by Jason Joyner | Sep 8, 2010 | Blog, boundaries, CBA, christian fiction, music
And in other news, ABC hates CBS and NBC.
Aside from abbreviation proliferation, I’ve been thinking about the continuing (continuous?) debate in CBA fiction circles about how to expand the “boundaries” of Christian fiction. On one side there are people defending the industry, pointing to its growth in the publishing world over the last several years, and the greater variety of genres/books being published. Another camp feels stifled by the unspoken limits of what is acceptable, and wonders how CBA/Christian fiction can reach unbelievers in its current status.
(Realize that the “industry” is a disparate group of authors, editors, agents, publishers, marketers, and booksellers, each with their own agenda. People speak of the CBA as some monolithic organization, which it certainly is not.)
|
Doncha dig the font
and hairdos? |
I’ve considered another industry that has had similar growing pains. CCM stands for Contemporary Christian Music, and it is another nebulous designation to speak of a variety of interests in music.
CCM started in the late 60’s/early 70’s with the revolution of sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll. As the hippie movement took full swing, there was a counter-revolution of young people getting saved, but retaining the new tastes in music and culture of their peers (without the sex and drugs part). As they naturally wrote music in the rock and folk genres, the initial music was often picked up by general market labels. Artists like Keith Green and Randy Stonehill were pioneers in these areas. Soon there was enough interest that labels were started to give further outlet to these musicians.
Since the people involved wanted to glorify the Lord as well as sell music, they became Christian publishers. This had the effect of sucking most of the blatantly Christian artists into a niche area, creating a music “ghetto” for lack of a better term. There were those like Bob Dylan with his Christian phase albums in the general market, but most artists producing specific Christian music (religious lyrics/subjects) were isolated from the general market airwaves. Christian music was on the outside looking in with the advent of MTV.
Slowly Christian artists tested the waters of “crossing over” to the general market, even as the Christian music ghetto flourished. Stryper was a famous Christian glam-metal band that got MTV airplay but was sold in (many, not all) Christian bookstores. Amy Grant was the first big crossover with her song “Baby Baby,” a syrupy-yet-catchy pop song that wasn’t specifically religious.
A debate raged at the time (early 90’s) whether these artists were “selling out” by writing lyrics that were ambiguous enough to be sung as a love song to the Lord or to a girlfriend. Michael W. Smith had a couple of hits on top 40 radio with such songs. In the mid-90’s Jars of Clay burst onto the scene when an early single, “Flood”, made waves in both markets. U2 remained a conundrum as they had spiritually insightful lyrics, but refused to be labeled a “Christian” band. Those darn Irish rockers wouldn’t let themselves be squeezed into the little CCM box!
Slowly, things have changed in the last 10 years in Christian music. Movies and TV shows started pulling songs from various Christian artists to play during the program. Switchfoot became a band that garnered a lot of respect in the general market, but were still considered “one of ours.” Relient k participated in the Vans Warped Tour with other general artists. P.O.D. broke through to both markets. Songs by The Afters, The Fray, and others got noticed. Skillet’s “Hero” was the major song for Sunday Night Football last year. The band Paramore is not considered a Christian band per se, but they have songs such as “Hallelujah” on their records.
Most of this has happened organically, without a lot of organization that I can tell. Perhaps there was behind the scenes maneuvering, but suddenly it was okay for bands to talk about spirituality without being black-listed to the CCM ghetto, and the CCM folks didn’t fuss about “selling out” nearly as much. This isn’t perfect: the band MuteMath sued their Christian distributor for being called a “Christian band”, as they felt it hurt their image since “Christian music” wasn’t considered the same quality as general market music. You don’t find songs blatantly speaking of Jesus on mainstream airwaves.
Could this be the model that CBA fiction follows? There are parallels – Ted Dekker is successfully publishing in both ABA/general market as well as Christian fiction. The CCM flow right now seems to leave room for the overtly Christian tunes, such as Chris Tomlin’s praise music along with the bands such as Superchick that have had some crossover appeal.
