Hi, Soman, I wanted to ask if you had any tips for young writers. I have written and edited a novel, and I am currently in the process on querying my novel to literary agents. I have written 100,000 words of the sequel but it is unfinished and I expect the word count will reduce once it is finished. I have decided that whilst I query my first book I want to start a separate novel. However, my friends, family, and people at school don’t seem to get it. “You wrote a novel? Is that, like, a book?”, “When are you getting it published?”, “It must be SO BORING to sit around and write all day!”, and “Are you crazy? Who does that?!”, are a few examples of comments I receive all the time. Do you have any advice for me on how to deal with these things? PS. You are a great inspiration to me and I really appreciate you and all of your work!