Most people probably do overestimate the quality of their writing, but they also probably overestimate the power of generalized advice--if it seems harsh, it must be honest, right?

But the problem is not that writers may delete a passage that would have for most readers have been a strength, but that writers haven't yet developed the ability to use advice in a judicious and productive way. A lot of our writing is garbage, maybe even some of the passages we think are exceptional. But surely not ALL of the passages we hold dear are to be excised.

If "Kill your darlings" sounds like a reliable, one-size-fits-all formula, then shouldn't the first thing we kill be the advice to kill our darlings?