≡ Menu

Is Writing in the General Market LESS of a Ministry Than Writing for Christians?

Richard Kadrey and Merrie Destefano

Earlier this week I had a great conversation with my agent. Part of that conversation involved changing markets. My first two full-length novels were contracted by a Christian publisher and marketed as Religious Fiction. I’m thankful to Charisma House for my “big break.” This has been a great ride. However, it’s time to move on.

But moving on is bittersweet.

I suppose some will find that hard to believe. After all the criticism and hard questions I level at Christian readers and the Christian fiction industry, you’d think I’d be happy to go. I know some Christian writers and readers will wish me an enthusiastic bon voyage! Which seems to be the general response of Christian fiction enthusiasts when their genre is criticized:

“If you don’t like what Christian fiction is, shut up and go somewhere else.”

Nevertheless, the decision to aim Reagan Moon & The Ghost Box at the general market has been difficult. For a couple of reasons. First, I write from a Christian worldview. No. This doesn’t mean my stories are sermons. It means that biblical themes — Good and Evil, God and Satan, the Natural and the Supernatural, Faith and Unbelief, Salvation and Damnation, the Divine and the Hellish — are intermingled in most of what I write. Second, I LOVE the Christian writing community. There are so many great writers plying their craft in the Christian fiction market.

So why have I decided to move my stories to the general market? A couple of reasons.

I’m tired of being under a theological microscope. If you want to know what I personally believe about the Atonement, Original Sin, or eschatological timelines, ask me. Heck, if you read this blog long enough, you’ll find out all kinds of dirty details about my quirks and beliefs. But if you’re approaching my stories as a doctrinal template for angelology, demonology, soteriology, or pneumatology, you’ll probably be disappointed.

The Language Police can bite me. My characters, like the real world I inhabit, sometimes use expletives. Frankly, being able to let them speak naturally (as I was able to do in The Ghost Box) was quite liberating. I don’t need to drop F-bombs to feel like a true writer. But hand-wringing over an occasional “dammit” or a “what the hell” is legalism. Sorry. I’ve had it.

A more level playing field. Sadly, unless you’re writing Women’s Fiction, Historical Romance, Amish, or Prairie Romance, you’re fighting an uphill marketing battle in the CBA. And if, like me, you like Urban Fantasy? You’re flat outta luck.

I want to minister to more people. This is what I’d like to talk about for a few minutes.

That may sound odd, this idea of moving to the general market to minister MORE, not LESS. I mean, if going to the general market means talking less openly about the Gospel — which is surely what’s required for a Christian to write mainstream fiction, right? — then how is it that there’s MORE ministry opportunity? How can you minister MORE if you can’t even openly reference the Gospel in your stories?

This is an important question and one, I think, which has significantly shaped the Christian fiction industry. It points to both our

  • faulty notions about what “ministry” is, and
  • the institutional calcification and cultural isolation that pervades the religious fiction market.

What does it mean to be “called to the ministry”? Most American Christians simply answer that in terms of a.) Pastoral work, and/or b.) Explicitly religious service. Which leaves the average layman out of luck. Pastors and missionaries are ministers. Custodians and CPAs, not so much. Which is why  it’s not uncommon for Christian writers to view their profession as a “ministry.” They write “to glorify God” and “edify the saints.” They eschew the “Secular” for the “Holy.”

However, that makes Christian writers in the general market more like custodians and CPAs than ministers and missionaries. They’ve abandoned the Holy for the Secular.

But is a Christian writing in the general market any less a “minister” than one who’s preaching to the choir?

When I left the ministry after eleven years, I returned to the construction field. Working in a “secular” field probably did more for my faith than all my years in the ministry. We ministers can live in a bubble. When you’re constantly surrounded by Christians, it’s easy to lose sight of the real world. Well, I had. Working around guys who were godless, antagonistic, and wholly wayward, was a blessing. A challenge.

My outlook on “ministry” completely changed.

This is the same outlook I’m applying to writing.

Christian writers I know who have opted for the ABA do not do so because they hate Christian fiction or are tired of being a witness. In fact, their outlook on “ministry” is typically broadened. They see themselves as “called” to a new harvest field. Sure, this “ministry” might not require divine pyrotechnics and altar calls. But they’re still working for God, even if their stories contain language and inarticulate theology.

Which brings me to the header photo for this post.

