Is there much of a markest for atheist writers?

OccamsRazor04 · Oct 9, 2008

Hi everyone, I'm new here and hoping to find some help to both improve my writing and get myself out there into the world of print. I am curious to know if there is really much of a market for atheist writers, specifically in periodicals or magazines. It would be great if there were any possibility of being paid for contributing articles, but I know I have to get my name out there first too.

I recently started up a website http://www.godlesshaven.com that features a lot of different subjects I've written about, and I will soon have an article published in "Secular Nation", the official magazine of the Atheist Alliance International. Comments and suggestions would be much appreciated.

Higgins · Oct 9, 2008

OccamsRazor04 said:
Hi everyone, I'm new here and hoping to find some help to both improve my writing and get myself out there into the world of print. I am curious to know if there is really much of a market for atheist writers, specifically in periodicals or magazines. It would be great if there were any possibility of being paid for contributing articles, but I know I have to get my name out there first too.

I recently started up a website http://www.godlesshaven.com that features a lot of different subjects I've written about, and I will soon have an article published in "Secular Nation", the official magazine of the Atheist Alliance International. Comments and suggestions would be much appreciated.

I'm not much of an atheist, but I liked the website. I was thinking of writing some "Atheist Adventures" in which an adventurous atheist keeps thinking he has found God only to be disappointed when it turns out to be a sheriff or a large dog that can growl out "rut-row"...rutrow

OccamsRazor04 · Oct 9, 2008

Thanks for the compliment. Your story sounds interesting, lol.

fullbookjacket · Oct 9, 2008

Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Victor J. Stenger, Stephen Jay Gould, Michael Shermer, and others have made the world safe and even profitable for atheist writers. I think publishers have suddenly discovered that there are a bunch of us heathens with a few bucks to spend out here. And our numbers are growing.

OccamsRazor04 · Oct 11, 2008

Yes, I definitely think it is a good time to be writing about atheism. I'm not quite ready to tackle writing an entire book though, I'd say, so I am looking more for magazines, websites, or other sources that might be willing to pay for articles. Any thoughts?

veinglory · Oct 11, 2008

I don't know that it is a huge market but there are several connected submarkets such as skeptics magazines and comparative religion and philosophy.

fullbookjacket · Oct 12, 2008

OccamsRazor04 said:
Yes, I definitely think it is a good time to be writing about atheism. I'm not quite ready to tackle writing an entire book though, I'd say, so I am looking more for magazines, websites, or other sources that might be willing to pay for articles. Any thoughts?

I would guess that there are a ton of literary journals and small press outlets that are hungry for this type of work, but that chances for payment are quite slim. Commercial markets prefer to think that we atheists don't exist. They go to great lengths to avoid offending persons of belief. Funny...they think that my atheism is offensive to others, but that religious beliefs are not offensive to me. They are not; I was once quite religious myself.

Bill Maher's Religulous might help change that, though.

Tor Hershman · Oct 25, 2008

There is a huge market for Atheist writers IF they pretend to be part of some religion, as so many do.

Heck, face it, Uri Geller knows, better than anyone else, he's a
con-artist and he takes the rubes for all he can and when people WANT to be taken.....that's a lot.

Stay on groovin' safari,
Tor Hershman

benbradley · Oct 25, 2008

fullbookjacket said:
I would guess that there are a ton of literary journals and small press outlets that are hungry for this type of work, but that chances for payment are quite slim. Commercial markets prefer to think that we atheists don't exist. They go to great lengths to avoid offending persons of belief. Funny...they think that my atheism is offensive to others, but that religious beliefs are not offensive to me. They are not; I was once quite religious myself.

Bill Maher's Religulous might help change that, though.

Religious people might ask you to substantiate that claim, but I was reading this transcript of the "Four Horsemen of Atheism" talk, and Daniel Dennett's first response actually covers this:

http://richarddawkins.net/fourhorsementranscript

My apologies if you got diverted into reading the whole thing.

Tor Hershman said:
There is a huge market for Atheist writers IF they pretend to be part of some religion, as so many do.

Heck, face it, Uri Geller knows, better than anyone else, he's a
con-artist and he takes the rubes for all he can and when people WANT to be taken.....that's a lot.

Stay on groovin' safari,
Tor Hershman

And of course there's a huge market for writers even if you don't try to "pass" for being religious, but just fail to mention your atheism, and/or don't write about subjects where the author's faith or lack thereof comes up. Both atheists and believers can write huge amounts of "secular" works without misrepresenting their own viewpoint, as long as the topic doesn't approach things that might tip the reader to the authors beliefs (which might be evolution or Intelligent Design, and yes I know many believers believe evolution is an accurate explanation, but I don't know of any atheists who believe ID is an accurate explanation).

Clio · Oct 25, 2008

Welcome, Occam's Razor - from a devout atheist. I don't know whether there is a market for atheist writers, but there should be. I see that others more in the know have given you good advice already.

