"There will inevitably be
people around you who are indifferent to your goals and your success. Don’t
take this personally. Most people are all wrapped up in their own lives and
they might be too busy working on their own transformation to give a hoot about
yours! That’s okay. You don’t need cheerleaders. You have the power to motivate
yourself and to get ahead under your own steam."
It is a blustery day, alternating sunshine and showers as I settle in at my escritoire desk to write this post. My study is lit with strawberry scented candles and the occasional glimmer of sunshine, which brings to life the crystal sun-catcher in the window. As we move deeper into autumn, with the equinox soon to be upon us this weekend, I am looking forward to another dark season of writing and creativity.
Writing is, for me at least, a daily habit. It is something that I have always done from a young age. For decades now I have produced a daily word count, working on various projects from books and columns, to music and essays. I have written for various publishers, in various formats - but I have always written every day, regardless of whatever else might be going on in my life.
I have been a traditionally published author now for over 25 years. That's half my life. It means that I have spent the biggest majority of my adult working life in the publishing industry, as a core-contributing author. That is quite an achievement, especially when I recall that I was once thought of as someone who couldn't stick to anything and who hopped from job to job! But the fact is, that I have actually been in the same job for over 25 years - the career of authorship.
This longevity in publishing is something that people tend to gloss over, especially when they are wondering how on earth I have managed it, asking themselves; How has she managed to be repeatedly published, across many formats, for over two decades? They are imagining an overnight success story, where everything has been handed to me on a plate, but nothing could be further from the truth.
The answer is simple and rather more mundane. I prioritized my writing above everything else, from the age of 20. I spent the first few years being rejected by publishers, but I stuck to my goal. I remained steadfast and dedicated to my true calling, even when everyone else told me to 'stick to a real job'. Well, I've actually had a real job as a published writer for 25 years now - and I'm still working as an author, all these years later. It's not really the kind of job that you ever retire or take a sabbatical from. It's a dream of a job and I certainly don't plan on giving up! I will always be a writer. It's a deeply ingrained part of my psyche.
In my newly published book that was released earlier this month, Wicca for Self-Transformation, which is a blend of both Wiccan and Psychotherapy practices, I have stated that it is in our daily habits where we create our own success or failure in life. We can be self-disciplined or self-sabotaging. My habit of achieving a daily word count is the self-discipline of being a professional writer. Someone who prioritizes dating, or holidays, or kids or the rat-race, is unlikely to reap the same literary results as I have, because their habits are geared towards a short term outcome, rather than a long term career goal in publishing. You have to prioritize the life you dream of, over the life you currently live, focusing on long term goals, rather than short term gratification.
Different people will have different priorities, but for me, it has always been the writing. My writing comes first and that is why I am still being commissioned to write new books, 25 years on. I have worked hard at my craft and while no author can possibly please every reader, all the time, I have a reputation within the publishing industry for creating good, clean copy to a tight deadline and my work is well-recieved. Again, this professional reputation is something that I have built over the past two and a half decades. It certainly didn't happen overnight, but people often prefer to believe that it did, or that my success is all down to luck. It isn't. Luck might play a small part, but it simply doesn't last this long.
It's down to habits and priorities and strategy.
It's down to being dedicated to my authorial path from the age of 20.
It's down to self-discipline.
It's down to eight consecutive years in higher education, culminating in a Masters Degree in Creative Writing.
It's down to having a daily writing practice, no matter what.
As my first two Psychotherapy based books are released this autumn, I am feeling very content with my writing life. I have achieved the goal I set for myself way back in 2013 of publishing a book that draws upon my psychotherapy training, practice and experience in counselling clients. This autumn, I will realize that goal not just once, but twice over, yet it has taken ten years to achieve it. Most people would have given up.
Instead, I kept going. I believed in the books that I wanted to write and I knew I just needed to wait for the right editor and publisher to come along - one who could also see the value in the topics I wanted to explore in my Psychotherapy based books. In publishing, nothing happens overnight. The long waiting time is what separates the wheat from the chaff, as those who write on a whim expecting instant results, simply fall by the wayside. Publishing is a long game, not a get rich quick scheme.
The publishing landscape has also changed considerably in the 25 years I've been writing books. Its no longer feasible to learn on the job, as it was when I started out, and the 16 year old cub reporter is a thing of the past. Also inclusivity is essential if you want your work to be seriously considered by editors, and anything that sniffs of cultural appropriation is frowned upon, unless you're writing in a historical context about cultures of the the ancient world, rather than a current modern day culture. So a lot has changed in the past two decades.
I'm very proud of my two Psychotherapy books. They were fantastic fun to write and I greatly enjoyed the process. I hope to do more of them in the future. For now, I am enjoying the glow of a major goal achieved. My second Psychotherapy book, The Wiccan Guide to Self-Care, is released next month and I am even more excited about that one, as it is the book that I planned to write all along, throughout my psychotherapy training. Seeing it in print for the first time is going to be quite a surreal experience, because it is something that I have been dreaming of and working towards for a decade. That's a long time to hold a goal in your heart and move steadily towards it. It will be fantastic to finally hold the finished book in my hands.
In the meantime, I have been writing more of my magical work this year, but with a mythological twist! It's always great when an editor asks you to write on a particular topic, especially when its a topic that you have enjoyed studying and reading over the years.
This dark season, as the weather turns colder, I am planning to spend my days tucked away in my snug candlelit study, deeply absorbed in world mythologies and their various ancient pantheons. It's so interesting and a very engaging topic, one that I have enjoyed for many years. Curled up in the buttoned-leather chair in my little library, laptop on my knee, immersed in the Classics by candlelight, gives me all the scholarly, dark academia vibes that I adore.
Being commissioned to write projects is one of the best aspects of my job. It's such a privilege to work with a talented and creative editor. I love the projects that we come up with together, batting ideas back and forth until we find the sweet spot and we know we've hit on an idea that will work. It's not something that I ever take for granted. I know how fortunate I am - but I also know how long and hard I worked to get here. No-one else did it for me and I didn't use anyone else to manifest these opportunities. I got here all on my own.
It is strange how life has a habit of working out. If you'd told me when I was a young woman that not only would I achieve my dream of writing and publishing a book, but that I would still be writing and publishing my books in 25 years time, I probably would have laughed. It would have seemed too good to be true. But it is true, because for 25 years I have prioritized my writing.
Now, over thirty published books later - I'm still reaping the rewards of my stubborn single-mindedness, despite being told by people, my own grandmother among them, that it wouldn't last and it was probably all just a flash in the pan. My Nan actually wanted me to apply for assistant manager in her local supermarket instead as it was a more secure job! Glad I didn't take her advice on that one!
Yet still, I spend my day to day working life surrounded by crystals and scented candles, spinning out written webs of magic, mythology and oracular fortunes, working away in my cosy little house.
It is a blessed life indeed and I am very grateful for it.
25 years an author.
Not bad for a flash in the pan - and I wouldn't have it any other way. My Nan would be so proud - and probably a wee bit gobsmacked!
BB Marie x
AD - Wicca for Self-Transformation is out now in hardcover, digital and audio formats.
The Wiccan Guide to Self-Care is released on Oct 1st 2023, available for Pre-Order
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