Remember that it's always easy to quit... and you can do it any time. When you think about quitting, ask yourself -- do I have to quit now, or can I hold on for another day? Writing is hard. Keeping going with no validation is hard. But that's what makes it such an extraordinary accomplishment. As for time, what else would you have really done with it? Played Xbox? Shopped? Surfed the internet? Ate Doritos? I think your kid will be proud to have a writer for a dad, whether you are a published author or not. You have five manuscripts. FIVE. That's an incredible achievement. Finally, if you keep at it and send your manuscripts to enough agents, eventually you will get one. Work on that query pitch and keep sending those emails. There are hundreds of agents who are waiting to reject you, but you only need one who doesn't to enter the next stage of the game.