Dancing at the Edge

Deb Kinnard · Oct 8, 2014

So, I've got this set of characters living their lives in my mind. They're not Christians in a certain sense. They're inquirers. They've heard the Good News but they're not "there" yet. One describes himself as a Messianic Jew. Another describes herself as an agnostic who'd like to hear a better explanation of how Jesus Christ is the Way etc.

Question revolves around: is it "okay" in a sense to write about these people? Most of the C-fic I've read starts with committed Christians and ends with those same people in basically the same place. Yeah, there's a faith journey of a sort, but if a character starts the journey as non-committed or an unbeliever, he is solidly On Our Side by the end.

I'm wondering if this "I'm still investigating" stance is part of the reason my indie books haven't sold as well as I'd hoped.

Thoughts?

Calla Lily · Oct 8, 2014

Deb, that static character arc is one of the reasons I quit reading C-fic. But yeah, since that static-ness seems to be the expectation in C-fic, and your marketing is aimed at C-fic readers, it might be why your sales aren't where you want them to be.

Don't diagram that sentence, please. :tongue

I'd definitely write those seeking characters and see what happens to them by the last chapter. They might surprise you.

Good luck!

E.F.B. · Oct 8, 2014

I like it. Write it. Now.

Deb Kinnard · Oct 9, 2014

LOL, thanks and blessings to you both. I've always tried to write where my heart is, but ideally I'd like these puppies to SELL, too...

Sigh. Why is it again I cannot have it both ways?

Gravity · Oct 9, 2014

Deb, after twelve years of bashing my head against the door, I've finally concluded the CBA doesn't WANT change. You may have to do as I did, and just head over to the general market side.

Calla Lily · Oct 9, 2014

We have cookies.

Gravity · Oct 9, 2014

And draft Guinness, I trust.

cmhbob · Oct 9, 2014

Write it, NOW, and don't label it Christian, unless the story is just about their spiritual journey. If it's a thriller, market it as a thriller. If a mystery, market it as a mystery etc.

Good luck!

Deb Kinnard · Oct 9, 2014

My last two indies are not labeled Christian. Those are the ones I'm referring to where the characters are "not there yet" and they're not selling so well. I'm marketing them as simply contemporary romance, with a few kicker key words factored in.

It's also possible I'm dragging my C-fic/small press reputation around behind me like a dead and stinking whale. I might've done better to jump ship a few years earlier, but I had some leftover stars in my eyes, back then.

Gravity · Oct 9, 2014

This whole mess gets even more problematic for males trying to make it in Christian publishing. No offense to the distaff side, but the CBA has been--and will for the foreseeable future be--a woman's world. Take the latest ACFW conference as Exhibit A; the pictures show it all. The handful of male authors who've made a go of Christian publishing got in early, when the door was a bit wider. That's over.

I remember a few years back when an editor at a pretty large Christian house and I had a good talk. In a nutshell he told me my Joe Box series would never be a success because the CBA simply didn't know what to do with a barely saved and struggling character -- not to mention one who was given to mood swings, sarcasm, and taking out villains in very final ways.

I was pissed on an epic scale, both of his truth and of my stupidity. Since then I've rewritten the first two for the general market side, and my agent is getting some interest there. In short, Christians didn't want my books, so I'm showing them to the world.

Calla Lily · Oct 9, 2014

Deb, are you SPing now? Or are you trying for an agent/new pub with this one? My point: Do you think it's worth starting out fresh with a pen name?

It's a daunting thought, I know.

Ken · Oct 9, 2014

You are free to do whatever you like, of course!

In general, though, it is sometimes the case that when you start introducing elements outside the scope of your intended target you're attempting to make up for what the original fails to achieve. E.g. not enough drama, so you include something controversial to compensate. What you should do is work with what you have and delve into the characters as they are.

So for Christian fiction keep it Christian and don't waver. You can create just as powerful and moving a novel while keeping the subject pure, if that is what you want.

You may just want to waver to waver which is okay.

"It's your prerogative," as Bobby Brown puts it.

G'luck.

Gravity · Oct 9, 2014

Calla Lily said:
Deb, are you SPing now? Or are you trying for an agent/new pub with this one? My point: Do you think it's worth starting out fresh with a pen name?

It's a daunting thought, I know.

Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that going forward with my general market titles, I'm using a pen name.

Deb Kinnard · Oct 10, 2014

Calla, I'm hybrid. I have eight books with Desert Breeze (all C-fic) and my two self-pubbed efforts (see below) are mainstream.

I've thought about a pen name. I'm on the edge there, too. Not sure yet exactly which path I'll take.

John, I hear you. I don't think C-fic was actually ready for either you or me, back in '09 (remember Nashville?). I read your work with great enjoyment, as well as Randy Ingermanson's and Tom Morrissey's. Maybe I am not the typical ACFW gentle-writing-and-reading housewife. I do know I am not the customer who sticks firmly in ACFW's chosen market.

I hear you about the men not being totally welcomed. Men are just one subset of ACFW's "we'll tolerate you, but don't ask for a welcome" group. Sometimes I feel as though the out-group is much larger than the in-group.

Anyway, I resigned that bunch a couple years ago, and I have peace about that. I'm working on a project now that trips all my triggers. Will it find a market? I don't know. I'm having fun.

Gravity · Oct 10, 2014

In short and in sum, my real name is, to quote the villain from Open Range, "shot to hell and dyin'. " It's a hard thing to admit what the CBA did to me, but to quote another villain--my old Army top-kick DI--"bitchin' don't work."

That's why I had to go with a pen name; my real one is trashed.

Deb Kinnard · Oct 10, 2014

I'm sorry to hear that. I think the C-fic community may end up with a lot to answer for, someday, that may surprise them.

henmatth · Oct 13, 2014

Christian books are written for inspiration.
For me, writing something against the Christian doctrine
can raise brows and draw attention.
But I've read a lot of Christian fiction books that went out of their way
and made it a hit.
There's no harm in trying anyway.

Deb Kinnard · Oct 14, 2014

Christian books, whatever you feel that to encompass, are written for the same reason as general-market books: because the writer has a story to tell. My romances aren't written in order to convert anyone to Christianity or to encourage a deeper walk with the Lord. That's the work of the Spirit, and if my little stories accidentally encourage a reader, well, that's fine with me but He works in ways that are higher than mine.

It's not "against Christian doctrine" to not be a Christian yet. Those are the characters my current work seems to need, and so I write their stories and not people sitting in the pews every Sunday and singing.

I do not write to offend, to raise anyone's brows, or to draw attention. If my posts offend, then I'm sorry that happened.

Robin Bayne · Dec 20, 2014

So did you start this project?

Dancing at the Edge

Deb Kinnard

Calla Lily

On hiatus

E.F.B.

Stories, stories everywhere

Deb Kinnard

Gravity

Seen 'em come, seen 'em go

Calla Lily

On hiatus

Gravity

Seen 'em come, seen 'em go

cmhbob

Did...did I do that?

Deb Kinnard

Gravity

Seen 'em come, seen 'em go

Calla Lily

On hiatus

Ken

Gravity

Seen 'em come, seen 'em go

Deb Kinnard

Gravity

Seen 'em come, seen 'em go

Deb Kinnard

henmatth

New Fish; Learning About Thick Skin

Deb Kinnard

Robin Bayne

~writes for Him~