I'm so sorry to hear about your setback. Getting that sort of feedback can be so disheartening.

I'm in a different situation, but it's having a similar effect. Last year for NaNo I wrote a novel based off of a collaboration I'd done with a close group of friends, and everyone was so excited. They all told me they couldn't wait for this November, for me to tackle the sequel. But now that it's here and it's prep season, no one seems excited but me.

I was so intricate in my responses the first ten days, but now I'm also struggling to focus the whole fifteen minutes. And the feedback on my excerpts hasn't been great (which I get. It's a book written with a pretty specific audience in mind... but if they're also not interested.... it seems like I could use my writing time this month more wisely?)

I definitely don't intend to quit prep, or NaNo. But I do wonder if I should switch projects to something that I'm writing more for myself than anyone else?

Did you consider switching projects at all? Or have you also found that your project grows from this sort of scrutiny, past just strengthening your discipline as a writer?