The Christian Writer In The Secular Market !!
Since the content demanded by the Christian publications is often already known to them, and since the demands placed upon the quality of writings is lesser, it is easier for them to get an entry into print here. Further, even if a Christian publication places a greater emphasis on quality, still the "familiar" market seems less intimidating when compared with the unknown market of the secular world. However, it is possible for writers -- yes even for new writers -- to get an entry into any of these markets without too much pain. The important thing to know is HOW TO DO IT.
I will tell you only about the secular market in this lesson because the Christian market has been discussed elsewhere. By "secular" I refer to the non Christian market, including the publications of other religions. In this lesson we will discuss two aspect of writing for the secular market. First, writings that are purely secular in nature and where you will not find it easy to put the Christian message into them. Second, writings that are meant for the same non Christian audience but in which you would like to introduce a Christian message or at least a Christian slant.
Writings That Are Purely Secular
Even though the so-called Christian market might look less intimidating to the beginner in writing, you can rest assured that there is no difference in the publishing opportunities offered by the secular market. Your opportunities are not diminished merely because it is a non-religious market, nor are they reduced in any way because you have a Christian background. The secular market generally looks for the quality of the article, not for the religious background of the writer. This is more so with those publications that depend upon freelance submissions for survival, and there are plenty of such publications in every field of specialization.
At times your Christian background might even confer some advantage to you. Most editors are looking for expert writers who will at the same time be teachable. This helps the editor to develop faithful contributors for his publication who are at the same time in tune with the language, needs, and flow of the periodical. Traineability is not all that readily available these days. However, your Christian commitment that manifests itself in meekness, willingness to learn and accept criticism, and punctuality will provide him exactly what he is looking for -- a writer of quality who is at the same time willing to listen to the editor. In all possibility, this will confer you a lot of advantage over the competition who might not be willing to listen to the editor.
There are some areas in which you might find some difficulty in publishing. A committed Christian is bound to have an outlook different from that of his secular counterparts on subjects like politics, economics, corruption, crime and punishment, etc. A compromise with your principles will help you to get published, but then you must seriously question what kind of a Christian you are. Non compromise in matters of principle might close some doors or some subjects to you, but you need not regret that. You will have the satisfaction of adhering to your principles. Further, even if a few magazines become closed to you, there still will be many that would accept from you -- probably more than what you would ever be able to write for. Moreover, once you get recognition as an expert in your field of writing, some publications will be willing to publish your writings even when they do not fully agree with your point of view.
In the world of fiction the trend has always been (at least in this century) towards portraying -- and even amplifying upon -- carnal passions. The world-view that goes with this kind of portrayal is, obviously, anti Christian. This means that the fiction produced by you, and what does not compromise with the Christian world-view, might not be welcome in many popular periodicals. This should not worry you because in spite of this restriction plenty of publications will be interested in publishing good fiction provided it is not preachy. Here again, once you establish yourself as a competent fiction writer, greatly in demand by the readers, many publications that were earlier closed to you will open their doors and will become willing to publish you without editing out your subtle message.
HOW TO GET INTO THE SECULAR PUBLICATIONS: You must adopt a sensible approach if you want to get an entry into the secular world. The first principle is to try publishing in a periodical that matches your current level of achievement. Many people aim too high, are promptly rejected, and go into depression saying, "I knew I could never get into this market".
No writer should aim to publish his first writings in publications of national or international level. The articles in the Reader's Digest might all look very interesting and simple to read, but let this not deceive you. This simplicity is not the product of inexperience of the writers, but reflects years of writing experience. Further, very rarely only this kind of publications accept direct submissions from authors.
A new writer should begin with his local newspapers and magazines. You might at first say that there is nothing like that in your region, but that's more of short-sight and less of experience. Today there is no region in our country that does not bring out local newspapers or magazines. People don't know about them because many of them have only very limited circulation or interest. With over 25,000 registered periodicals and with an equally large number of unregistered publications in our country, everybody can find some local publication of his interest in a language of his choice.
Once you discover the regional, local, or small-town newspapers and magazines, study them for a few months. Begin with small articles or even with Letters To The Editor. There is nothing humiliating or degrading about starting with the Letters column. It is a powerful place to get published ideas that would otherwise not find its way into any publication.
Letters to the editor are considered, all over the world, to be the reader's own column. Therefore it does not have to adhere to the political or economic policy of the periodical. Further, these columns do not even have to follow government guidelines about censorship, and therefore a reader can get almost anything published there. This is a good place to begin your secular writing career, specially if you are new to this field or if you have a special message for people that would not otherwise be published by the periodical.
Once you successfully publish in a few regional newspapers and magazines, you will develop enough confidence and also experience in writing to try larger publications. Try your hand then at a few national publications, again beginning with a smaller submission. Do not send a 5000-word article to them before you become an established writer with them. All publications have length-restrictions, and very few of them accept manuscripts with higher number words. Further, when a novice submits this kind of a massive manuscript, this might not even be read by the editor. Your hard work, and the neatly typed manuscript, will end up in a wastebasket.
