The Word Cloud

I write as I like to, I have flirted with it for years sometimes too busy or distracted to do much but I always come back to it, if do not succeed well so what, if I do great..but should we ever reach a time when we give up?

No, never.

I've been like you for over 30 years. I still enjoy it when I do it (as it were) but I have people relying on me for food clothes and warmth, so I have to do boring work too.

Yesd curse all those people who rely on us!

Pff whatever. Give up isn't in my vocabulary.

I know what everyone is saying but if what you really want is to be published and you have that strong feeling it is never going to happen, then it's not surprising the question comes up for a lot of writers. You have to be so resilient. And sometimes it's just about asking yourself when you should give up on a particular idea. Maybe the 20th rewrite isn't going to change anything?

I agree with Colin, we have to know when to give up on specific manuscripts. I sent my first manuscript off to loads of agents - all of whom said thanks but no thanks. I thought it was brilliant! Everyone I knew, read it and enjoyed it, but that doesn't mean they would have picked it off a shelf and purchased it with their hard earned cash. Obviously, the agents I approached spotted that and that's what it's all about for them.

It's extremely hard to step away from something that's taken a huge chunk of your life to produce or to admit that it's just not marketable, but it's something you have to do if you want to be published. Wasting time on a project that is going no-where is pointless, soul destroying and expensive.

I've learned so much since my first ms. I've joined writing groups, questioned published writers, emailed agents/publishers asking for advice, stopped writing for a good long time because it just seemed pointless, and now I've come full circle - I'm back writing another ms that I will attempt to get published.

I think to keep your sanity you have to let some things go. If you have only one book in you, you're not going to get very far anyway, publishers aren't looking for one hit wonders. So if at first you don't succeed, put it to one side, learn from it and write something else. You can always bring it back out the woodwork if you do get something else published and say 'here's one I made earlier!'

It's extremely hard to step away from something that's taken a huge chunk of your life to produce or to admit that it's just not marketable,

I also wonder though.... I finished a book that obviously wasn't acceptable as it was, and I had spent a lot of time on. It has(d) loads of great points, but it was the plot that was the issue. I reviewed the plot, tried to figure it out from all angles, threw tantrums, etc etc, with no luck. I put it aside, and haven't worked on it for over a year, but I know that if I sort out the plot issues I'd have a potential complete novel that I'd be proud to try push to get published. It's driven me slightly insane. At the end of it all my feeling is that if I do figure out the plot in my dreams I'll go back to it and sort it out! I guess you'll know when it has to be put aside, for me that's when I don't seem to be getting any further, or I don't enjoy working on it anymore - when it feels like work! You don't want to be stuck writing for years on something that won't bring you success and doesn't bring you any joy....

Exactly right!