May I wish you all the luck in the world. I'm right there with you. :Sun:

fullbookjacket · Oct 25, 2008

benbradley said:
And of course there's a huge market for writers even if you don't try to "pass" for being religious, but just fail to mention your atheism, and/or don't write about subjects where the author's faith or lack thereof comes up. Both atheists and believers can write huge amounts of "secular" works without misrepresenting their own viewpoint, as long as the topic doesn't approach things that might tip the reader to the authors beliefs (which might be evolution or Intelligent Design, and yes I know many believers believe evolution is an accurate explanation, but I don't know of any atheists who believe ID is an accurate explanation).

I've written mainstream, mystery, horror, and science fiction short stories, plus a couple of thriller novels. I've also written articles about the environment and landscaping. Religion hasn't figured into any of them so I guess that makes them secular works. I'm not willfully hiding my views on religion, but my views simply haven't been relevant to what I've written for publication to this point.

That may change, of course.

Buffysquirrel · Dec 9, 2008

I think it depends whether you mean "writing by someone who happens to be an atheist" or "writing about atheism". The latter would probably be an op-ed piece, and there's certainly markets for those. The former of course is sold everywhere

. Not that the buyers necessarily know it....

stephenf · Dec 9, 2008

I'm an atheist,I think all religions are with the fairies. However, I don't understand the idea behind atheist writing.Would it be, anti religious? or do you need to continually announce to the world that you don't believe in a God? There are some Issues around,what do you teach children in science class for instance but, in the end it's a personal choice. I don't think there are many people out there hoping to be converted by an atheist.So in other words ,I don't believe there is much of a demand for atheist writing, unless you can come up with some new ideas.

Buffysquirrel · Dec 9, 2008

You wouldn't think people would need to announce continually that they do believe in a God, but nonetheless there's tons of writing out there to suggest otherwise.

However, atheist writing needn't be limited to announcements. As we've seen here, it's possible and interesting to discuss morality and ethics in a secular context. To give one example.

veinglory · Dec 9, 2008

Athiests also contribute to spirituality publications because what people really mean by "spirituality" (a.k.a. meaningful living) encompasses the experiences of atheists also.

stephenf · Dec 9, 2008

GUDSqrl said:
You wouldn't think people would need to announce continually that they do believe in a God, but nonetheless there's tons of writing out there to suggest otherwise.

Your right,but are they?

stephenf · Dec 9, 2008

veinglory said:
Athiests also contribute to spirituality publications because what people really mean by "spirituality" (a.k.a. meaningful living) encompasses the experiences of atheists also.

I don't understand your definition of spiritual ,but I understand it as relating to human spirit as opposed to material or physical things and as an atheist I believe is an illusion.

Angelinity · Dec 9, 2008

stephenf said:
I don't understand your definition of spiritual ,but I understand it as relating to human spirit as opposed to material or physical things and as an atheist I believe is an illusion.

a 'spiritual' person might contend exactly the opposite.

veinglory · Dec 9, 2008

My use relates to the names of the markets. And yes, I do have explicitly atheist works published in explicitly spiritual publications (e.g. Illuminations, Ten Speed Press).

My point was don't go by the dictionary meaning of words markets use. Many use religious loaded language without actually excluding atheist perspectives.

Roger J Carlson · Dec 9, 2008

A lot of science fiction authors were and are atheists. Much science fiction is atheistic in nature (as opposed to simply secular). In the early years, SF writers had to nod to religion but those days are gone. Some writers still do, but I think it's more in an effort to not deliberately alienate (no pun) a segment of their potential audience, which is good business IMO.

Buffysquirrel · Dec 10, 2008

Part of the human brain is (apparently) dedicated to what we might tentatively call "the spiritual". In that sense, it's as much of an illusion as what we see, hear, etc. Of course, that is all an illusion.

HTH

Autodidact · Jan 29, 2009

Occam: Do I know you from TalkRational?

veinglory · Jan 29, 2009

GUDSqrl said:
Part of the human brain is (apparently) dedicated to what we might tentatively call "the spiritual". In that sense, it's as much of an illusion as what we see, hear, etc. Of course, that is all an illusion.

HTH

I discern three points in here and disgree with all of them...

Buffysquirrel · Feb 3, 2009

Hmm?

So, you don't believe that part of the human brain exists? There is some evidence that it does.

And everything we perceive is filtered through our perception system; it's a construct. It's not real.

veinglory · Feb 3, 2009

I have a pretty good back ground in neurology and I don't think an part is dedicated to the spiritial even in inverted commas, or indeed that brain activity relating to global experiences is meaninfully localised in dedictaed areas (that do that thing and only that thing), or that even if it was it was be universally true of all people, or that even if it was it was make those experiences real in the same way experiences that are subject to agreement of observers are real.

Is there much of a markest for atheist writers?

OccamsRazor04

Higgins

OccamsRazor04

fullbookjacket

OccamsRazor04

veinglory

volitare nequeo

fullbookjacket

Tor Hershman

benbradley

It's a doggy dog world

Clio

In the mind warp pavilion

fullbookjacket

Buffysquirrel

stephenf

Buffysquirrel

veinglory

volitare nequeo

stephenf

stephenf

Angelinity

absent

veinglory

volitare nequeo

Roger J Carlson

Moderator In Name Only

Buffysquirrel

Autodidact

...in my Maidenform Bra.

veinglory

volitare nequeo

Buffysquirrel

veinglory

volitare nequeo