Tuesday 16 February 2016

You've Written a Novel. Now what?

The Dreamworld



Imagine What the World would be like if Martin Luther King did Not have a Dream?

After watching countless videos and reading countless blogs on writing/publishing advice, all I can say is...Huh? When did we start teaching people it's not ok to dream, or to dream but dream small dreams. When did we make that our common speak? Imagine you've just written a novel and log on the internet to look for advice, the first video you see, more or less says - don't expect anything major to happen next.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? You just finished your very own novel! Do you know how impressive that is? I have so much Crazy Mad Respect for you! Well done! WOW.

According to Nathan Bransford here, about 15, 000+ people query an agent a year.... seriously? Out of 7.12 billion people....maybe that's just in the US but still! You wrote your book, never let anyone dim that excitement down. Yes, the hardest part might be what happens after you write your book. Yes, querying and getting published takes time. Yes, you might be rejected.
Say this with me:
Some Will, Some Won't
So What? Next!

We spend so much of our lives being told not to dream, not to take risks. I say DREAM! and dream BIG! Why shouldn't you? Why shouldn't you want massive success from your work? There isn't a reason, there's only an excuse. I've watched people both with insider knowledge and without, give brilliant advice but they always dim it with 'success is a myth' or 'don't expect the heavens to raise for you'. WHat? No. I believe in my work, I believe in people and I most definitely believe that success is solely possible by force of will.

It might have taken me only when everything shut down around me to write a book but I did and I'm insanely jazzed that I did. It flabbergasts me to think that so many words came out of my head and landed on pages. I never thought I would achieve that at this stage but I did. So I'm DREAMING now, I'm a big FAT DREAMER and I shout it to skies.

Some of the advice are based more on personal experience, but Veronica Roth or Rick Riordan can't really say from experience that massive success is not common or achievable. Yeah, they might have gotten some rejection but their epic talent and brilliant novel success far outweigh any of that. They can comment on it, yeah but they would be the people I would focus on. Because they DREAMED, they thought it up, wrote it and DREAMED.
Read this by Veronica Roth BEFORE she was famous, she dared to Dream it first.

So I'm going to listen to the advice but I'm definitely tuning out the whole, "Don't expect big things." speeches. Don't get me wrong those blogs and posts are amazingly helpful, especially on the "HOW TO" parts. I just believe that once we have written a novel, we should smile our cheekbones off and celebrate. Then with pride and hope, submit our queries.

Find Literary agents of fiction here.
Find awesome query examples here.

Have you been told not to Dream lately?
Reach OUT to me, I got your back.

Read The Story That came from a Dream

~Be Kind to One Another~ Ellen Degeneres

29 comments:

  1. Keep on dreaming, Enricoh! Dreams DO come true! You will make it happen :-)

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    1. Thanks annelisa! means so much coming from you!

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  2. It's not that anyone has told me not to dream, it's just that with my kids still being so young I am focused on them instead of myself right now.

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    1. Your kids are you dream robin-chan and that's one of the best ones to have. I hope one day I can be as great a parent as you are.

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  3. Dreaming is great! Sometimes it's easy for us to get caught up in the day-to-day and forget about our dreams. Keep dreaming :)

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    1. thank you so much rachel! yes haha it really is. case and point...today haha

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  4. Here is a fact: it's the dreamers that are responsible for many of the big things in our world... books, films, inventions. so you go on dreaming!

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    1. here here carol! Brilliant fact! thank you for the encouragement

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  5. Keep Dreaming and dream big. without dreams we would have nothing to work for.

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  6. Dream big and dont let anyone smash that dream. You need to own your dream.

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  7. This is true for so many situations in life! Thanks for the encouragement :)

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  8. Great post and so positive. Just in time too because draft 1 of my newest SciFi young adult novel is complete at 94,000 words. You want inspiration? JK Rowling landed an agent on her 2nd attempt. Finding a publisher was a bit harder, but not impossible.

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  9. Agents are certainly flooded with queries. Its a hard process. But it needs to be done if you want to be traditionally published. I'm right there with you in the struggle. Keep it strong.

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  10. Whoever said it's not okay to dream? I tell my kids to keep dreaming everyday and make sure they make those dreams come true as well. This is a good reminder for us all. Keep dreaming.

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  11. What an encouraging post, I enjoyed reading this so much

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  12. You have a very inspiring post, I also love dreaming, even if it is day dreaming. It gives me motivation and encouragement to fulfill that dream.

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  13. Dreams are very helpful to achieve our maximum potentials. Keep on dreaming while we are young and keep on achieving!

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  14. Dreamers lead to what most people enjoy in their lives today! If it was not for them, where would we be?

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  15. I love the positiveness that you've shown in your post.... Keep dreaming, if you believe, you can achieve...

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  16. Well how about that, inspiration and motivation just blew me out like a storm. Thanks for the uplifting seeds of wisdom!

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  17. I think dreams are a wonderful thing to have. We can always dream, right?! I think we should all keep dreaming big.

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  18. It is only by dreaming that we reach our goals, small or big. Continue dreaming. There are many opportunities, and only those who grab them will reach to the top.

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  19. What an amazing and encouraging post!! I am so happy for you and your dream becoming a reality!

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  20. I have taught my kids to bream big and go for it. You never know what you can do unless you try.

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  21. I'm all about chasing dreams!!! People tell me all the time that I'm wasting my time & I can't help but smile when I prove them wrong. Anything is possible if you tray hard enough.

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  22. Keep Dreaming and dream big, the bigger the better! Without dreams we would have nothing to look for! My dreams fuel my passion!

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