A Nightmare I Had About The Manhattan Mishap and What I Think It Means

I recently had a nightmare about The Manhattan Mishap. My dreams have always been extremely vivid. And this one was no exception. I woke up feeling dejected and discouraged. Even though I know The Manhattan Mishap nightmare wasn’t true, it felt a little too realistic for comfort.

The Manhattan Mishap nightmare started out more like a dream.

My book had become a success and thousands of people started reading it. It was beyond exciting. I couldn’t wait for the press, social media campaigns, and reviews to begin. However, once they did, I wished they would stop.

One morning I logged into Goodreads and was inundated with reviews. Hundreds and hundreds of them. And all of them were terrible. People were dissing my book, encouraging people not to read it, and tearing it down at every chance. The one that I remember the most vividly said:

“Oof, definitely not worth the read.”

Short and sweet but soul shattering. In the dream, I was heartbroken. Reading nothing but hurtful things about the novel I poured my heart into was incredibly sad. When I woke up, the nasty lingering emotions of the nightmare stuck with me. Well, at least until I poured a cup of coffee and mixed a tsunami of oat-coconut cream into it.

One of my friends said, “It means something good is gonna happen, I’m manifesting a Netflix series or movie.” That is the dream! However, I’m not so sure. Especially after already being scammed about a film adaptation. There’s honestly nothing I’d love more than my book being made into a series or film. Except perhaps a spot on the New York Times Bestsellers list.

Ultimately, I think The Manhattan Mishap nightmare was my insecurities coming together in my subconscious. Of course I’ve thought about my novel being a total flop. I worry every day about it not being as big of a success as I want it to be. And I know it’s only a year old, but my hopes for it are sky-high.

Sometimes it feels like because I haven’t sold a thousand copies or won an award or made it onto a bestsellers list that I have failed. Deep down, I know that’s not true. But sometimes those insecurities get the best of me.

According to Dream Dictionary, dreaming about failure is a representation of my own fear. My dream could mean “being unable to meet the standards of society of that you have made for yourself based on the pressures of society to excel. If you are not confident in your potential then you will have many dreams of failing.” Yikes.

What do you think The Manhattan Mishap nightmare means?

—ᴍᴍᴍ