Our Books, Our Shelves: BE A QUITTER, or HOW TO WRITE THE NOVEL OF YOUR HEART

Sometimes, you quit.

Quitting isn’t something we’re taught to do, especially not as writers. Established authors share stories of rejections and perseverance. Of the manuscript they refused to give up on. That they published to great acclaim and poo-poo on those editors who rejected them! It’s supposed to inspire—and goodness knows we need all the inspiration we can get in this field.

When I was in graduate school, I started writing my first novel. A novel that my mother recently retrieved from the depths of her house, printed and spiral bound. “In five years, we can put that on eBay,” my dad said, while fixing himself a burger. “Absolutely not!” I said. Probably should’ve snatched it from Mom when I had the chance. (Please, if in five years you see an eBay listing titled “K M SZPARA UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPT RARE,” report it.)

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