When you do good work, you need to believe in the work. Put it out there, find a place to publish and promote it (definitely more than once!), and let the people respond. 

You don’t need to ask them for a five star review, or for applause, or anything like that. If the work is good, they will respond accordingly. When you give people a genuine part of yourself, they will give you a response back.

If you haven’t established your confidence yet, giving someone else space feels like the scariest thing to do. What if they don’t clap? What if they don’t respond the way you want? Worst yet—what if they don’t say anything?

Whenever you persuade, request, or ask someone to do something, you also take something away from them: an opportunity to take initiative, and do something on their own.