My Unconventional (and Suitably Spooky) Publishing Story
My route into publishing Rewitched was an unconventional one, but it’s more accurate to call it suitably spooky, or serendipitous, rather than a shortcut.
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It was my YouTube channel which led to an unexpected conversation with my now-editor, Lucy Brem at Pan Macmillan. She was on the hunt for New York vlogs before a trip of her own, and stumbled across videos that I had shared of a recent trip. After watching a little further back, she picked up on subtle mentions of a ‘writing project’ which had been taking up a lot of my free time. That writing project was actually the cozy, comforting, witchy story that I’d spent the last three years on, solely for the purpose of seeing if I could finally cross off my bucket list goal—to write a book, to see a story through to the end.
It’s no exaggeration to say my life has always revolved around books, reading and writing. Looking back, I think all of my career decisions were chosen with the assumption that, no matter where or what, I would end up writing in some capacity. Having been an avid bookworm since I was young, I went on to study English Literature at university. From there, it was freelance journalism for titles like Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, and MTV UK for many years, before my social media and often book-based content eventually took over. Even then, written work has constantly ticked along in the background.
A very early spark of a story idea popped into my head in 2020 while I was on one of the classic, local area walks that were keeping us all vaguely sane during the pandemic. It was the image of a witch, just turning 30, and having to prove to a jury of her coven peers that she was worthy of keeping the magic she had been neglecting. It was very reflective of how I was feeling at the time, having developed a real fear of allowing myself to shine for fear of failing. I kept the whole experience of writing completely private, knowing that any outside pressure or interest would make me overthink it and inevitably stop.
That first email that landed in my inbox from Lucy, asking if she could hear more about what I’d been working on, was the first of many moments that have felt like real-life magic (and a lot of luck) was afoot. The universe was on my side—she had been looking for a cozy, witchy book to take on, and that was exactly what I’d spent years privately writing, with no real intention to actually pursue publishing. We clicked on first meeting, and it was clear to me that she absolutely ‘got’ the heart of the book, which came from such a personal and vulnerable place. Trusting my gut instinct, I signed a two-book deal unagented, confident that I should seize the dream for myself. We have worked closely together throughout the entire editing process. The rights team at Pan Macmillan then took the reins on securing international deals for Rewitched, finding its perfect US home with wonderful editor Anne Sowards at Berkley.
It wasn’t until Pan Macmillan went public with my publishing announcement that I had a separate conversation with my now-agent, Maddy Belton at Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency. Maddy reached out to me after spotting the news of my two-book deal online to see if I was interested in further guidance and support. It was another fortuitous connection. MMA had been the agency that I had quietly thought to myself would be on the ‘dream list,’ if I ever found the courage to query Rewitched one day. Signing with them has proved invaluable. Maddy has helped me to understand the workings of a notoriously unique and secretive industry, and to plan much more effectively for the future of my writing. Maddy will also now be an additionally helpful pair of eyes in the editing process for my second book, which is something that I didn’t have the first time around.
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Once the publishing deal was in place, having an audience certainly helped with the tricky prospect of marketing a debut novel. My followers and I often share the same interests, taste, insecurities, and sense of humor, so it makes sense that a book I had written largely for myself, a story that I had needed to hear, would resonate with them too. As an autumn-obsessed, nostalgic, and self-reflective gang, many of them were excited about the story specifically, rather than just the fact that I had written a book. But the flip side of a so-called ‘ready-made’ audience is that it’s only going to work if the endeavor is a genuine one. An audience that is so familiar with you can easily spot a disingenuous project—and they will let you know about it if they do. It carries an overwhelming risk of public failure, which is often more than enough to discourage a dream.
A platform on social media can only provide a temporary boost to an author, maybe a springboard for pre-orders for example. But the book itself must still do the heavy lifting if the aim is to reach out any further into the book world than a limited following number. If achieving any kind of longevity or reputation as a ‘real’ author is the goal, the book and the writing must ultimately be good enough to stand by itself. Luck has certainly been on my side during the publishing process for Rewitched, but spending more than 12 years building a following doesn’t feel like much of an effective, magical ‘shortcut’ to anything.
Social media is a powerful tool, one that is scary to a lot of (usually introverted) writers. But my own experience is hopefully a positive and optimistic reminder that you never do know who’s watching, and my favorite mindset to try and return to—what’s the best that could happen?
Check out Lucy Jane Wood’s Rewitched here:
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