Would You Quit Writing

if you never sold a single story?

I know this question has been posed on numerous blogs by numerous people, mainly unpublished authors like moi. And I think the reason I'm asking is because last week was rejection week for me, two for my UF and two for my picture book. I sent two separate packets to one agent who represented both genres only to get the double whammy in the same letter. *sigh* Well, at least it was a personalized rejection, since she typed in both titles. You can tell newbie agents by the personalized typed letters. Over time, they learn that form letters are the way to go, but it was a nice touch and I appreciated it.

So would you still write? For most writers the answer would be yes. We enjoy inventing new worlds or finding lost loves or simply writing the adventures of a fly named Peter. BUT the key is to write new stories. Don't just keep tweaking the old ones. Trust me, I know how hard it is to stop, but if you keep dinking with the story, or keep sending it to a critique group(s), or entering it in contests you will write the spark out of the story. It will become drab and boring and it won't even be yours any more.

Learn from your mistakes and move on. Improve your grammar, study craft, and keep writing. So what if you have ten manuscripts under the bed? What you learned by writing those stories will improve your new stories. When the new story is finished and polished, start querying agents and then editors.

And start a new story.

True, you may never sell that story or the next one or the next one, but you might hear the SOS of an editor needing to fill a slot then dust off the appropriate story and send it in. I did this last week and one of the rejections I got was from the same publishing company--BUT from a query I had sent four months ago. Yeah, I forgot that was out there. Oops! And I'll probably get a no-response rejection from the SOS manuscript. Oh, well, shit happens and then you step in it!

Get used to the 'we'll call if we are interested' mindset, because that is the way the publishing biz seems to be going.

So, my answer to my question is: Yes, I'll still write.
I have the ability to change genres on a whim or write in an unexpected genre or write short or long or whatever I feel like because I don't have anyone breathing down my neck with a deadline.

--though there is that MG contest I want to enter and I've only written 1/5 of my story. Guess I DO have a deadline and I'd better get into the mind of a 10 year old (I know, I know, it isn't too far for me to go) to finish the adventure.
--but then again, my kiddo gave me an idea for another picture book story that I'd like to write.
--and I do have about 5 romantic suspense's that I've started
--or how about. . . .

Write on!