I can see this happening. I don’t know much about marketing and how books get out to the Barnes and Noble of the world, but it would be nice if relationships could be built with publishers and booksellers, getting more CBA books into areas of greater visibility. Hopefully the Ted Dekkers of the world will help pave a way for the Eric Wilsons and Robin Parrishs of the world for greater exposure.
—
by Jason Joyner | Sep 8, 2010 | Blog, boundaries, CBA, christian fiction, music
And in other news, ABC hates CBS and NBC.
Aside from abbreviation proliferation, I’ve been thinking about the continuing (continuous?) debate in CBA fiction circles about how to expand the “boundaries” of Christian fiction. On one side there are people defending the industry, pointing to its growth in the publishing world over the last several years, and the greater variety of genres/books being published. Another camp feels stifled by the unspoken limits of what is acceptable, and wonders how CBA/Christian fiction can reach unbelievers in its current status.
(Realize that the “industry” is a disparate group of authors, editors, agents, publishers, marketers, and booksellers, each with their own agenda. People speak of the CBA as some monolithic organization, which it certainly is not.)
|
Doncha dig the font
and hairdos? |
I’ve considered another industry that has had similar growing pains. CCM stands for Contemporary Christian Music, and it is another nebulous designation to speak of a variety of interests in music.
CCM started in the late 60’s/early 70’s with the revolution of sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll. As the hippie movement took full swing, there was a counter-revolution of young people getting saved, but retaining the new tastes in music and culture of their peers (without the sex and drugs part). As they naturally wrote music in the rock and folk genres, the initial music was often picked up by general market labels. Artists like Keith Green and Randy Stonehill were pioneers in these areas. Soon there was enough interest that labels were started to give further outlet to these musicians.
Since the people involved wanted to glorify the Lord as well as sell music, they became Christian publishers. This had the effect of sucking most of the blatantly Christian artists into a niche area, creating a music “ghetto” for lack of a better term. There were those like Bob Dylan with his Christian phase albums in the general market, but most artists producing specific Christian music (religious lyrics/subjects) were isolated from the general market airwaves. Christian music was on the outside looking in with the advent of MTV.
Slowly Christian artists tested the waters of “crossing over” to the general market, even as the Christian music ghetto flourished. Stryper was a famous Christian glam-metal band that got MTV airplay but was sold in (many, not all) Christian bookstores. Amy Grant was the first big crossover with her song “Baby Baby,” a syrupy-yet-catchy pop song that wasn’t specifically religious.
A debate raged at the time (early 90’s) whether these artists were “selling out” by writing lyrics that were ambiguous enough to be sung as a love song to the Lord or to a girlfriend. Michael W. Smith had a couple of hits on top 40 radio with such songs. In the mid-90’s Jars of Clay burst onto the scene when an early single, “Flood”, made waves in both markets. U2 remained a conundrum as they had spiritually insightful lyrics, but refused to be labeled a “Christian” band. Those darn Irish rockers wouldn’t let themselves be squeezed into the little CCM box!
Slowly, things have changed in the last 10 years in Christian music. Movies and TV shows started pulling songs from various Christian artists to play during the program. Switchfoot became a band that garnered a lot of respect in the general market, but were still considered “one of ours.” Relient k participated in the Vans Warped Tour with other general artists. P.O.D. broke through to both markets. Songs by The Afters, The Fray, and others got noticed. Skillet’s “Hero” was the major song for Sunday Night Football last year. The band Paramore is not considered a Christian band per se, but they have songs such as “Hallelujah” on their records.
