.
Regards.
JD