Buzz buzz…

Recently, a para-sahitya (literary parasite) said to me –

“Your poems have a long way to go …”
I said “Of course! and I am working each day on bettering my craft. I don’t sit on laurels – appreciation or prizes, but I hope you too invest less time in my journey and look at your own work. It will help your weak single-thread poems a great deal!”

Then it said, “You cannot take critique.”
I said, “Of course i can’t take destructive critique. And one should guard against people whose agendas are unknown, and when your gut tells you to not trust completely. Listen more to stakeholders/collaborators/well-wishers/genuine peers.”
My novel is being beta-read by 8 readers currently who are good with story, structure, character, language, flow and I respect their work and work ethics. I have told them to rip the work apart, show me ways to improve, show me how I can do better. And they have done a revealing job of what-works and what-doesn’t. Of course I am greedy for the right critique.”

The para-sahitya buzzed off.