Most of this has happened organically, without a lot of organization that I can tell. Perhaps there was behind the scenes maneuvering, but suddenly it was okay for bands to talk about spirituality without being black-listed to the CCM ghetto, and the CCM folks didn’t fuss about “selling out” nearly as much. This isn’t perfect: the band MuteMath sued their Christian distributor for being called a “Christian band”, as they felt it hurt their image since “Christian music” wasn’t considered the same quality as general market music. You don’t find songs blatantly speaking of Jesus on mainstream airwaves.
Could this be the model that CBA fiction follows? There are parallels – Ted Dekker is successfully publishing in both ABA/general market as well as Christian fiction. The CCM flow right now seems to leave room for the overtly Christian tunes, such as Chris Tomlin’s praise music along with the bands such as Superchick that have had some crossover appeal.
I can see this happening. I don’t know much about marketing and how books get out to the Barnes and Noble of the world, but it would be nice if relationships could be built with publishers and booksellers, getting more CBA books into areas of greater visibility. Hopefully the Ted Dekkers of the world will help pave a way for the Eric Wilsons and Robin Parrishs of the world for greater exposure.
—
by Jason Joyner | Aug 23, 2010 | Blog, CBA, christian fiction, Robin Parrish, speculative fiction
On Friday I reviewed Nightmare by Robin Parrish. As a paranormal suspense novel, close to a horror novel, this book has received some interesting reviews. None of the reviews I’ve seen have said that it is a bad story. They all acknowledge Robin as a good suspense author.
However, a few reviews I’ve seen (on Christianbook.com, a couple during the CFBA tour) turn negative when they talk about the spiritual aspects of the book. Obviously Nightmare takes on a topic that may seem to go against some people’s theology. To this I say, make sure you read the book all the way through, and read it carefully. It is a work of speculative fiction – as in “speculate.” He is not saying a definitive position on the topic, he came up with a suspenseful story idea and worked on it. If you expect a treatise on spiritual warfare you’ll be disappointed.
Spoilers Ahead!
Robin never denies or totally affirms the paranormal in the book. He writes an author note at the back of the book saying he believes closer to a Christian character in the book, and warns people that he does not believe dabbling in the paranormal is a good idea at all. The plot hinges around a machine that is able to remove a person’s soul from their body. There is a large McGuffin plot device that pops up at this time to explain this. The people are able to be reconnected soul to body at the end.
End Spoilers
I’ve had some bad experience with things like Dungeons and Dragons in the past. I believe that Christians shouldn’t dabble in every possible form of evil or paranormal. This is a whole different ball game to me. I don’t believe he is trying to glamorize anything, but to use a plot point to tell a story. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but Robin makes sure at the end to remind people it is just a story to make people think – not to sermonize on ghosts or glorify any kind of evil. At least in my opinion.
So is there a place in CBA fiction for a book like Nightmare? The answer is: it depends who you ask!
Nightmare is going to trip up some people who think that CBA fiction means uplifting, theologically correct books that are squeaky clean in the orthodoxy department. Thus the negative reviews. There is another segment of readers who are more open to fiction that has a little more ambiguity, without things fully nailed to a theological premise. People who read science fiction or fantasy should have no problem in general. I would like to see a CBA industry that has room for authors like Robin Parrish or Eric Wilson. However, in my opinion there is enough resistance to writers like them at this time that they may need to pursue other options in publishing.
—
by Jason Joyner | Aug 23, 2010 | Blog, CBA, christian fiction, Robin Parrish, speculative fiction
On Friday I reviewed Nightmare by Robin Parrish. As a paranormal suspense novel, close to a horror novel, this book has received some interesting reviews. None of the reviews I’ve seen have said that it is a bad story. They all acknowledge Robin as a good suspense author.
However, a few reviews I’ve seen (on Christianbook.com, a couple during the CFBA tour) turn negative when they talk about the spiritual aspects of the book. Obviously Nightmare takes on a topic that may seem to go against some people’s theology. To this I say, make sure you read the book all the way through, and read it carefully. It is a work of speculative fiction – as in “speculate.” He is not saying a definitive position on the topic, he came up with a suspenseful story idea and worked on it. If you expect a treatise on spiritual warfare you’ll be disappointed.