I’m not sure where this photo was taken. San Diego ComiCon, I think. I always get a chuckle out of this picture. Merrie Destefano is a member of my writers’ group. She is seated next to Richard Kadrey. They were part of a panel together. But from what I know of both of them, they are two very different people.

Merrie is a Christian. In fact, her first novel, Afterlife, has some powerful faith elements. Merrie started with a respected Christian agent who shopped her story around the CBA. For various reasons, not the least of which being that Sci-fi and Urban Fantasy doesn’t sell well in the Christian market, Merrie opted for the general market.

Which landed her next to Richard Kadrey.

richard_kadreyI don’t know Mr. Kadrey nearly as well as I do Merrie. I’ve never personally met him. However, I’ve read a couple of his novels and follow his social network feeds. He seems a lot like the construction crew I still work with: Vulgar, irreverent, and fairly profane. And did I mention that in the last book of his Sandman Slim series, Lucifer kicks God out of heaven?

What better place for a nice Christian girl to be.

Too bad there aren’t more Christians in places like that.

I don’t know if Merrie referenced her faith on that panel. Perhaps she considered asking Mr. Kadrey if he really believes in a God or a devil. Or if the devil could really kick God out of heaven. I don’t know. What I DO know about Merrie is that she’s not shy about her faith. She didn’t choose to write in the general market because she was tired of letting her light shine and needed a break.

In fact, choosing the general market has expanded, not shrunk, her “ministry” opportunities. In a way, it takes more guts and talent and faith for a Christian to write in the general market than the Christian market.

For one thing, there’s no Richard Kadreys in the CBA.

In the CBA, we’re vetted. In the CBA, you don’t need to worry too much about running into an astrologer, an open lesbian, an atheist, or someone who writes erotica. There’s not nearly the types of diversity in the Christian market as the general market.

Which is one reason, I think, that Christian writers get nervous about moving to the general market.

God forbid they have to sit on a panel next to a lesbian atheist who practices astrology and reads erotica.

But since when was “ministry” supposed to be safe?

{ 53 comments… add one }
  • Heather Day Gilbert February 1, 2013, 9:23 AM

    Mike, I forgot to ask–will Rachelle continue repping you in the ABA? If so, how common is it for CBA agents to “cross the aisle” with ABA publishers? Curious.

    • Mike Duran February 1, 2013, 11:33 AM

      Yes, Rachelle will be repping me. She’s excited for the opportunity and has a lot of connections. That’s probably different per agent. My previous agent had very few ABA contacts. So once we’d been through the CBA circuit, there was nowhere else for her to go. I’ll be interested to see whether having two books published in the CBA helps or hurts my chances of changing markets.

      • Heather Day Gilbert February 1, 2013, 11:35 AM

        Thanks for the info, Mike–I’d read that Rachelle came from an ABA background so I’m sure that helps immensely! All the best to you.

  • Alan O February 1, 2013, 11:00 AM

    “faulty notions about what “ministry” is…”

    Back in the days when I led small groups, I had a participant who was a master craftsman. He could fashion the most amazing creations from wood…cabinets, railings, ornaments, etc. And he blessed other people, both inside and outside the church, with these accomplishments.

    But when I pointed out to him that he had a gift and a ministry, he vehemently balked at the notion.

    Then I showed him some obscure verses from Exodus 35: “Then Moses said to the sons of Israel, “see, the Lord has called by name Bezalel…And He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding and in knowledge and in all craftsmanship; to make designs for working in gold and in silver and bronze, and in the cutting of stones for setting and in the carving of wood, so as to perform in every inventive work…(The text goes on to include another workman, Oholiab): “He has filled them with skill to perform every work…”

    It’s God who calls them by name, and it’s God who fills them with skill.

    He got the point.

  • Tina February 1, 2013, 1:36 PM

    Great post. I’m glad to see you follow your heart, Mike. One thing that jumped out at me in your post was your not wanting to be under a “theological microscope.” I sympathize with you. Unfortunately, if we are in the CBA, then we’re under that microscope from both sides. For some of us, it hinders our writing. If we are always questioning our story because we want it to “belong” in the world of Christian publishing, then we are not writing the story of our hearts. Jesus never “belonged” on this planet. It could be that maybe God is calling some writers to write books that don’t sell in a Christian bookstore, and (newsflash!) other Christians may not know the plans he has for those writers.

    Whatever happens, may you be a happy writer. 🙂

  • DD February 1, 2013, 3:51 PM

    “I write from a Christian worldview.”

