(Rembrandt's Philosopher with an Open Book, 1633)
E-mail question from a visitor to Supernatural World --
If you added an area on your web site where you wrote about how you became a published occult/pagan writer, lots of people such as myself would enjoy reading this information. I would like to know how you got started. Did you write in magazines first, then think of a book, or did you just start writing books? Why Llewellyn and not Weiser? Anything you can think of that a beginner might benefit from would be appreciated!
From time to time readers ask how I got started as a writer of occult fiction and nonfiction. Often they are seeking guidance or help in becoming freelance writers. As much as I'd like to be of assistance, there is little I can do other than encourage them to write, and to submit what they write to magazines and book publishers without allowing themselves to be discouraged by rejection. This is the only way to learn to become a professional writer.
Books about becoming a writer, and getting your work published, along with seminars and university courses, are fine as far as they go, but they are no substitute for actually sitting in front of a keyboard and writing. That is the true classroom of all successful writers. You learn about writing by trying to write; you learn about getting published by trying to get published.
It helps to write about a subject that fascinates you intensely, a subject that you love, as I do in my own work. If a writer is any good, his passion for his subject will communicate itself into his words, and will infect the reader with a similar enthusiasm. It also helps to read voraciously. I doubt there is a successful writer who is not also an avid reader, and this is doubly so in the field of fiction writing.
This topic is a little off-center for Supernatural World, but I've included it in my responses to e-mail questions for those who may have thought about writing on such subjects as witchcraft, shamanism, druidism, ritual magic, and other areas of Western occultism, or who may have wondered how I became a writer.
As Bill Clinton might say (but I say it with more sincerity) "I feel your pain." I got published the way most writers do -- just kept plugging along, sending out material to editors over and over and over. In the early years, for every article or story of mine that was accepted, I imagine I was rejected three dozen times. I didn't have any magical "in" -- didn't know an agent or editor. I was just very determined.
I started out writing fiction, mostly mystery, horror and science fiction. The area I had the most success was supernatural and horror tales. Though I came very close to getting published in a couple of the leading science fiction magazines, my stories didn't quite make the cut. The occasional nonfiction article was accepted in various magazines, and I also did radio and television drama for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation here in Canada.
Around the time I was doing drama, I became interested in the Tarot and began to study all aspects of ritual magic, put together an extensive set of notes, and decided to try turning the notes into a nonfiction book. When I'd written half of the first draft of The New Magus, I sent out letters of inquiry to all the New Age publishers I could find listed in magazines and such guides as the Writer's Market. Llewellyn wasn't among them, but Weiser was. Weiser rejected my book unseen and unread -- they didn't want to examine it.
One of the other publishers I wrote to (forget which, but it may have been the Theosophical Publishing House) suggested that I try Llewellyn. I wrote to Llewellyn, and its owner, Carl Weschcke, wrote back saying that he didn't really like to deal with unfinished manuscripts, but that if I sent it along, he'd take a look at it.
That was the period when Llewellyn was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. It had no money for publishing new titles. In fact, it came within a hair's breadth of going under. I had to wait five years before my book finally made its way into print. Most of that time, I didn't know what was going on. The book had been accepted, but no contract had been sent. I thought about withdrawing the manuscript and trying other publishers (probably would have done it had I had any idea of how long publication would be delayed), but in the end it worked out fairly well for me.
As soon as The New Magus was published, I offered Llewellyn a second manuscript on runes that I'd already written a year or two before, while waiting for the outcome of the New Magus deal. It became Rune Magic. The rest, as they say, is mystery.
Rune Magic had also been rejected, sight unseen, by Weiser, which had just accepted but not yet published Edred Thorsson's Futhark, and had decided that they didn't want a second rune book, presumably on the principle that one rune book was enough for any occult publisher. It is amusing to look back on this, given the glut of rune books on the market today.
If Weiser had been willing even to take a look at my work, I might be one of their authors, instead of with Llewellyn, but Carl Weschcke was (and is) an astute and energetic man. Whoever was at the helm of Weiser at the time wasn't willing to make the effort to glance at work by an unknown writer. Carl Weschcke was, and for that I will always be grateful.
Maybe the way I broke into publishing was the hard way, but I suspect it is also the most common way. Not many writers sign a million dollar deal on their first unpublished book, although sometimes these things happen (some people are also struck by lightning, but it doesn't do to plan your life around such an event). I had read that to become a professional writer usually takes a minimum of five years hard work. In my case it was more like ten years. Your mileage may vary.
