The appearance whirlwind is nearly over for the year, with only the Real Witches Ball over Samhain weekend and a workshop/book signing at Philosophers Stone in Kalamazoo Michigan left on the slate for 2005. As fun as it has been getting out and meeting everyone, I must admit that I’m looking forward to taking a short break before getting to work on my next book. And what will be the topic of my next book? Well, it’s a bit early to let the cat out of the bag, but it probably wouldn’t hurt to allow you a small glimpse inside the sack.
New Page Books, the publisher of my last book Advancing the Witches’ Craft, were fascinated by the unique approach that my wife and I take towards running and teaching a coven, so in a nutshell, that will be the main focus of my next work. This book will be a bit more mainstream than my previous works (without being fluffy), because all indications have led me to the conclusion that the magickal community as a whole isn’t as ready for the heavy-duty advanced texts they’ve (supposedly) been asking for. The sad truth is that the large retail chain booksellers and (surprisingly) the majority of metaphysical specialty shops tend to either avoid or keep low stock of advanced texts, simply because they don’t sell as well as mainstream titles do. As a fledgling author, this has left me in the undesirable situation of either going mainstream for a time, or risking the real possibility of fading into obscurity before I’ve established myself as a force to be reckoned with. The bottom-line is that if I don’t write mainstream books for a while, I run the risk of being blackballed by the major booksellers and pagan publishers. Bookstores wont stock my titles if they don’t sell; publishers wont sign me to deals if I write books that don’t appeal to the masses.
I will admit that because of this I have considered (and in some ways am still considering) packing it up and calling it quits as a pagan author. I refuse to write books that I don’t believe in, and it boggles my mind and weakens my resolve when I see some of the crap that’s being offered on the pagan market selling ten-to-one over serious works. Is candy-coated made-up crap and twisted-demeaning sexual texts really what the majority of the pagan population is interested in reading and learning from? I have to tell you, it’s really starting to look that way to me. Sorry for jumping on the soapbox, but this has been troubling my mind and spirit for quite some time now. While there are many wonderful and enlightened pagans out there, I have also met quite a few that make me ashamed to number myself in the pagan ranks. Unfortunately, that’s the name of the game with any large group, spiritual or otherwise, and (for awhile at least) I will keep writing for, and believing in the true seekers and enlightened few.
Fox
