✨Submissions Open✨
Welcome to Dream Big! This space is about creativity, persistence, and the audacity of chasing your biggest dreams. Sound like your kind of community? We want to hear from you!
Whether or not you subscribe, I welcome other voices to Dream Big in three ways: Dream Chasers, Guest Posts, and the Aspiring/Debut Author Spotlight. It’s a great way to share your work with a wider audience, and you are helping me broaden my publication. It’s a win-win!
Dream Big welcomes stories and reflections from writers, creatives, and dreamers of all kinds. Whether you’re sharing and chasing your big, bold dream (Dream Chasers), your experience as an author (Author Spotlight), or a thoughtful guest post, I’m always looking for pieces that capture courage, reflection, and the real, often messy beauty of pursuing something meaningful.
Before submitting, please take a few minutes to explore Dream Big — read a few posts to get a feel for the tone and audience. This is a space for gentle honesty and growth, curiosity and persistence, awe and the creative spark that connects us. While I deeply respect every journey, I curate stories that align with Dream Big’s reflective, hopeful atmosphere.
If your story fits that rhythm — real, resonant, and rooted in what it means to create and evolve — I’d love to hear from you. ✨
🌙 Dream Chasers
An interview series about people who pursued bold, unlikely, deeply personal dreams — against the odds.
What I’m looking for:
Stories of people who went all in on a dream — artists, entrepreneurs, adventurers, athletes, or anyone who dared to beat the odds.
Format:
A 6–8 question interview exploring the spark, the struggle, and the transformation.
To submit, please send me:
A short description of your dream and how you pursued it
The biggest challenge you faced
Contact info / where people can find your work/story
✨ Guest Posts
Reflections, essays, or creative nonfiction about living a creative life.
What I’m looking for:
Thoughtful essays on themes such as:
Building a creative life
Midlife creative career transitions
The writing process (or any artistic process)
Balancing creativity with everyday demands
Nurturing creativity
Format:
800-1500 words
To submit, please send me:
A short pitch (1–3 sentences about your idea)
A brief bio (1–2 sentences, with any links you’d like included)
Contact info / Substack link if applicable
📚 Debut & Aspiring Author Spotlight
This series celebrates the courage it takes to begin, persist, and share a first book with the world — whether you’re still drafting, in the throes of revision, querying agents, or holding your debut in your hands.
Format:
A short Q&A (3–5 questions) about your spark, your struggles, and what keeps you writing.
To submit, please send me:
Your name, genre/working title if you’d like to share, or published title if applicable
Where you are in the journey (drafting, revising, querying, debuting)
A short description of your book or project
Contact info / link where readers can follow you
📩 Where to Send
Email: mariagrace.hanley@gmail.com (Subject: Dream Chasers/Guest Post/Author Spotlight)
Also feel free to reach out via Substack DM or Notes.
These are developing projects, so please feel free to float any related ideas you think might fit. I have an idea of what I’m aiming for, but am open to how it unfolds.
I can’t guarantee publication of all submissions, but I will read and consider every one, and do my best to respond promptly. Thank you for considering sharing your story and creativity with the Dream Big community.✨