108. How to Know When to Shift

That quiet, nagging feeling about your manuscript? It might be trying to tell you something important.

In this episode, novelist and writing mentor Nicole Meier gets honest about one of the hardest decisions a writer can face: knowing when it's time to set a manuscript aside, pivot your publishing path, or start something new — and how to make that call from a place of clarity rather than fear or desperation.

Nicole shares the personal story of shelving her own early novel after receiving rare, detailed agent feedback — a decision she credits as one of the most aligned choices of her writing career. Four published books later, she's here to help you ask the same honest questions she asked herself.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How to tell the difference between normal creative resistance and a deeper signal that something isn't working
• The 5 questions to ask yourself when your manuscript feels misaligned
• What to do if you've been querying literary agents for months (or years) without success
• Why "switching it up" is not the same as quitting — and when it's actually the wisest creative move
• How to define your authorial identity before starting your next project
• What alignment really means for novel writers and memoirists — and why it changes everything

This episode is for you if:

• You're a novelist or memoir writer sitting with a manuscript that feels "off"
• You're deep in the query trenches and wondering whether to keep going
• You're considering alternative publishing paths like small press, hybrid, or self-publishing
• You want to write books that feel true to who you are as a storyteller

Whether you're working on your debut novel, revising a memoir, or deciding whether to keep querying — this conversation will help you move forward with intention.

For more on Nicole Meier, visit here.