Calling It Quits On A Manuscript

Today, I realized that it has been two years that I’ve been working on my current work-in-progress (WIP). After two previous false starts, I have just completed the first rough draft of it. I have now begun the nitty gritty: the editing and rewriting, which actually,is my favorite part.

Two years. That’s a long time to spend on a novel where there’s no guarantee that it will be published. But at what point do you call it quits and relegate it to the drawer where it can join other friends?

I have writer friends who have written three or four books in the last two years. But I’m a plodder. I’m the turtle in the race. I know that I’ll get there, it’s just going to take some time.

The problem is this: I love it too much to give up on it just yet. These are the things that I love about my current WIP: the main character (MC), her two main love interests (to the point that I can not make up my mind myself), the story and most of all, her dilemma.

When do you call it a day? With a manuscript you love, I think you need an equal dose of realism and intuition in order to pull the plug at the correct time. Most importantly, it’s a personal decision. What’s right for me, may not be right for others. Someone else may have written faster and retired it after a year. But for this particular manuscript, there will be no more attempts. I will give it the college girl try and do the rewrite and edits, have it critiqued and fine tune it and then start the volley of querying agents.

And if that doesn’t work, I’ll let it rest in peace in the drawer with her three sisters, knowing that I did everything I possibly could with it. What is important is to have a plan and then follow through with it. I have a plan. Do you have yours?