NaNoWriMo and More 2012!

Wow! It's that time of year already! November! And with it, the holidays, and NaNoWriMo! I'll spare you an immediate explanation in this post, but if you want to learn more about what the heck NaNoWriMo is all about, check this out!

This November is a special time for me, because it marks two years since the initial writing process of The Dreamers. It is crazy to think that two years ago I sat down at my computer, locked myself in my room, and cranked out a novel in just a month! Something I failed to do the next year.

This NaNoWriMo also marks my 3rd year participating! I didn't learn my lesson the first time, I guess. Last year I wrote part of an unsuccessful draft to a book that takes place in modern days underneath the catacombs in Paris, France. I haven't done much ith that story since, but I am still really eager to really start on it and finish it up. I think it will show the best of my writing yet, and be an epic story, while being massively entertaining at the same time. I am just really excited in general to get that out to you guys.

Of course, there's also the series I began working on in 4th or 5th grade. I have done even less with this story, but I still love everything about it, despite it's 6th grade writing style. Due to its massive size, weighing in at over 100,000 words, or 550 pages, I am somewhat afraid of returning to it. All in due time, I suppose.

Though these stories are temporarily postponed and in the past, I have been working on getting The Nightmarers out to you guys. I am so close to finishing, I can see the end result! I am so excited for you guys to read it!

However, for NaNoWriMo, I am putting other writing aside to begin something else. (I will still try my best to get further editing complete, however. Don't you worry about that!) I am hoping to complete writing the first draft during NaNoWriMo, and then work on polishing it up in my spare time. Are you ready??

Lies - an in-depth novella immersing the reader into a world of witchcraft and trials, truth and lies, spectral horrors and shocking truths about Salem during the 1690's.

What do you think? I'm equally excited about writing this one, and seeing as I'm planning to make it shorter, I think it will be easier to control and edit, and will make a nice $.99 read on your kindle.

Off to other news, I am planning a very exciting progressive release party for The Nightmarers... Right here on TheDreamersAdventures! Every week or so, I will release a chapter excerpt from The Nightmares until its release, counting down the weeks with exciting new content until The Nightmarers becomes internationally available!

Before I end, I would like to thank Helena Martin for taking this picture of The Dreamers at a large bookstore here in Idaho (and a few surrounding states). It's always exciting to realize that your book is selling in a place you weren't aware.

 

I look forward to sharing my future writing with you!

Dream on!

Oliver Dahl

 

1 Year Anniversary of The Dreamers!

It's hard to believe. One year ago, today, August 9th, The Dreamers: A Story of Sam Kullen launched into publication. It's been held on bookstores' shelves (online and off) for an entire year. And what a year it has been!

As the author, I have earned several awards from The Dreamers, including Top 50 Idaho Author, and Idaho Student of the Year, to name a few.

To this day, The Dreamers has maintained ONLY 5-star reviews on Amazon.com, and continues to get very positive reviews at places like Goodreads, and others.

TheDreamersAdventures has gained nearly 7,000 views since The Dreamers' publication, and the stats continue to steadily grow. Sam's blog has also had views from nearly 30 countries worldwide.

I've had book signings all over, as well, from Idaho to Colorado, signing books to people of all ages.

This last July, I taught two week-long writing and publishing classes on a college campus. See my post, CSU Writing Project for more information about this.

With over 11 HUNDRED twitter followers, nearly 100 Facebook Likes, and guest posts, interviews, and spotlights all over the Internet, The Dreamers is becoming more and more "famous" online! :)

With The Nightmarers' release looming ahead, this audience is sure to get bigger, and the series itself more popular. I am very excited to be able to say that I published the greater part of a series before finishing my first year of high school.

As I build my audience and platform, I plan to submit some of my other ideas to "mainstream" publishers, and lead myself to my ultimate goal, New York Times Bestseller.

As future years come and pass, I know that I will be getting closer and closer to that goal. I thank you so much for reading this post, The Dreamers, other bits and bobs about me online, or all three. Thank you for helping me achieve my goal, and getting closer and closer to living MY dream.


Thank you for the great year, and for many more to come!

