On Being a Christian Author

God created man in His own image, after His own likeness, and He created us from the dust of the ground. It shouldn’t surprise us that we have so many things in common with the Earth. We need water and oxygen. We have veins; so does the earth. And, like the planet on which we reside, we function in seasons.

Seasons of growth, seasons of renewal, and seasons of change are a part of who we are. Such is the case with writers. I find myself in a rare season, one that seems to break the laws of nature and blend multiple seasons together. Though I’m not physically growing, I’m certainly dealing with physical changes. (Where’s my nearly 40 year old club?) More importantly is the growth taking place within. Certainly it is bringing renewal, and change is an inherent part of that process.

I am not who I was at the beginning of this writing journey. I never set out to be a Christian author. I just wanted to write, yet here I am. The unexpected part of becoming this is trying to understand what it means. I find myself observing the discussions between readers and writers with polarized, unforgiving, dogmatic stances that don’t allow for the things all Christians should share in common: grace to one another and an unconditional love for Jesus Christ.

“Christian” fiction has somehow been reduced to whether or not someone drinks or uses bad language. Of course, everyone defines both of those differently, and many are ready to burn the books of the authors who have violated their sacred views by using unbelievably vulgar words like “heck” or “gosh” in one of their books. These authors are declared non-Christian and their books are banished if the characters in those books don’t turn out perfect in the end or do what the reader thinks is the “Christian” thing to do.

I can’t stomach this. Moreover, suggesting that there might be more to the Bible than salvation and telling others about Jesus seems to be frowned upon because far too many “Christians” rely on what their pastors tell them the word of God says rather than reading it for themselves. Suddenly I’m responsible for the spiritual well-being of anyone who picks up my book.

No pressure.

And this isn’t a complaint. It’s just the reality I find myself facing. And of course there are many Christian authors and readers who are balanced and don’t fall into these traps. They open a book marked fiction and realize that it’s, you know, fiction. They don’t base their theology on an entertaining story, and they don’t feel the need to destroy someone publicly because there is a difference of opinion.

Something else that isn’t easy to understand is the warped value placed on an author’s work. I understand people not having a lot of money; I’m far from rich, and I’ve had my share of struggles just like anyone else. But, there is something very wrong when people are willing to pay $6 for a cup of coffee that won’t last an hour but refuse to pay more than $2.99 for a book that took an author years to write, a book that might change lives.

I’m not exaggerating here. I’ve read discussion boards where people argue how ridiculous it is for a writer or publisher to charge $0.99 for a novella or short story. They argue that those should be free, and to charge money for them is outrageous. Would you go to a gas station for one gallon of gas and balk at the attendant for asking you to pay for it? Would you go to a grocery store, open a bag of chips, try a few, and then put it back if you didn’t like it? Why are things that don’t last and were created with minimal effort given more value than something that robbed a person of sleep and took multiple rounds of drafting, revising, and editing? Something that might have been rejected by countless agents and publishers? The outpouring of someone’s heart and soul?

But, yeah, sure, you can have it for less than a dollar. By the time taxes and royalties are worked out, the author won’t receive a dime for that book, and then you can go an Amazon and post a 2-star review, bashing the author. This is the reality of being a writer, specifically a Christian author, in 2019.

Imagine you’re an eight year old boy who has just finished his first chapter book. You’re so in love with the experience that book gave you that you decide, right then and there, that you want to create that experience for other people. Now imagine that you dream about that for thirty years, and one day it comes true. You write a book, and it gets published. Someone reads it and loves it. Now think about the things I’ve talked about in this post up to this point.

How does that make you feel?

The point is that I’m trying to figure all of this out, and it’s difficult. Not only that, there is a limit to the flow of creativity. The well of imagination must be full before the water can be drawn. I love writing. I love waking up early to create worlds and characters. I’m passionate about it, but the well is in danger of running dry.

I need time to work on my craft and time to fill my creativity silos with enough grain to last through the next season. So I’m mostly ignoring the discussion forums. I’m not spending my time trying to appease people not even Jesus seems to be able to make happy. I’m taking a long break from the Journey of Fate series and experimenting with some other projects. I’ve got a secret project that I couldn’t categorize if I tried, and I have a serial story I’m writing on my blog for fun.

And you know what? It feels great! I’m not killing myself to try and convince people who never buy books to buy my books. I’m not going into debt to try and do ads and promos. Nope. Not doing it. Am I getting out of the game completely? No, not even close. No, no, no! I’m putting the artist back in the chair and letting him throw some paint on the canvas wherever he wants. I’m reading books that make me want to just get lost for hours on an adventure, and I’m connecting with my heavenly Father.

I’m taking my wife out on dates and going to my kids’ games. I’m living my life because it’s good, and God gave it to me. My Friday nights entail doing absolutely nothing and falling asleep on the couch with nothing to worry about. And, of course, I’m putting in a lot of hours with my day job. Come on, this is the real world, and you can’t just sit around in your pajamas because you feel like it. That’s not how it works.

So for the writing update: I do have plans to write several more books in the Journey of Fate series, and I have a halfway complete outline for the next book, but that’s on pause because it feels stale and I don’t want to just push through it. I don’t know when I’ll finish it or when it will be published. I also have a couple other books I want to write, one with a complete outline and one with a completed but very messy rough draft. In the meantime, if you want to dive into my fiction universe, follow along with the serial story on my blog: Coffee with a Devil.

Final thoughts: Love people. Extend grace to those who need it, not those who’ve earned it because no one can earn grace. Think before you write that review or post anything on social media that involves a person because that person is human. Put value on valuable things and don’t waste your abundance on temporary things. Love the Lord and serve Him with gladness. Now go live your life!