Ask the Author: Connla Freyjason
Answered Questions (5)
Connla Freyjason
I am currently in-process on Blessings of Fire and Ice: A Norse Witch Devotional, which consists of 365 poems, one for every day of the year. The decision not to go with the typical "hook, book, look, took" format of devotionals, popular not only in Christian devotionals, but in Pagan/Heathen ones as well, was mutual between me and the Gods. In other words, that was partially my decision, and partially my *instruction*. I try not to argue. I don't always succeed. We were clearly on the same page this time: I don't personally get terribly inspired by reading walls of text formatted as essays on what people are *supposed* to believe. Spoon-feeding a person their faith does not create a *living* faith; it just teaches them to practice the same way as the writer. To me, if it's not truly personal devotion--in other words, a person's own expression of their faith--then it's not *really* a devotional act.
Connla Freyjason
Two things have really been difficult, during the journey that has been Norse Witch: Reclaiming The Heidhrinn Heart: 1) having to sacrifice time with my Beloved, my cat, family, and friends to put the work in, as well as sacrificing time homemaking (yes, I actually enjoy cleaning the house and cooking); 2) constantly being asked "but it's self-published, right? but it's self-published, right?" when the book is actually the very first book on the Iaconagraphy Press imprint. I was actually courted by one of the bigger Pagan-specific presses for this book, but chose instead to help my "hostess" and best friend *finally* realize her dream of starting a small press. In fact, I consider it a very high honor to be the first book on her imprint. For future books, I'm really going to try to schedule my time better, and I hope that as more books are released by Iaconagraphy, people will get less confused about the fact that my books--and others' books--are being published by an actual small press.
Connla Freyjason
By far the best thing about being a writer is being able to speak up and out on topics that matter to me: things like Inclusive Heathenry, social justice, and Justice in general. Getting to bring people TOGETHER in a world that too often finds us torn apart is a legacy that I am proud to build.
Connla Freyjason
First and foremost: GO FOR IT! If you've got the passion, write. Don't let anyone tell you you're not capable, or that you're somehow unworthy. However, having said that, do yourself a favor: get an editor! An objective outsider WILL see things in your work that you cannot, and I don't just mean typos. I also mean redundancies, all the places where you became so passionate that you under-explained, and any other "warts" your finished work might have. If you're going to have the courage to put YOU and your work out there, for all the world to see, make sure that work is the BEST it can possibly be! You're worth it and so is your book-baby! Finally: know your market. Do the legwork. Of course you think your book-baby is the best thing since the invention of sliced bread, but if you don't know your market, and then COURT that market, nobody else is ever gonna know that. That means networking: get out there, make some new friends; post in groups and on forums that pertain to your subject matter. Don't start those conversations with "hey, you know, I wrote this book"; say stuff that MATTERS. Show people who you are, and what you have to offer, and who and what your book-baby is, by speaking intelligently on related topics and actually giving something back to those communities. Whether you choose to self-publish or get picked up by a small press, ultimately, people aren't just buying your book, they're buying your VOICE, and introducing people to that voice and getting them to actually LIKE you (really, really like you!) vastly increases the chances that they'll also buy your book-baby, read it, and come to love it as much as you do.
Connla Freyjason
If I'm perfectly honest, I've never considered *writer* as a "job-title" that might be mine one day. But the more time I spent in Heathen groups, being repeatedly told that *I* was "doing it wrong", and watching countless people become alienated and subsequently walk away because *they* were being told "you're doing it wrong", the more I realized I have a *voice*, and I need to *use* it. Around that same time, I became aware of the stigma of the word "witch" in both Heathen and other Pagan Traditions: in other words, if you are on a Norse Path, you're patently *not* a witch. A self-proclaimed etymology nut, I couldn't let that stand, either. So I started writing. 415 pages later (including the bibliography), Norse Witch: Reclaiming the Heidhrinn Heart was born.
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