    I think that is the heart of the matter. All writers write from a particular worldview. Only the CBA market actually labels their books under their worldview. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with focusing on a certian market demand, but the model in question ends up overlooking many viable authors.

    Not being allowed to write what one wants to write is contray to everything that it is to be a writer. I don’t think people should set out to write for a particular market. They should write and then find the market.

  • Bob Avey February 1, 2013, 4:43 PM

    Great post, Mike. As I was writing my 3rd novel, I had decided to aim it at the Christian market. However, as I read — on places like this blog — about the problems and constraints of the market, I began to have second thoughts. There seems to be two schools of thought: Those that think Christian books should be sanitized, and those who believe more realism is the ticket. I think there is a place for both. I can see the need for sanitized Christian fiction. But if ministry is your goal, I think you’re on the right track. After all, Jesus didn’t go to the Pharisees with his ministry. He went to the people on the street.

  • DD February 2, 2013, 5:48 AM

    I think your books could have “crossover” appeal, had they been marketed that way. There is a huge interest in supernatural fiction now, which Christian publishers have dabbled in for years. Some books can be sold in both markets, so I think the CBA is missing out on an opportunity here. I’m not saying sell to different versions of the book. I’ve seen Christian music groups do that with songs and felt it was a bit disingenuous.

    Your dilemma here is part of the ever-present struggle have with figuring out how much they should interact with the world and not become like it. Many go to one extreme to another, but it is also true that some people are simply not set up to leave their saftey zone. Nothing wrong with that as long as they don’t look down on those who do.

  • Patrick Todoroff February 2, 2013, 9:38 AM

    Good decision. Good luck.

  • Mark Carver February 3, 2013, 8:17 AM

    What Christian fiction needs is more tattooed authors :-). Who’s with me?

  • nissa_loves_cats February 3, 2013, 8:47 AM

    When I saw the title of this blog post I wondered if the phrase ‘preaching to the choir’ would come up and I was pleased to see that it did.

    As a Christian who happens to be a Catholic convert, the CBA publishers aren’t an option for me, and yet I don’t feel much inclined to write works with a token condemnation of ‘fundamentalist’ Christian ‘haters’ as I find in so many secular works.

    I wish there were some Christian authors who publish in the secular market who could share their wisdom on how to succeed at this, but I haven’t found any so far. Perhaps most need to keep a lower profile in order to keep publishing.

    I think the world at large needs Christian writers working for secular mainstream publishers. Not in order to preach sermons, but to ‘plant seeds’. To have just one character who can mention going to church in one scene, and who can get through the rest of the story without committing a hate crime.

  • Marcia February 4, 2013, 4:27 PM

    You are absolutely right.

    With one small exception. The occasional Richard Kadrey is in the CBA. I know of one such (don’t know if he’s still writing and publishing) who openly boasted online about being an atheist writing for a major CBA house and they had no idea.

    Outside of that? You are spot on.

  • Nola February 6, 2013, 12:13 AM

    Great food for thought Mike. Something I’m thinking through at the moment. I think there’s a great need for more Christian worldview in the mainstream market. Good on you.

  • Nola February 6, 2013, 12:16 AM

    Great food for thought Mike. It’s something I’ve been thinking through at the moment. I think there’s a great need for more Christian worldview material in the mainstream market. Good on you.

  • Lauren March 2, 2013, 3:00 PM

    You may not see this comment since it’s a month after your last comment, but I just found this post after googling “Christian fiction market.” I’m a writer and I’m a Christian, but I don’t write specific Christian fiction. My first book (that I’m still revising) has Christian elements in it, since it’s hard for me to write a book without including my faith in some way. But I didn’t write it with the idea of marketing it (if it ever gets that far) as Christian fiction. I LOVE to read, but I don’t read Christian fiction because the little bit I’ve seen of it seems cheesy and trite. (No offense to you–I haven’t read your books!) But I fear the book lies somewhere between Christian and secular–too many Christian elements to appeal to traditional secular publishers, but not Christian enough to appeal to Christian publishers.
    As I’m beginning my second book, I’m wondering how far I should push the Christian aspect of the story. Go full blown and consider it Christian fiction, or try to walk the lin again.
    Anyway, your post gave me good food for thought. I’ll bookmark your blog for further reading!
    Thanks.
    Lauren Denton

Leave a Reply to Meredith ResceCancel reply

Next post:

Previous post: