Hand your work to someone more skilled and say “be brutal.” Their red pen costs less than a stranger’s silence.

Harsh feedback from someone competent is the cheapest correction available anywhere. The alternative is releasing something with the same flaws and getting no response at all, which teaches you nothing and feels considerably worse. Silence is the most expensive review you can receive, because there is no way to learn from it.

Find one person genuinely better than you and ask for the unvarnished version. Make it easy for them to be honest by saying what kind of honest you want. Then sit with the discomfort for a day before responding, because first reactions are rarely the useful ones.