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I'm deliberately not showing anyone anything I've written of my novel so far, as 1. it's a first draft, so I haven't done even the most basic editing/revising, 2. I don't think a few pages or chapters will make sense out of context, 3. I'm not 100% sure what direction it will ultimately take, so don't want to be put off by criticism before I'm even clear about this myself.
Please, please don't give up on your novel.
If you get negative feedback, it's bound to make you feel a bit strange, but just ignore it. Like Dorothy says, all art is subjective by its very nature. If we all liked the same music, for instance, there would be no market for anything different. Now, that WOULD be boring!
Stick with it - it'll come right in the end.
Don't show anyone anything until you're done and polished. Then show it to someone who's opinion you value, never to friends, family or anyone you sleep with (unless you're sleeping with an agent, publisher or editor - then blackmail them!).
Aren't they guys who hang around with musicians?
*Ducks and runs for cover*
First, never give up. In my agent's opinion, the most important quality for any writer is persistence - no matter what anyone says about your writing, you must keep going.
Second, listen and react to criticism, but only as long as it's justified. Someone who says 'I don't read farce' or whatever, will never buy your book and his or her opinion of it is irrelevant. But if someone says your writing isn't funny, and he or she DOES enjoy that kind of book, you should certainly look at your manuscript again. I'm also very cautious about showing work to friends, because you normally get one of two reactions. Either they say it's wonderful, because they want to stay friends with you, or they're perhaps a bit jealous of what you've achieved and make some kind of carping criticism to try and score points or put you down. It's very diificult to find somebody you know who'll be completely impartial about your writing.
Third, I'd never give somebody a 'couple of pages' to look at, and definitely never a work that wasn't pretty much fully revised and polished. No reader can form a reasonable impression of a book without reading at least a chapter.
Fourth, don't take justified criticism personally. If somebody doesn't like what you've written and tells you so, and they know what they're talking about, you should regard what they've said as a useful pointer to improve your work.
But, above all, never give up.
James Barrington
Two things; 1. she had taken 4 weeks to read it! 2. "Good" won't cut it with a publisher. When I gave the same manuscript to another family member who was better qualified to cast a critical eye over my efforts, she confirmed my suspicions. It required some serious editing!