HOW TO CREATE A MARKET FOR YOURSELF: No writer should assume that getting an entry into the secular market will guarantee that he will continue to be entertained. We live in an era of specialization, and this applies to the field of writing too. You can look forward to a regular market for yourself only if you specialize to some extent.
Specializing does not require you to attend the college once again. What it requires is that you distinguish yourself as an expert in at least one area of writing. For example, you might be able to demonstrate a special capability in analyzing trends among students, teachers, or any community of that type. Or, you might be able to demonstrate a special ability to write in the field of sports, hobbies, cookery, counselling, history, automobiles, books, or any of the numerous subjects that are looking for attention.
Even within a given field one might be able to develop special expertise in a narrower field. Consider someone who wants to specialize in science writing. Even here one might be able to focus his writings on science-news, trends, technology, education, essays, and so on.
HOW TO INSERT THE CHRISTIAN MESSAGE IN THESE: Interestingly, the Christian message can be brought from time to time into purely secular writings. For example, while discussing a purely non-religious subject you might be able to insert an apt quotation from the Scriptures. This, however, requires a thorough acquaintance with the word of God.
If you think this impractical, then consider the scores of Bible-based quotation books available in the market. Produced by purely secular publishers, these are sold in tens of thousands in the non Christian market place. If quotations from the Bible has this much appeal for the masses, then it is only reasonable for me to suggest that you find occasions to insert Biblical quotations in writings that are purely secular.
Again you might say that a single quotation makes no lasting contribution to spreading the kingdom of God. This is self defeat. The word of God shall never return void. Let me narrate a story. Rev. Anand Choudhary is one of the best Bible teachers that India has ever produced. In his testimony he mentioned that his attention was drawn to the Bible by a single statement that a Christian student inserted in his speech. While speaking in a competition on world peace, this student affirmed (in a single statement) that only he return of Lord Jesus will herald world peace.
This single statement led Rev. Choudhary to study the Christian message and finally to accept the Lord as his personal saviour. The Lord can use similar quotations from you, that you scatter here and there in your secular writings, to produce the same results. Find a way to sprinkle your secular articles inconspicuously with an occasional Biblical quotation.
Writings That Have A Clear Christian Content, Message Or Bias: Most people would consider it impossible to get published in secular media a writing that clearly betrays a Christian content, message, or bias. They manifest only their ignorance.
Unfortunately, most Christian writers do not exploit the available opportunities and then lay the blame upon the media. Hindus know better than that, and they get published all kinds of material with religious content in non religious publications.
Of course, the widespread Hindu mentality definitely helps them in getting it done, but that is not the only reason why they get published. Their acquaintance with "how to do it" also helps them to get published in unbelievable places. Christian writers could do the same if they are willing to work hard and learn the ticks of the trade.
You can introduce the Christian content, message, or bias in two types of writings: Factual Writings and Creative writings. We will look separately at both.
Factual Writings That Have A Christian Content, Message, Or Bias
Any writing that's not poetry or fiction can be classified as factual writing. Their primary aim is to portray facts in an interesting manner. The range of possible factual writings is too broad to be defined. Since the word of God touches upon almost every conceivable subject in the world, it is not difficult to put a Christian content, message, or inclination into such writing.
Articles, comments, observations, history, or anything under the sun can be written from a Christian perspective. Subjects like discipline, politics, nationalism, economics, contemporary problems, etc. lend themselves easily to Christian influence without being preachy.
There are a lot of ideologically conservative and right-wing publications that will be happy to publish this kind of articles. The expression "conservative" should not mislead you into thinking that these are some kind of anti-social or fringe-group publications. On the contrary, there are plenty of mainline secular publications in every language that have a conservative viewpoint.
You don't have to be, and should not be, preachy when you write for these publications. There are plenty of methods to blend the Christian outlook with what you write for the secular publications. Of course, once you become established with a few publications you will discover several occasions when you can be more explicit with the Christian message.
The secular media offers some opportunities even for direct Christian content if you are willing to rise to the occasion. They are:
RELIGIOUS PERIODICALS: In the beginning itself I had mentioned that in this lesson I'm referring to all non-Christian publications whether religious or non religious.
Several religious groups bring out periodicals, and they number in hundreds (possibly even thousands). They offer a very special outlet for direct Christian message. Since this subject is very special and completely unexploited by Christian, I will explain the details in a separate lesson.
MEDITATIONS: Many secular publications carry a regular "thoughts for the day" column. These contain comments, observations, reflections, or meditations upon some inspiring theme. Since this kind of activity is inherently spiritual or religious, almost any publication will accept manuscripts written from a Christian perspective.
The only care to take is not to be preachy and not to write to them in a "Church Sermon" style. An article on the "Seven I Am's In The Bible" will not be welcome, but a devotion on a verse like "The Lord Is My Shepherd" or "Turn The Other Cheek" will surely be accepted. Once the reader knows that the statement has come from the Bible, this might draw him to read the Book himself.
