I’ve talked with a lot of Christian writers, and a number of them want to write non-fiction. It doesn’t take long to find out what they want to write – most females want to write Christian devotionals, and most males want to write theological works.
That’s not the mistake, but there’s a crucial step you need to undertake before you begin.
The Crucial Flaw
Whether ego, impatience or lack of spiritual discipline, almost all of the writers want to bypass the crucial step. I can remember talking online with a writer who wanted to write eschatological commentary. When I gave him advice what he should work on first, he complained, “I don’t have time for that. I want my book on the shelves next year!”
“You’re omitting a crucial step. You’re doomed if you don’t undertake that first.” Was my response.
The next day, he was missing. The day after that, he wrote bitter complaints. “I talked with a publisher and told him what I wanted to do. He told me etc. Etc. Etc….”
Essentially he told the writer the same thing I told him. He wasn’t qualified. Hopefully the publisher won’t remember the writer’s name, because he just committed career death… talking with a publisher when you haven’t done the homework and don’t have a completed manuscript.
Part of the reason I left the writer’s group was bullying from one man who was offended by something I said – offense that he never would have received if he’d been Biblically grounded.
He cited the “in all things unity” as a quote from the Apostles. Um… no, that dates back to recent times. The Bible actually requires Christians to avoid anyone teaching heresy. It’s in numerous passages. Even a cursory knowledge of Scripture will give you that understanding.
Publishing any works making that kind of error creates an embarrassment that follows your career the rest of your life.
If you’re unfamiliar with basic texts of the Bible, then sideline any thoughts of writing Christian materials until you are familiar with them. You need to be reading right now, not writing.
The Crucial Mistakes
I remember a Christian online magazine that was advertising themselves on the forum in an attempt to promote themselves (under the guise of “We’re looking for contributers”). One person committed gross theological errors in a single article that showed complete ignorance of the subject matter (by confusing “replacement theology” – also called supercessionism – with “Preservation of the saints”, and decrying it as one of the worst theological errors). That’s the kind of thing that can haunt you in the future – far better to take your time, take the crucial step and avoid these kinds of career mistakes.
Most non-fiction writers want to write devotional material. I can honestly tell you I’ve seen some blatant mistakes in amateur devotionals. Indeed, I’ve even seen embarrassing factual errors in Sunday School materials, by noted authors (the most embarassing one was by a famous teacher who taught that Zeph. 3:9 referred to cursing – um, Hebrew has no curse words).
The Crucial Step
If you’re going to write Christian non-fiction – whether Devotional or Theological – you must first study. You need to learn doctrine. You need to learn sound theology first.
“For devotional material?”
Yes, absolutely. You may find the most perfect story of a kitten with milk on its whiskers, but if you try to turn that to “God needs us”, you just embarassed yourself greatly – and that’s going to follow you.
You can make simple humilitating mistakes if you have no training or learning – mistakes you won’t make if you first attend a simple Bible college, or a Theological Seminary.
If you’re ever going to address doctrine you need to know what sound doctrine is.
Nicholas Reicher
Bare minimum, a nonfiction Christian author should have read at least one systematic theology. At least one. If you can’t, you haven’t learned enough to teach others.
If you plan on writing Bible commentary, you’re just going to embarrass yourself by not getting a doctorate first.
“A doctorate! I don’t have time for that!”
Sorry, there it is. If you plan on citing any Koine Greek examples (such as expounding on the meaning of ἁρπαγησόμεθα), you need first to take at least one semester of Greek in a classroom setting – not spending six months looking up Greek Lemmas in a Strong’s dictionary.
Most certainly, if you plan on writing a four to six volume commentary on Revelation (note the lack of “S” at the end of that word – a common mistake made by Christians who grew up listening to Heavy Metal)…
you will not get it published unless you have a doctorate. Especially if you plan on dealing with the Greek text of Revelation, you need to have in your query letter and proposal a mention of where you studied Greek, and for how long. Two years is barely minimum for that endeavor, unless you majored in the Greek! A knowledgeable publisher is going to put you on the “ignore” list right away if you don’t cite this.
Summary
With the drop in book sales continuing, publishers of Christian materials need to see that you’re not going to cost them sales and give them a black eye (figuratively) by saying something embarrassing. Any mistake you make costs not only you credibility, but also the publisher. They can’t afford that any more.
Citing your degree from a reputable Christian institute of higher learning can help you overcome those objections long before you start.
Time well spent now prevent a career’s worth of embarassment from following you the rest of your life.
