Getting Published Traditionally
The title of this post is DREAMS COME TRUE. This is one of the biggest dreams I have always had. It is a goal I have set and am working towards. I know this dream will come true. Amongst other reasons, practicing my writing here, has helped me develop because there is a way with words. Using English language for an example, even as a native speaker, there is still a mastery required when you want to express something. Write something. I always say that everyone is a writer. Not just because we all have our stories to tell, which can be done through various formats, not because everyone is typing to someone these days, not because there are thousands of people looking for a publishing deal, but because life itself is a story. Besides, writing is a beautiful thing. I always advice we engage with this exercise. It frees our minds. It declutters our brains. We store and revisit many valuable ideas that we would have lost when we don’t put them into writing. We gotta write down our goals. Those self assertive words that inspire us, we should not only proclaim them, we should put them down. Make it physical and real. Many will frown at my boldness in stating this aspiration of mine, but am way past naysayers comments right now.
There is an inspiring story about an actor who put it in writing that he would get a gig of ten million dollars. He called it the check he wrote for himself. He was broke when he did that but he believed. He stuck it deep in his wallet and someday that dream actualized. He got an acting roles of ten million dollars. I have heard this kind of stories many times. I have read them in books. Last year, I tried it. Put some things down when I encountered some obstacles halfway through the year, and with the remaining six months left, went about it. That came true also. Some people write down their goals for the next day each night before they sleep. It is with that same belief that I am writing this today that someday I will get published traditionally. The confidence that comes from working towards this dream for years now always got me pumped.
Those who know me well enough can attest to the fact that a writer is the primary description I use for myself. They get thrown off sometimes because unless your books are jumping off the shelves, some never understand. And when they dig deeper, they always, almost all the time, tend to discourage. Gat me thinking if there is anything wrong with chasing dreams. I have tried so many things, I have attempted so many hustles, I have given up on plenty of those, but this is the one that giving up doesn’t come in at all. This is the core of who I am. This is my God’s given gift. This is a skill I have developed for years and will keep working on. I have encountered setbacks and disappointments, came close to getting recognition only for things to turn upside down, but for every new character I create, every new plot I twist, every new theme I decide to handle, I know the rewards will accumulate into getting published and having people read my books. And I got a lot of them in me.
Of course when I say getting published traditionally I don’t mean just the prints. I am going for the total package. Ebooks. Audiobooks. Film adaptations. Merchandise. Why not? But you know things have changed which even empowers me the more knowing that there are more ways to go about stuff. But then again, I see myself as this young person with an old soul. I have a thing for retro even within a modern framework. I will love to work with systems that have been in place for years, publishers that have been in the industry and who are open to new ways and new writers. There is always a market for a good prose. Nobody can write the stories I write just as I cannot execute accurately the same way another writer handles a subject and that is the beauty of writing. The unique voice, sentence format, pacing style, and the mental images we invoke with our descriptions. I grew up in a household with a library and the smell of books have always stuck with me. Fortunately, I went to schools with adequate supplies of books. It has always been a part of me. The reason I said traditionally is because I remember reading books when I was younger from cover to cover and how amazed I always was. Sometimes I would sit down and ponder how the writer wrote the damn thing, how big his mind must be because I thought then all books are written serially from the first sentence to the last. My young mind then haven’t fathomed editing. Drafts. Rewrites. Spending hours trying to shape up a sentence or paragraph. Discarding portions of our works dear to us but doesn’t add to the overall story. Writing from sun down to the early rays of the morning. Listening to people and getting inspired. Opening up of our minds and getting inspired. The knowledge acquired by researching. Writing. Publishing. Indeed, I am very hopeful and I think my contribution will make the world a better place. Make a difference for someone like the many authors who came before me did for me.
