“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

Our books continued to go out of print, and in 1990 I began working with Anne Marie O’Farrell, a literary agent. She’s married to Rick Stack, a writer, publisher, and lecturer involving things psychic; he too was a member of ESP class. Without Anne Marie’s untiring help, I question whether I’d still be in publishing. For she “found” Janet Mills and Amber-Allen/New World Library. Like Laurel, both women are passionately interested in keeping Jane’s work in print. Janet told me, after publishing the first two reprints, that she “would like to publish all of the books at once.” And added that she was already getting requests to do just that.

For several years after Jane’s death, I explored possible publishing ventures with old and trusted friends — people who, like Richard Kendall and Suzanne Delisle, sincerely wanted to see Jane’s and my work kept in print. Richard had been a member of Jane’s ESP class in the 1970s. Following her passing, as a paralegal he was also a great help in resolving some old and troublesome publishing hassles. At the same time, I wondered often if it was of any use to try publishing Seth books, old or new — why do so, if sales were falling? Maybe people were tired of the Seth material. Maybe Jane and I had already offered the best we could, for whatever our efforts were worth. The world would certainly go on, regardless.

My wife, Jane Roberts, dictated The Magical Approach for Seth, the “energy personality essence” she spoke for in a trance state, in 1980—but the pressures of Jane’s illness, and of our producing other books, kept us from publishing it quickly. Then Jane died in 1984, at the age of 55. I was 65. Looking back from my position within the framework of simultaneous time, I’m amazed to see that another ten years passed before the publication of this little book by Amber-Allen/New World Library. Why the delay? What happened? Janet Mills, the publisher and editor for the new editions of Jane’s books, suggested that I write a bit about the situation. Many others have asked over the years, and I’m very grateful for every one of those caring questions.

Jane and I had corresponded with Laurel Lee Davies for several years. Five months after my wife’s death, I called Laurel, who was an administrative assistant at a center for the arts and humanities in Los Angeles, California, for the first time. As the many hours of our calls quickly accumulated, Laurel and I came to understand through dreams that we had shared reincarnational relationships. In August of that year — 1985 — she moved to Elmira to work with me in a number of ways. She helped me carry on the massive project of continuing the work that Debbie Harris had begun: copying many more of the thousands of pages of Jane’s and my work for the archives of the library at Yale. She answered mail, and put together a mailing list. She helped me proofread Seth, Dreams, and Projection of Consciousness for Stillpoint Publishing. Later, she helped me proofread the new editions of Seth Speaks and The Nature of Personal Reality that Amber-Allen/New World Library has published. She’s worked as a researcher of Jane’s material for The Magical Approach — the book she has “most dreamed of working on.” Laurel has been Seth’s “metaphysical apprentice,” as she recently put it, for fourteen years now. Even with our differences, our supportive and complicated relationship continues. Yet even so, as the years passed I began to better see that recovery from Jane’s death was going to take the rest of my life; and that within the framework of simultaneous time uncounted millions of others had experienced that truth, were doing so now, and would be doing so. Maybe some day I’ll write in detail about Jane’s and my lives — but not now!

(Seth told us the Seth book which is now at Jane’s publisher would be published, and that her dream book would also. Jane sent the dream book to another publisher last week. [...]

[...] We had been wondering aloud if the bulk of the material would ever be published verbatim. Seth came through to say quite definitely that the material would be published verbatim—not all of it, literally, but certain large areas of it. [...]

Having this set published for the record is something I’ve long wanted to see take place, and Rick’s dedicated interest and time make it possible. (I told him more than once along the way that he’d better think twice—and more!— before taking on the job of publishing eight-to-ten books.) Jane died on September 5,1984, at the age of 55. When she was close to death she asked me to publish all of her work. [...]

With the loving help of others I made several attempts over the years to publish various portions of Jane’s work, but with little success, for a variety of reasons. [...] Let alone the bulk of Jane’s other work: her poetry, novels both published and unpublished, her other published books, an unfinished autobiography, the records of her ESP class sessions, her journals and paintings, her singing in musical trance language, Sumari, her never-ending correspondence. [...]

I’m tremendously pleased that Rick Stack, the proprietor of New Awareness Network Inc., is publishing the eight-to-ten-volume set of The Early Sessions. [...]

[...] The sessions in one of the volumes published by Rick are accompanied by my drawings of the objects used in the series of “envelope tests” we conducted, both for ourselves and long-range with a well-known scientist, over some 11 months.

