That said, it makes it all the more special when you find a publisher who is happy for you to grow and evolve as an author, within the framework of their own publishing house. With most commercial types of creativity, companies tend to want their creators to produce 'more of the same', because they know that is what sells. That's where their profits are. However, being creative depends on being able to change, grow and try new things, otherwise the creativity becomes stale and the job becomes a chore.
I felt that way during the latter half of my time at Spirit&Destiny magazine. Whenever I tried to write something a bit different, I was met with the request to write more of the same please instead. It was stifling! It was also one of the reasons I went on to publish my best ideas with their rival magazines, such as It's Fate and Kindred Spirit, because Spirit&Destiny had already proven that they didn't want innovative, imaginative writers - they just wanted formulaic contributors.
Writers need the space, time and opportunity to experiment and try new things. That's why I have always jumped at the chance when new authorial opportunities have been offered to me - such as when I was asked to write an album of pagan songs for Paradise Music, or when I was asked to write fairy poetry and magical sleeve notes for New World Music, or when my current publisher asked if I wanted to start writing and creating oracle decks and mythology titles.
My answer has always been a resounding yes - but I haven't always answered right away! Often, my first instinct is to run and hide, to question myself and my ability - Can I really do this? Did they make a mistake in asking me? Are they simply being kind? Where's the catch? It's impostor syndrome at play. All those thoughts run through my head initially and so I need to go away and process them for a little while, before I come back and say Yes please, I would love to.
My current publisher is great at offering me opportunities for projects that I haven't done before, like the oracle decks and mythology books. Yes, these projects fall firmly in the genre of Mind, Body, Spirit, but it was never the genre I objected to - it was the request to keep writing the same old thing over and over again. Now that I have found an editor and a publisher who are happy for me to try new things, I feel like my creativity is thriving once more. It helps that my editor is also an author too, so she has experiential understanding of the typecast situation writers can sometimes find themselves in. A lot of editors don't really write that much, literary agents even less so! I have fallen very lucky with my current publisher and editor, and in the opportunities they offer to me and their openness to my ideas and book proposals.
One of the things I have wanted to do for quite some time is separate my magical writing from my psychotherapy and psychology writing. Although these genres often sit side by side on the shelves in most book stores, they are very different types of writing and authorship, so I wanted to draw a clear line between the two. The issue I have always come up against before is that I am best known for the magical writing and so editors tend to want to capitalize on that. It takes time and money to develop a new author brand, so it is often more profitable to build upon the existing brand instead.
It must also be said that just because an author can write well for one particular genre, doesn't mean that they can write well in other genres. I certainly had to prove my psychotherapy writing skills (not to mention my qualifications in this arena) via my recent book The Wiccan Guide to Self Care, before I was considered a serious psychology author. It's not the kind of topic you can simply pluck from thin air, throw your hat at, and hope to gain a book deal! You do need the relevant qualifications and clinical experience in place first, and even when you already have a publisher, you still have to prove your capabilities in a new genre before you will be commissioned in that area of expertise, which is why I approached The Wiccan Guide to Self Care as something of a literary audition and a chance to prove what I could do in terms of psychology writing.
So when my editor asked me how I would feel about maybe publishing some work under my first name, in order to make a distinction between my magical work (which is published under my middle name, Marie Bruce) and my psychotherapy writing, I was thrilled. This is something I have wanted to do for several years, so to have it suggested by my current editor was amazing! She really is the best! I had a few projects lined up that brought together both creative and therapeutic writing for the benefits of metal health and personal well-being. They fit firmly into the realms of psychotherapy writing, with not a single spell or magical ritual between them, so it made sense that we would use these new books to re-brand that side of my work.
In addition, I spent the last couple of months of 2024 working on a project that I am very excited about and proud of. Its a new psychology project and it is rather special, so I can't wait until I'm able to share that with you too. Again, it will be published under my new psychotherapy-author brand name of Jacqueline Bruce because it doesn't include any spells at all. It is pure psychology and self-help. It's still me though, and you will certainly recognise my authorial voice.
Not only that, but these projects also meant that I was given the opportunity to write on a topic close to my heart - that is, the positive benefits of writing! Writing books about writing has been one of my goals for many, many years, and now I am doing just that! These books will be published under my first name, Jacqueline Bruce, and their release in 2025 will mark the launch of my second author brand, which is super exciting! It is something that I have been working on throughout 2024.
Of course, I will still be writing magical projects and spell books. I enjoy this kind of work even more now that I have other topics to write about as well, because it breaks up the monotony and I come to the magical genre with fresh eyes and renewed enthusiasm. It's nice to have two distinct branches to my writing now, two completely different genres to work in. I'm enjoying flipping back and forth between the two.
I'm also in the process of writing a brand new column, having returned to the team at Kindred Spirit, this time as a columnist in their print magazine rather than on their blog. My first column launches in the Spring 2025 issue and the column will appear in the magazine throughout 2025, but I'll do another blog post on that nearer to the launch date. All I will say here is that it is a very enchanting, whimsical column and unlike any column I have ever written before! I'm very excited about it. It's such a fun column to write too.
Suffice to say that there is lots of fun stuff happening in this brand new year and I am enjoying my writing work so much. Who knows what new writing opportunities will come along next? I'm certainly looking forward to finding out, because writing really is the best job in the world!
So look out for new titles coming from me in 2025, not only Mind, Body, Spirit projects as Marie Bruce, but also mainstream non-fiction books writing as Jacqueline Bruce too! This is definitely a big step forward for me as an author and a significant goal achieved. Happy New Year!
Blessed Be
Marie x