Spoilers Ahead!
Robin never denies or totally affirms the paranormal in the book. He writes an author note at the back of the book saying he believes closer to a Christian character in the book, and warns people that he does not believe dabbling in the paranormal is a good idea at all. The plot hinges around a machine that is able to remove a person’s soul from their body. There is a large McGuffin plot device that pops up at this time to explain this. The people are able to be reconnected soul to body at the end.
End Spoilers
I’ve had some bad experience with things like Dungeons and Dragons in the past. I believe that Christians shouldn’t dabble in every possible form of evil or paranormal. This is a whole different ball game to me. I don’t believe he is trying to glamorize anything, but to use a plot point to tell a story. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but Robin makes sure at the end to remind people it is just a story to make people think – not to sermonize on ghosts or glorify any kind of evil. At least in my opinion.
So is there a place in CBA fiction for a book like Nightmare? The answer is: it depends who you ask!
Nightmare is going to trip up some people who think that CBA fiction means uplifting, theologically correct books that are squeaky clean in the orthodoxy department. Thus the negative reviews. There is another segment of readers who are more open to fiction that has a little more ambiguity, without things fully nailed to a theological premise. People who read science fiction or fantasy should have no problem in general. I would like to see a CBA industry that has room for authors like Robin Parrish or Eric Wilson. However, in my opinion there is enough resistance to writers like them at this time that they may need to pursue other options in publishing.
—
by Jason Joyner | Aug 6, 2010 | Blog, CBA, christian fiction, Eric Wilson, publishing, Robin Parrish
In the past few weeks there has been a healthy discussion about the state of Christian fiction. I talked about whether some CBA authors should seek publication for the general market via the ABA. That was nothing. Novelist Eric Wilson really sparked the discussion with his post “Is It Time for Christian Fiction to Die?” Then I collected several thoughtful posts together in a post last week (I encourage you to at least check this one out – not for my words, but the numerous links).
The conversation has been continuing at other places. I want to highlight a few. If anyone knows of other blogs/authors/etc talking about this, I’d love to read what they have to say.
My friend Nicole Petrino-Salter has written several novels, but is self-published, so she doesn’t necessarily have an “insider’s” view of CBA fiction. However, she is a prolific reader and blogger, and has cultivated relationships with numerous figures within CBA fiction. She reviews a plethora of novels and has an educated opinion about the whole matter.
She has posted her thoughts on her blog. Then, she has had three days (so far, more coming) of opinions from various individuals within the industry, authors and editors alike. Some of those commenting requested anonymity, as they still have to go to work in the morning! She asked them to make up to 5 recommendations for Christian/CBA fiction.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3 (the whole post is by Jeff Gerke of Marcher Lord Press – very intriguing).
Another author posting about this is Robin Parrish, whose novel Nightmare started my own musing about the boundaries of Christian fiction. He wrote his opinion early this week (which I enjoyed), but I actually felt a comment on the article by Dana Timmerman was one of the best opinions I have read on this issue. He speaks of working hard on the business side of writing, to make sure the quality is as high as it can be, and to be broken before the Lord in approaching this ideal.
Finally, Robin in another post references this article wondering why there isn’t more science fiction in the CBA (almost another subject, but relevant to this discussion). Of course I am interested in this idea as a member of the Christian Sci-fi/Fantasy blog tour.
The general consensus on the posts from Nicole is that the insiders would like to see a little more risk taking by the powers that be in CBA publishing. They would like readers to be willing to take chances on things a little more. There is acknowledgment that CBA fiction has grown a lot, but quality needs to be a continuing priority. There is mention of mentoring new talent, and grooming new authors to step in when the Karen Kingsburys and Ted Dekkers are done writing.