Dream on!
Oliver Dahl
&
Sam Kullen

P.S. As a technical difficulty, my past post, "News and the New Look" has been deleted, along with its comments. Don't ask me why, it just happened. I am angry and sad about it too. It truly was a great post. It will be missed. Sorry, everyone.

Giveaway

Hey, everyone! I think it's about time I do a giveaway! What do you think? For those fans with eReaders--Kindle, Nook, iBooks, Sony, etc.--who would like a copy for their device, now is their chance to get one FREE! Not only that, but when you order now, we'll double your offer! ...Okay. That's not entirely true. I'm getting sales pitch-y. Sorry.  : )

Anway... The winner receives a FREE eBook edition of The Dreamers which ALSO will happen to be signed TO the winner in the eBook. They will receive an autographed eBook, just like a print reader would get their copy signed physically. How does this work? Click here to learn how!

The giveaway will last until July 31, and will start at the end of June. To get your name entered multiple times, you can follow the instructions in the giveaway. Best of luck to everyone!  : )

a Rafflecopter giveaway

CSU Writing Project

This week, I was able to teach two separate, weeklong classes at CSU (Colorado State University) to students interested in writing. I was able to work with some great people, and inspire a lot of amazing young writers. I was flown out to Denver and taught two different age groups.

Students going into 4th and 5th grade were taught the writing process, as well as writing tips. They interviewed their characters, learned some pointers on how to brainstorm and prewrite, and got a taste of how to get published. They had fun learning about how to make their writing shine.

Students going into Middle School, (6-8th grades) were taught a weeklong, in depth discussion on how to get published. They were educated on how to prepare their work, publish it, and then promote it. (The Three P's). Lots of questions were answered, and information learned. These kids now have the knowledge they need to get published.

 I love helping and inspiring anyone, but especially fellow students. One of my favorite parts about my week stay in Colorado was hearing from two kids that I helped inspire them to co-write a book together and get it published! Hearing that you inspired someone, from the person you inspired, to do something as great as publishing a book is truly amazing! Since they both will probably end up reading this, I wish them the best of luck!

To any other young writer who didn't attend, or needs to hear the advice I shared again, I departed with some "words of wisdom" during the concluding day. This is worth repeating. Don't give up. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't. You CAN! You can always write! You can always publish! Nowadays, publishing is even easier than ever with the introduction and success of self-publishing. Don't give up! Keep to the Dream and stick in there! Seeing your work in print, or your name on a book or website is worth every hard moment, every button on your keyboard you press, and every minute past the hour that you spend laboring on your writing. Keep that in mind. Keep up the good work!

 Dream on!
Oliver Dahl

Autographed eBooks

Times are changing, and with it, technology. Readers and fans of authors could get their books signed by the author, and have been able to for many, many years. Until the introduction of the eBook. Since this monumental invention, more eBooks have been sold than print books in some bookstore's cases. But...what does this mean to the fan, and the reader, who has a Kindle, or a Nook, or an iPad?

In some cases, readers had their favorite author sign the back of their kindle, or autograph their iPad case. But, as I said before, technology is changing. And in such a way that readers can still get their eBooks signed. Yes, really.

A program called Autography, and other apps similar to it, now allow the author to sign eBooks for authors, just as they would sign a print book. Readers can now have a shelf of their autographed books, just like they would on their print bookshelf!

This is how the autograph appears on my iPad's iBookstore:

Pretty fancy, right? I think it's pretty neat. If you think the same, comment with your email address, and a name to sign to, (the one above is signed to my name) and I will send an eBook your way.

eBooks are $3.99, but the signature can be accessed for free. You can share the signature with your friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter. To access the signature, you will receive an email with a subject like, "Oliver Dahl has sent you an autographed copy of The Dreamers". Open this email, and follow the link to Autography's website. At the top of the landing page is a link that says "Preview Signature". From there, you will be taken to another page that shows the signature I sent you. You should then be able to right click on the image and, "Save As", or share directly to Facebook and/or Twitter.

I will try to get the signature back to you within one to two weeks, although I can usually send it within the first week.

Thank you, Dreamers of the world! I hope you enjoy this amazing new feature for The Dreamers as much as I am!


Dream on!
Sam Kullen
&
Oliver Dahl