I Quit: When to Give Up on a Novel

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

When it is time to call it quits with your manuscript?
Unless you're one of the rare lucky ones to sell the first book you ever wrote, you'll have that moment when you wonder if it's time to shove your baby in the trunk. I've had those thoughts twice with just one manuscript, and I re-wrote and re-submitted my first novel. The first time I decided it wasn't time to give up and slaved away another year. The second time, I knew it was over.

How?

Well, 50 rejections made it pretty clear that the novel had problems, but what really convinced me was the nagging feeling I'd had that the book wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. Good wasn't going to cut it and get me published. It was hard to admit that I had a decently written novel with an overdone plot. But I knew. Oh, I knew.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com