It seems to me that a consensus is out there, even if it isn’t readily apparent. The people who want grittier fiction recognize a place for “safe” fiction to read, but ask for a place that allows a Christian imprint to push books toward the mainstream more. I miss the old imprint West Bow, which used to be a label under Thomas Nelson. West Bow was producing the earlier Ted Dekker books, and had a reputation of books that pushed the boundaries.
Ultimately, CBA is a business, and it is run by supply and demand. People who ask for certain types of books (speculative fiction, horror, “realistic”) need to support the books that do come out with their dollars. I could’ve gotten Nightmare for free through a review group, but I chose instead to buy it, as I was familiar with Robin’s work and wanted to support him.
I’ll keep an eye on the conversation as best I can and post updates as they come around. I hope the discussion continues in a productive manner, and I certainly encourage the conversation here!
—
by Jason Joyner | Aug 6, 2010 | Blog, CBA, christian fiction, Eric Wilson, publishing, Robin Parrish
In the past few weeks there has been a healthy discussion about the state of Christian fiction. I talked about whether some CBA authors should seek publication for the general market via the ABA. That was nothing. Novelist Eric Wilson really sparked the discussion with his post “Is It Time for Christian Fiction to Die?” Then I collected several thoughtful posts together in a post last week (I encourage you to at least check this one out – not for my words, but the numerous links).
The conversation has been continuing at other places. I want to highlight a few. If anyone knows of other blogs/authors/etc talking about this, I’d love to read what they have to say.
My friend Nicole Petrino-Salter has written several novels, but is self-published, so she doesn’t necessarily have an “insider’s” view of CBA fiction. However, she is a prolific reader and blogger, and has cultivated relationships with numerous figures within CBA fiction. She reviews a plethora of novels and has an educated opinion about the whole matter.
She has posted her thoughts on her blog. Then, she has had three days (so far, more coming) of opinions from various individuals within the industry, authors and editors alike. Some of those commenting requested anonymity, as they still have to go to work in the morning! She asked them to make up to 5 recommendations for Christian/CBA fiction.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3 (the whole post is by Jeff Gerke of Marcher Lord Press – very intriguing).
Another author posting about this is Robin Parrish, whose novel Nightmare started my own musing about the boundaries of Christian fiction. He wrote his opinion early this week (which I enjoyed), but I actually felt a comment on the article by Dana Timmerman was one of the best opinions I have read on this issue. He speaks of working hard on the business side of writing, to make sure the quality is as high as it can be, and to be broken before the Lord in approaching this ideal.
Finally, Robin in another post references this article wondering why there isn’t more science fiction in the CBA (almost another subject, but relevant to this discussion). Of course I am interested in this idea as a member of the Christian Sci-fi/Fantasy blog tour.
The general consensus on the posts from Nicole is that the insiders would like to see a little more risk taking by the powers that be in CBA publishing. They would like readers to be willing to take chances on things a little more. There is acknowledgment that CBA fiction has grown a lot, but quality needs to be a continuing priority. There is mention of mentoring new talent, and grooming new authors to step in when the Karen Kingsburys and Ted Dekkers are done writing.
It seems to me that a consensus is out there, even if it isn’t readily apparent. The people who want grittier fiction recognize a place for “safe” fiction to read, but ask for a place that allows a Christian imprint to push books toward the mainstream more. I miss the old imprint West Bow, which used to be a label under Thomas Nelson. West Bow was producing the earlier Ted Dekker books, and had a reputation of books that pushed the boundaries.
Ultimately, CBA is a business, and it is run by supply and demand. People who ask for certain types of books (speculative fiction, horror, “realistic”) need to support the books that do come out with their dollars. I could’ve gotten Nightmare for free through a review group, but I chose instead to buy it, as I was familiar with Robin’s work and wanted to support him.
I’ll keep an eye on the conversation as best I can and post updates as they come around. I hope the discussion continues in a productive manner, and I certainly encourage the conversation here!
—
