Writing Magazine is nothing if not inspirational, with its wealth of stories about writers who got there in the end. In Talk It Over, you have often given advice about persevering and keeping the faith, despite rejections and poor sales, the message being that if we wait long enough, success will come. What I would like to ask is: what if it doesn’t? At what point does one either give up or do something drastic? I am in my sixties and still working in a demanding job, so I do not have time on my side in any respect. I sometimes think I should take early retirement and have one last big push – I have been placed in some short story competitions but my dream is to sell a novel – but if I failed and made no money, this might have financial implications for the rest of my life. I have discussed this with two friends. One said I would regret it if I didn’t have a go at writing full-time and the other said I’d be an idiot not to maximise my pension. What do you think?
LOUISE MAYNE Stoke-on-Trent