should I move on from this novel

[ataposaurus]

Hi, not sure exactly why I am posting, just wanted to connect with some other writers I guess.

I have a finished novel, which I completed as part of a masters course almost 2 years ago. It took me about 5 years to write, but that is with a demanding job and two lots of maternity leave, so by no means intensive. I think it has its merits, but also some flaws and I have completely lost objectivity on it as well as being fed up to the back teeth of it! In terms of genre it is I guess (trying to be) literary fiction as opposed to genre or chick lit - for want of a better categorisation.

Anyway, feeling I should do something with it I sent it to 5 agents a couple of months ago. So far I have received 3 rejections, which I expected, I guess I just thought I should go through the process of trying. My partner says (and he is by no means a literary expert!) he thinks the opening paragraph is a problem and is perhaps not enough to grab hold of the reader and draw them in - he is probably right and I have today written a different opening, the only problem being it means I will have to make changes in the rest of the chapter which is a pain and time consuming when I could perhaps be using my time better.

The problem is, I am now on maternity leave again and feel I have a bit of a chance to get some writing done (working round baby's sleep patterns). While I have been working and with two young children I really have not had much chance over the past couple of years so this is really an opportunity. I feel perhaps I should be moving on from this novel and maybe try to write some short stories which would at least let me feel I had accomplished something - I have had one short story published in the past but then the monster novel took over all my time and energy!

On one hand i feel that as I have invested so much time in this novel I should at least try to get it published or self publish - on the other I wonder if it is time to move on to something fresh and treat it as an apprenticeship (but then I feel that I have wasted years of my life!) Either way I feel a bit panicky - just wondered if anyone else had any similar experience/ advice?

OP, can I ask why you feel it would be a waste if your novel isn't published? Are you getting (or giving yourself) any pressure to get some sort of "payoff" from your MA?

Please don't feel like you've wasted your time. There are far more novels written every year than there is capacity to publish them. If you enjoyed writing it then it wasn't a waste.

This isn't to say you shouldn't try and get it published. But don't feel like a failure if it doesn't happen. Very few first novels are published, but every single first novel teaches the writer how to do a better job next time.

' Very few first novels are published, but every single first novel teaches the writer how to do a better job next time.'

Yes, this.
Most of the time when you read about a first novel being a hit it's a long way from being the first they wrote- it's often the third or fourth and the others never saw the light of day.
Sometimes after the successful 'first novel', an earlier one gets polished up and finds a home, but many writers have novels sitting in a drawer which on reflection they're quite glad aren't out there.

"When we make something, we may love the process of making it, but we are also making it to serve a purpose, to connect to an audience and complete it's life cycle..."

Julia Cameron.

I think it is much easier to work on a new piece of writing. The first draft of any story will require to be rewritten again to make better sense.

Working on a novel would by no means be wasting time. You have spent your time well by expressing yourself. It is not easy to do.

Reading through the novel with fresh eyes, after you have left it rest will give you an insight into what your writing feels like.

J.K Rowling got rejected 19 times before Harry Potter got accepted. You could be having a best seller hidden there. Never give up.