The worst things you can ever hear that will slash your self-worth by more than half -- heck, wipe it out totally. The self-worth that you spent nearly all your life building up:

You are an amateur writer straight out of college. You are not your target market. You are not masa. You tend to have your characters speak too much English. You are not thinking of the lowest common denominator. You must consider that your experience is not that of the run of the mill average kid. You are not worth your salt. You are not doing what we want you to do.

Not the exact words. But nearly. I am so tired. Excuse me, I must go out and search for the dignity I dropped this morning. I must pick it up before somebody else steps on it.