An interesting item, "Two Minutes With The Bible And Science" has been very popular with Radio Stations in the USA now for decades. Many of them broadcast it regularly not because they are Christians, but because this feature is loved by their listeners. Some Christians are reported to offer similar items successfully for newspapers. Sky is the limit for the dedicated writer. Look for the possible columns in your local newspapers.
SPECIAL-PURPOSE ARTICLES: Most regional/local newspapers and magazines print special-occasion articles. This might be an article on the big sporting event, a local festival, or even a local observance. Publishing this kind of features is necessary for the editor to maintain the reader appeal of these publications. This offers a great opportunity to Christian writers.
Almost any regional/local non Christian newspaper or magazine will gladly accept and publish articles related to Easter and Christmas. I have tried this several times and have got published even in publications that otherwise take a strong anti-evangelization stand in the country !
Check your local newspaper this Christmas or Easter, and you will discover the opportunities that await you and that you have been ignoring all these years. Here is an occasion when you can write almost anything -- including the exclusive claims of Christ -- and get published !
INTERVIEWS: Man's social nature makes him greatly interested in other human beings. This is why gossip travels faster than anything else even in this twentyfirst century.
People like to hear not only about the achievements of others but also about their fears, problems, pains, and the way they solved the problems. This makes "personal interest" stories all time best sellers.
Look into any popular magazine of any inclination -- science, sports, general, health, education, or household. In all probability you will find at least one personal story or an interview. This is a good opportunity for you to get the Christian message into print.
An interview of a Christian celebrity, whether already known or not, is one possibility. You must have read interviews of Mother Theresa after she received the Nobel Prize. Thousand of magazines published it. But even stories of lesser individuals can get into print. In the recent past I have seen articles in the secular press about Dr. Duane Gish (a creationist), Dr. G. D. S. Dinakaran (a charismatic faith-healer), and several others. Not only that, sometimes ago SAVY the glossy society magazines printed a multi-page story of a Christian woman who is not a celebrity by any means.
What is important is your ability to project the person and his appealing qualities. Further, in an interview, since all quotations related to Christ and the gospel come from the person interviewed it usually gets published without any editorial modification.
TECHNICAL ARTICLES: Almost any expert can find technical, semi technical, or even popular journals in his subject that will be willing to publish a serious article on Biblical themes. For example, a Christian psychiatrist might be able to publish on biblical themes -- say forgiveness, charity, or prayer.
A historian might be able publish on the history or social contributions of different Christian groups or individuals -- say on the contributions of William Carey, Pandita Rama Bai, or Narayan Vaman Tilak. The Christian understanding of salvation and related themes can be interwoven successfully into this kind of writings.
A few years ago I submitted an article on Bible And Science to a physics journal -- the Bulletin of Indian Association Of Physics Teachers. Instead of naming it "Bible And Science" I titled it "A Reconstruction Of The History Of Science From Biblical Sources". The article was accepted and sent to me for amplification. The editor mentioned that he would be willing to consider a whole series on this topic if it is written at a scholarly level. What more can one ask from a secular publication for defending the scientific validity of Biblical statements !
Look around, and you will notice plenty of opportunities to put Christian content, message, or bias into what you publish in secular publications.
Creative Writings That Have A Christian Content, Message, Or Bias
Since creative writings give a lot of liberty to the writer, he can create situations, characters, stories, poems, or almost anything to convey the Christian message.
With increasing levels of literacy, people are getting more and more interested in reading stories, poetry, novels, and humour. An endeavouring Christian writer can not only publish and become popular, but also do so by using Christian themes. Two contemporary examples are C. S. Lewis and the creator of "Peanuts".
C. S. Lewis is known to fiction lovers all over the world. He mixed Christian themes with his fiction, yet his novels were published by secular publications because of the quality of his writings.
Peanuts is one of the most popular cartoon strips produced from USA. So much so that it has become the synonym for the common man's struggle for survival against all odds. Interestingly, the writer is said to be a Christian believer who wants to use his talent to preach the Christian world-view through his cartoons. He has been successful to quite a great extent.
A good number of English fiction taught in English literature at B.A. and M.A. level all over the world have their origin in the Christian Scriptures. Themes like Milton's Paradise Lost have been taken directly from the Bible. So is Mahakavi K. V. Simon and Narayan Vaman Tilak's poems that have become standard textbooks in secular universities in India.
Almost all the special areas for getting published mentioned in the previous section apply here also. You might be able to get specially written poems published on particular occasions, or about special persons, etc. You might even be able to get historical stories, with Christian characters in them, published in the secular media.
Children's literature is another untapped area. Since these stories are meant to teach moral, ethical, and spiritual values, the Christian writer can find a very fertile ground here for getting into the secular publications.
SUMMARY: Sky is the limit for a Christian writer who wants to get published in the secular media. He cannot preach the message, but he can successfully use the approach of infiltration. A few places will even give him the opportunity of declaring the gospel as clearly as he wants.
What is required is quality, content, and an understanding of the market.
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