(Updated 1/17/2024)
I am regularly asked what Christian publishers are looking for, and I do my best to boil it down to a few practical observations since those asking are authors who look around at the publishing world and see moving targets everywhere.
I’ve regretted using the oft-used response, “I know it when I see it.” It helps no one.
Still, publishing is a subjective pursuit. And those involved in it regularly feed their intuition, combining comments from readers, publishing staffers, Christian leaders, societal and industry trends, and, of course, a good portion of experience into a decision-making process difficult to explain in a few helpful words.
2024 will be a crazy year–from a general election in the US to all the other unexpected things that pop up out of nowhere to affect our plans and lives.
From a publishing standpoint, 2024 is over. Everyone is trying to figure out what the world will want and need in 2025 and 2026, after all of the political and life events of 2024 have passed by like so much water in a river.
Books are big messages that live for a long time. Or at least that’s the hope. Things that would best be left to an article about something urgent don’t fit in the book model.
So, what am I looking for this year?
Since most of my connections are with publishers of Christian-themed books, I need to start there to give an idea of what I look for in a client.
I look for authors of nonfiction works, mainly for adults but will consider nonfiction for younger groups once in a while. I will also expand to consider compelling content for children.
I do not consider authors of fiction. Other agents are far better than I for that area.
Overall, I need to view the world through the eyes of publishers, so I ask questions of potential clients that are consistent with publisher requirements. Other than compelling writing, here are three other things I am looking for in authors:
- Credibility: Theology books by respected theologians, apologetics books by respected apologists, history books by historians, etc. Even if you are an excellent writer, you need to have the credentials accompanying whatever you create.
- Focus: Few authors navigate a wide variety of categories successfully, and they are usually successful in one before trying the other. You need to start somewhere. Pick a lane.
- Marketing: Great writing still counts, but you won’t get far without a good start on personal marketing. The lack of an author platform will be a problem down the line, so get started now if you haven’t already.
Finally, I like writers who are writing consistently, working on the craft, or are working writers. The book they propose to me is not the only thing they have to show, and they are continually honing their skills.
Mostly, I want to see authors published well; and that takes work and time for everyone involved.
A Year in Review: A Look Back at 2023
I look forward to reading these posts. Thanks, Dan.
There’s a platform I did lately make,
it is both low and flat,
and is in fact a bending brake
to help me build a slat
for an aeroplane now gone extinct,
but worth a second look;
might its resurrection bring
meaning for a book?
In this work I’ve come to learn
of its builders born of old,
and find that maybe they did earn
that their story now be told,
like Pirsig’s (but in Christian sense)
‘Zen and ‘Cycle Maintenance’.
A ‘slat’ is a high-lift device fastened to the leading (front) edge of a wing; it may be fixed or extendable (on this aeroplane, they’re fixed), and behind it is an opening that allows high-pressure air to fromfrom the undersurface (where the air pressure’s higher) to the top of the wing, effectively ‘speeding up’ the air there, and through the Bernoulli effect (where air moves faster there’s less pressure) increasing the wing’s lift. Flying’s all about differential air pressure; higher on the bottom, less on top, and the wing’s pushed up (like your hand was, when as a kid you stuck it out a car window, before your Mom said, “Now you get that arm in befoe it get torn off!”).
Every modern airliner has moveable slats, extended for takeoff and landing; sit where you can see the leading edge of the wing and you can see them in action. They go forward and own, to create the slot and increase the wing’s camber (curvature) which also enhances lift. (There are also flaps on the back of the wing, which perform a similar lift-enhancing function).
The aeroplane to which I referred in the sonnet above (if anyone’s still reading, here) is a Stinson HW-75B, the ‘grand-daddy of the famout L5 series of liason/spotter aircrat used in WW2 and Korea. It’ about the size and shape of a Piper Cub, but aerodynamically a lot more refined.
Andrew,
Thanks for the info. I didn’t know there was so much physics involved. As long as I’m learning, I’m still young! 🙂
Just one more reason why I love you, brother Andrew. Thank you for the sonnet and the physics/history lesson. Still praying.
A little birdie told me
a thing which I must know,
that not for me an agency,
and I cried out, “Oh, no!
What, then, am I going to do?
What can lie ahead?
Does this mean my dream is through,
still and cold and dead?”
“No,” the feathered friend replied.
“It’s not that way at all,
for writing trails that you have plied
did answer well the call
and are themselves for God complete,”
counseled the gentle Paraclete.
Andrew, this second poem gives such hope! Just when we think our writing may be dead, God resurrects it. Or adjusts the course if we veer off. Or breathes new ideas/genres. And always, He gives new opportunities if we’re looking.
At least, this is what it’s been like for me.
Thanks!
Looking forward to these posts! Thanks, Dan!
This was a very helpful article! I still have one question about one of the processes involved in publishing. Where does partner-publishing fit into the equation of different ways to publish, and how do agents feel about it? How it was marketed to me was a mix of traditional and self-publishing, but is that actually accurate? If one chooses to partner-publish a book, is it still possible to market that book to agents if one still retains full rights to it? More specifically, how would agents feel about that?
Partner-publishing doesn’t need an agent involved, so we really don’t feel one way or another about it. It’s an option open to an author to get their book published.
Consider partner-publishing as a way to establish yourself as an author. If it is successful and sells well, agents would view future projects positively.
Thank you for the information!
What exactly do you mean when you say credentials, that we need to have
What exactly do you mean by we need credibility as for first time author’s
Simply, credentials and credibility are things bestowed on you by others as they consider your background and work. Non-fiction books are written by experts in a field.
Being a writer or a speaker is simply the method you communicate your expertise.
No matter the topic, publishers want to publish experts.
They say I was an expert, once,
and taught my students very well.
But at real life, I was a dunce,
made manifest the day I fell
from pinnacle of minor fame
into failure’s bleak abyss;
forgotten, quickly, was my name,
but I learned, so slowly, not to miss
the conference glad-handing,
the learned papers for review,
for defeat brought understanding
that I had so much more to do
than beat my own loud ego-drum
to be the man I must become.
What will we need in 2025?
The road will fork, I think;
hard change will let the country thrive,
or we’ll badly need a drink.
In the last few dreadful years
we’ve seen righteousness depart,
seen how this land could end in tears
with Stupid as high art,
and so we call the steady voices
of the sage and learned men
to ensure that voting choices
don’t become Remember When
exchanged by the dank lonely grave
of freedom we’d not deign to save.
Ooooh, I love this one, Andrew!
Thanks, Pam!
I unexpectedly connected with a movie producer a few days ago. She posted about her movie in a social media group. This group is not specifically for writers, screenwriters, or filmmakers; it involves discussions about a well-known Christian and his work.
I asked if I could read the script and she graciously said she would email it to me. When I messaged her with my email address (after vetting her account) I thanked her and said I’m reading many scripts because I’m writing a screenplay, and mentioned my story topic. She seemed very interested and asked me to contact her when I’m ready. When she emailed the movie script, she included her phone number.
Initially, I had no intention of mentioning my work-in-progress–it was an afterthought. So, my take away from this is that God orchestrates everything; I don’t have to strive. If He wants the world to hear my story–and I believe He does–I know He will work the right connections and opportunities when the time comes. I can rest in that.
Thanks Dan. I appreciate the transparency and insights!!
Thank you, Dan. This was quite helpful.