[...] Her implications to Tam were clear enough—we hope: that for the first time she was thinking of alternate courses of action to being published by Prentice-Hall, perhaps trying other publishers, Eleanor Friede among them. [...] I view such tactics as the publisher’s way of guaranteeing their publishing costs with no risk to themselves. [...]

[...] In your society writers need publishing houses. Most publishers are businessmen. They rarely pretend to be themselves creative—yet all publishers, and people who work for them, are also intrigued by the products of creativity, and at least to some degree, being well reimbursed, they do indeed use their quite different abilities to distribute the creative products that they could not themselves initiate. [...]

(In my letters I intend to demand that we see the version in manuscript to be published by any foreign press, or the galleys, or whatever. [...] We’ll also want to see a copy of the contract itself, and probably know the names of the foreign editors and publishers so we can contact them personally. [...]

[...] My thoughts are that she’d be so terrified to find herself without a publisher that she’d stand for a lot more than what has happened, bad as that is. [...] This would surely drive me out of publishing if I let that happen. [...]

[...] There is a so-called occult climate, yet we do not fall precisely into that category for them, the publishers, either; and Ruburt refuses to take advantage of “the trappings.” [...] It might be farce, from the publisher’s viewpoint, but they could sell it, and they would know how to advertise it.

Publishers deal with the culture that you know, with people who follow it. [...] If our material was not excellent it might have found its way to some spooky underground publisher.

(A fourth category—publishing/advertising—developed shortly before the session began. [...]

Now: with your permission, and Ruburt’s, I have a few comments about the publishing business.

[...] The two volumes are to be published at the same time in 2001 by Rick Stack, the proprietor of New Awareness Network, Inc. Rick has of course published the first six volumes of The Early Sessions.

Anyhow, the deleted material from the very beginning is now due to be published. As soon as Rick Stack finishes publishing The Early Sessions (probably with Volume 9, it seems at this time), we plan to launch the Personal Sessions series. [...]

[...] Apropos of that statement, what’s left after publishing the deleted sessions? [...] Then there’s Jane’s business and personal correspondence; much of her poetry; her journals; her unfinished autobiography; several novels she wrote before publishing the three Oversoul Seven books; the later essays she dictated to me, while in the hospital, about Seven’s childhood; her family history as far back as it can be researched; an objective biography of her physical and creative lives including her two marriages, and Jane’s and my struggles to survive before the advent of the Seth material. [...]

For some years Jane and I devoted much work to learning the processes detailed in all of those early unpublished sessions, which were followed by her series of published books like The Seth Material, Seth Speaks, The Nature of Personal Reality, and so on. [...]

It is to his advantage that the earlier publisher did not take the book. It is the subject matter of the book that intrigued both publishers, plus Ruburt’s belief in the book. But it was also the subject matter, to some degree, that made Mr. Fell cautious, and that finally caused the earlier publisher to turn it down.

The relationship with Frederick Fell will be a good one, although the present contract reflects the publisher’s caution, as well as the money already received reflects an impulsive belief in Ruburt on the publisher’s part.

[...] He is an unknown quantity to the publisher to a large degree. [...]

[...] Because this contract is less than Ruburt could press for, the next contract will be a much better one, since the publisher will then feel rather embarrassed concerning this contract.

[...] Though he did not agree about your opinion of Prentice per se, involving the difficulty, he blamed the foreign publisher. He felt, however, that some of your own anger against the foreign publisher was directed at Tam. [...]

[...] When he wrote short stories, for example, he was forced to search for a publisher for each one—a magazine. [...]

[...] He tried unsuccessfully to publish several novels. [...]

He considered Prentice-Hall a further excellent step upward, a reputable-enough publisher. [...]

[...] In a very recent session Seth told Jane to send the manuscript to a publisher beginning with an L or V. The book had already been rejected by Viking, the only V in her index of publishers. Checking the L’s, Jane was surprised to discover the publisher Horace Liveright, a name containing both an L and a V.

(Looking up the address of this publisher, she was further surprised to learn that it was at 386 Park Avenue South, New York City—the same address as Frederick Fell, the publisher of her ESP book. [...]

[...] The book will be published.

[...] The company that published my books, Prentice-Hall, was changing its structure and policy. My longtime friend and editor there, Tam Mossman, was considering leaving to work for another publishing firm. [...]

Concerning Jane’s understandable desire to protect her work, long ago she published some very clear statements about that. [...]

After all, if he does come through others—or can if he wants to—why hasn’t Seth himself simply said so, and repeatedly, in the books as we’ve published them over the years? [...]

Even in God of Jane, which was published in 1981, Jane presented some relatively late material from Seth to show that he doesn’t independently communicate with others. [...]

