MAKING MY DREAM REALITY<\/p>\n
When I returned to Singapore in mid-2024, I’d finished most of my manuscript. It took me another month to complete it \u2013 and then I immediately began revising it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In August 2024, I sent my manuscript out to a small number of trusted people, including my old teacher Mrs Wong. Encouraged by their feedback, I sent it to local publishers.<\/p>\n
Unsurprisingly, none were willing to take up a small author like me.<\/p>\n
This being my first book, my expectations had been low. Even then, I was a little disappointed at the lack of feedback aside from generic rejection notes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, that didn’t stop me. I kept searching for more publishers and soon discovered the option of hybrid publishing, where the author self-publishes with consultants supporting the process.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was instantly convinced this was the way to realise my dream. But\u2026 could I afford it?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hadn’t yet started earning a proper pay cheque, barely scraping by with intern stipends and ad-hoc work allowances. What if I gave this book everything I had \u2013 which wasn’t much \u2013 and I still didn\u2019t make it?\u00a0<\/p>\n
In my doubt, I remembered the promise I made to myself and to others in 2021.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was a hard shift to navigate, but despite my financially-inclined mind, I had to stop seeing my dream as an investment. I had to ask myself a hard question: Would I still want to do this even if it meant I wouldn\u2019t get a single cent back?\u00a0<\/p>\n
After much thought, the answer came to me: Yes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
WHEN THE VALUE OF A DREAM IS IN CHASING IT<\/p>\n
On Jul 22, at my alma mater, Singapore Management University, I launched my book Genesis \u2013 the story of a world powered by magical Influence, where three individuals discover that their fantastical abilities may not be enough against rising complexity and change.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The presence and congratulations of friends and family affirmed the belief I had in myself, to press on despite doubts and adversities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On that special night, I received a card from someone bearing a quote that has stuck with me even now: “Nothing is more beautiful than a dream in bloom.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MAKING MY DREAM REALITY When I returned to Singapore in mid-2024, I’d finished most of my manuscript. It…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":84396,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[489,16834,156,5712,111,139,69,1965,64460],"class_list":{"0":"post-84395","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-books","9":"tag-dreams","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-literature","12":"tag-new-zealand","13":"tag-newzealand","14":"tag-nz","15":"tag-writer","16":"tag-writing"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84395"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84395\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}