Not too many people would find the story of how to become a New Age writer interesting, I'm afraid. It is a fairly narrow field of publishing, fascinating for those of use who study or write about esoteric subjects, but a dark cavern for the rest of humanity. Years ago I sent an inquiry to a prominent writers' magazine proposing that I do an article on the New Age market, only to be told that it was too specialized to be of interest to the magazine's readers. In my view, this was a mistake on the editor's part, since the magazine had run articles on the mechanics of writing for such equally narrow fields as magazine poetry, mystery, science fiction and the like. But editors have their prerogative to be wrong, and we lowly freelance writers must respect it.
If you are seeking advice, I suggest that you first write a good book, and when it is finished, that you send out a single-page letter of inquiry to all the publishing houses you feel may be in the market for such a book. Do not send out the manuscript itself -- this is expensive, time-wasting, and very frustrating, because six months may pass before a publisher sends it back to you. Pay attention to any suggestions you receive in reply, since the individuals who respond to your inquiry will almost certainly know more about the industry than you do. If a publisher asks to see your manuscript, observe all the conditions that accompany its submission and wait patiently for the outcome (which will seem to take forever, or longer -- it always does).
Bear in mind that as an unpublished writer you have about as much bargaining power as a turnip. It would be in your interests to agree to any reasonable terms a publisher might set for acceptance of your manuscript. It is the common but incorrect belief that publishers are intent upon stealing the works of new writers. Quite the opposite -- most publishers loath the sight of a manuscript from an unpublished writer. It means work and expense for them, with very little chance of it ever earning them a dime. Most works by unpublished writers never do get published. Most are quite poorly written. Publishers and editors know this. When they see the manuscript of a new writer arrive in their mails, they look upon the package as though it contained an unrefrigerated, week-old trout. There are exceptions, but this is the general rule.
If by some good fortune your work is provisionally accepted, count your blessings and do not begin to set legal conditions under which you will allow the publisher to have your book. Publishers don't like it when writers begin to act like lawyers. Stephen King can get away with it, but the average unpublished writer cannot. You can plan your legal machinations for your second book, or your third book, but avoid them where your first book is concerned.
You will be offered a standard contract, which represents the absolute minimum the publisher can give away and still expect any writer, even a first-time writer, to put up with it. It is written by a lawyer for the publisher, so it follows that its main concern is the publisher's interest. For your first book, it is probably the best you can expect. It is more important that you become a published writer, and that your name become known to the public, than it is that you get an extra quarter of one percent royalty in your contract.
I've seen several new writers waste the chance to get into print simply because they got frightened that the publisher interested in their book was somehow trying to pull a fast one on them. They began to rewrite their standard contracts, and the publisher finally threw up its hands and said, "The hell with it, we don't need this grief."
If you have anything of value to offer in the fields of paganism and ritual magic, and are persistent in letting publishers and editors know what you have written, you will eventually find success. Publishers need books -- it is what keeps them in business. They are constantly searching for the best they can find, even while bemoaning the effort and expense of plowing through the slush pile. Offer a well-written, original, useful book on the market, and sooner or later you will connect with your publisher.
A few last words -- don't expect to break into publishing the easy way, by having a friend recommend you to an agent or editor or publisher. This may result in an acceptance, or it may not. When I was shopping around my first novel (which eventually was rewritten and became The Messenger), a distant relative of mine, who happened to be a published writer at the largest Canadian publishing house, sent my book directly to the publisher. This was the only help of this type that I've ever received from anyone. I got a very kind letter back from the publisher, but he did not take my novel. As much as he respected the opinion of my relative, he decided that my novel wasn't right for his list. He added that he was quite sure the novel would be published by a house that handled supernatural fiction, and this prediction proved to be correct.
Also, before you try to find an agent or publisher, have a book written that you can send out. I was extremely fortunate to place The New Magus when it was only half-finished. It is much better to complete your first book before even attempting to sell it. Don't expect to sell an idea -- you won't. Writers turn ideas into books, they don't sell ideas. That's the job for parasites in Hollywood film studios.
After you have been in the industry for five or ten years, you may then be able to place a book on the basis of an outline or an unfinished draft, but this is very unusual in the case of a first book. Finish your book. You will soon learn whether or not it has any value on the open market.
Donald Tyson