(Seth said Jane and I should make a trip to New York this spring whether we are asked by anyone or not, meaning Jane’s publisher principally. [...] These contacts will grow out of our seeing the following people: Don Wollheim, an editor Jane has previously published with; her present publisher, Frederick Fell; Eileen Garrett; and Dick Roberts, a senior editor at Dell Books with whom Jane has published. We should set up appointments to see these people, and should make the trip whether or not publicity for Jane’s ESP book, to be published this spring, is involved.

[...] See the frontmatter for a list of her books as published by Amber-Allen Publishing, Inc. (To make the record complete, it should be noted that Jane’s first book on psychic phenomena was How to Develop Your ESP Power. It was published in hardcover and paperback editions in 1966 and 1974, respectively, by Frederick Fell Publishers, Inc., New York, N.Y. 10016. [...]

4. The decision to publish “Unknown” Reality in two volumes followed receipt of this preface by some 13 months. [...]

[...] The publishing house — that publishing house — represents in capsule form the extremes of thought of your time, from the most conventional to the most bizarre. [...]

[...] I told Jane that I felt the disclaimer planned for one of our books by the publisher could hardly be the end of such thinking. [...]

I would like to give you some insight as to why Prentice-Hall is our publisher to begin with. [...]

(Long pause.) Because of those divisions, however, there is indeed a great publishing leeway possible of books that otherwise could not mingle.

This will also be reflected in your concerns with books and [your publisher] Prentice-Hall — with any of your business concerns. [...]

[...] “It’s surprising,” I said, meaning Seth’s comments about our doing well in Framework 2, including the publishing angle. [...]

^* In Jane/Seth’s The Individual and the Nature of Mass Events, which was published in 1981, I wrote: “Seth maintains that Framework 2, or inner reality, contains the creative source from which we form all events, and that by the proper focusing of attention we can draw from that vast subjective medium everything we need for a constructive, positive life in Framework 1, or physical reality.” [...]

[...] He did not feel that the publisher shared any enthusiasm from the beginning. He did feel that Wollheim did, and had no resentment toward Wollheim, though he did not publish the book. [...]

[...] (F. Fell published the ESP book.)

He projected his resentment into the future, and against all other publishers for awhile, anticipating the same sort of response as he felt the ESP book had received. [...]

[...] Already those at Ankh-Hermes have been asked to withdraw from sale their shortened version of Seth Spreekt, and to publish a full-length one instead—a very expensive proposition indeed. [...] It appears that language difficulties involving publishers and agents led to the whole mix-up to begin with. [...] And all concerned must wait at least another year before a full-length version of Seth Speaks will be published in the Dutch language.

In effect, Ankh-Hermes has published not only a translation but a condensation. Considering the eagerness with which we’ve looked forward to having the Seth material published in other languages, and the long waiting periods involved, this situation is frustrating indeed. [...]

4. Seven Two, as we call it, was published by Prentice-Hall in May—five months ago. Delacorte Press published Emir just last month.

During this session hiatus I’ve been spending much time upon a series of letters to the publishers of Seth Speaks in Switzerland and in the Netherlands, as well as to those in charge at Prentice-Hall.¹ Last Saturday night we had a very interesting meeting with a psychologist from New York City. [...]

[...] The book is to be published by New Awareness Network. Although I have edited it, I can hardly wait to see it published!)

Tell him to forget publishing for now, for he worries overmuch. His creative self knows he wants to publish another book, and will easily provide the means when it is given some freedom and not told what it must do. [...]

(“The book will be published? Who will publish it?”)

Will publish.

(“In what year will the book be published?”)

(“Will Harcourt Brace be the first publisher Jane will show her book to?”)

(Jane has now settled all matters pertaining to her ESP book with her publisher. In the 198th session, Seth said she would receive a letter from her publisher by the next Saturday. [...]

(In the 200th session, Seth said Jane’s publisher, Frederick Fell, would be hurt by Jane’s demands for action, but would cover it with a cosmopolitan air. In his letter of October 22, the publisher certainly did write a cosmopolitan letter, in our opinion.

[...] The two sales, including the one just published, are from this group; in addition Jane missed out on other sales from the group because various publishers wrote her that although they liked her material, they already had similar ideas in inventory. [...]

(There follows a copy of my dream of Thursday night, October 21, as taken from my dream notebook: “I dreamed briefly that the first of the two short stories Jane has sold has now been published—The Big Freeze, I believe—and that as a result Jane can now get paid for it.” [...]