Friends who only say “it’s amazing” are sweet but useless. Find one person who’ll tell you what’s broken.

Encouragement feels good and teaches you nothing. Somebody telling you it is amazing is usually protecting the friendship, which is kind of them, and it leaves you with no idea what to change. One person who will say the middle section drags is worth ten who clap, because only one of those affects the next version.

Find the friend with the harshest taste and ask straight out for the parts that are not working. Say you want the real answer. Thank them even when it stings, because that is how the channel stays open.