How do you men actually read a ‘men’s magazine’ and just what is the market for male readers in 2010? Asking myself this question I gradually realised the nature of actually being a man has a lot to answer for here, as well as the ways in which so called ‘identity politics’ have fragmented and disrupted the very nature of masculinity and its once dominant presence in mass popular culture.

In these days of niche markets and sub-sub-cultures you most certainly have to be defined or targeted as a particular type of reader before you even pick up the latest copy of this or that, and on page after page your own desires and anxieties as that reader are satisfyingly relayed back to you. Or are they?  

Case study 1 – yours truly! – I am 31, white, largely middle/professional class in terms of job, flat, and the car I drive and to add insult to injury when I sift through the piles of magazines that seem to gather next to my loo or by the side of my sofa that identity is reinforced for me.

GQ, Esquire, Men’s Health and the occasional copy of Attitude or GT (the old title of Gay Times deemed to be just too ‘Gay’ these days!) give me back all that I seem to want out of life, love and happiness when it is branded, advertised and airbrushed. The reiteration and reinforcement of all that is stereotypically ‘me’ effortlessly sounds out page after page and it’s hard to resist the latest commodity that would either look great in my flat or even better on me.

I am also part of that demographic of men who are safe and appealing to the market because we buy, and there is nothing better than a savvy yet simultaneously seducible male consumer to keep the capitalist barometer going. I am also led into believing that I am unique, that this latest bottle of Tom Ford encapsulates who I am or that I really need a Paul Smith dressing gown and once again my role and my purpose is neatly contained and sustained for me. Phew, rant (almost) over but hopefully point conveyed!

But what of the men’s magazines that do not speak to me?  The ones I see arrogantly and seamlessly standing on the shelves of WH Smith’s but intentionally turn away from because they are too blatant, too laddish and let’s face it, just too degrading to women. The cheaply produced weekly ordeals in boobs, football and extreme injuries or activities in far-off (their words not mine!) uncivilised lands sell like hotcakes and the ways in which men are addressed could not be further away from the fashion and lifestyle-based stuff I consume.

But maybe that’s the key: the construction and aspiration for a ‘lifestyle’ or rather ‘lifestyles’ that can be viewed and manipulated from a distance. Men’s magazines (in fact all magazines) are just like pornography; they don’t answer back, they don’t laugh at you, they momentarily satisfy until the next desire comes along.

So what’s going on here? Not everyone draws out the same thing from the magazines that they buy and if they did the world would be incredibly banal, so looking again I tried to unpick what unites these very different sorts of men’s magazines and the place I got back to was not identity, not lifestyle but sex!

Thinking and looking – again the objectification of women and more blatantly men in the gay publications –  the assumption that readers are gendered and sexualised in a particular way seems to haunt each and every representation, article, photograph. Whilst social, economic and political roles and contexts have shifted we still as men, and probably more so as women, live with the problematic fact that ‘Sex Sells’!

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TCW: What exactly is Christian speculative fiction?

JG: Christian speculative fiction is a fancy way of saying “science fiction and fantasy written from a Christian worldview.” There are many popular genres in Christian fiction, just as there are in the wider publishing arena. But unlike in secular publishing, where fantasy and science fiction are extremely popular, Christian publishing has not always appreciated the kind of fiction I affectionately call the weird stuff.

Speculative fiction is an umbrella term to include the sub-genres of science fiction, fantasy, time travel, supernatural thriller, horror, alternate history, modern magic, urban fantasy, vampire/Goth, and other wonderfully weird kinds of fiction. And Christian speculative fiction is a term that designates all of those same genres when they arise from the Christian perspective. (Yes, there really are Christian vampire novels and Christian horror – we call them “chillers.”)

TCW: So what kind of market is there for this sort of fiction?

JG: It’s fairly easy to identify the demographic that loves regular Christian fiction. In North America, at least, it’s white, Evangelical women of child-bearing through empty nest ages. It’s the delightful ladies who populate our churches.

Understanding who they are goes a long way toward comprehending why speculative fiction often sells poorly when published by Christian publishers. These wonderful women love their prairie romances and Amish stories and cozy mysteries and mom-lit. They don’t especially appreciate stories about mutant alien vampires who will eat your brains. Go figure.

Likewise, defining the audience for Christian speculative fiction may sound fairly easy. For one thing, it’s simply not the audience I’ve just described. So we know where Christian speculative fiction readers aren’t, but it’s harder to find where they are.

TCW: Could you describe your typical Christian speculative fiction reader?

JG: I like to describe the core readership as Christians who love The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars or Lost. Or even Christians who would go to a fantasy or comic book convention if given half a chance.

Such a definition gives us a quick idea of who we’re talking about. But where are those people? We know where they’re not, but where are they? There’s no Christian speculative fiction magazine. There’s no convention for it. There are no stores that cater specifically to them. Nor are they of a narrowly defined age, economic, or social status. They come in all ages, sizes, races, genders, and professions.

TCW:  Then how do you reach them?

JG:  The best way to find this group is to go online. Many of the core readership has self-identified and found each other in forums, blog alliances, and online e-zines. Here’s a starter list:

• Where The Map Ends
• The Lost Genre Guild
• Marcher Lord Press
• The Anomaly forums
• The Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Blogtour
• Raygun Revival
• Mindflights e-zine

This hits the hardcore fans. It doesn’t include the many other fans who would join these groups if they knew about them or had the time. These are the people who love Ted Dekker’s novels but didn’t realize anyone else had written books like his. Finding those folks is harder.

TCW:  So you’ve got a market and you’ve got a product – why isn’t anyone (or hardly anyone) publishing for them?

JG: Most Christian publishing companies have basically written off the niche audience I’m describing. These houses do a great job of reaching their primary reader – the ladies I talked about above – and they are most interested in continuing to reach them. They’re not motivated to explore new markets, especially ones as hard to locate as this one.

TCW: Where would you advise writers of this kind of fiction to go?

JG: It follows that writers of this kind of fiction do not find a ready welcome at Christian publishing companies. Most agents won’t even represent a novel if it’s in a speculative category. They know they won’t be able to place such a book with any mainstream Christian publishing company.

That’s disappointing for many authors – but it’s great news for me. I launched my own small indie publishing company, Marcher Lord Press, to publish the finest in Christian speculative fiction and get it to this underserved niche audience. So when these authors get turned away by the regular Christian publishers, they come to me – and I get to cherry pick the most wonderful Christian speculative novels you can imagine.

I should point out that there are some Christian speculative novels that do get published through mainstream Christian presses. There’s Frank Peretti and Jerry B. Jenkins (Left Behind) and Ted Dekker, and more. There are even some new Christian vampire novels just releasing. However, by and large, such things are considered long shots. And when you understand what I described about the core readership these publishers reach, you can see why they’d think so.

TCW: There are many unpublished Christian writers who are told their work is not ‘Christian’ enough. Can you comment on this?

JG: I know that some Christian novelists struggle with finding balance in their fiction. Sometimes they find themselves too Christian for secular publishers and too secular for Christian publishers. That’s a real dilemma.

We’re currently living in a publishing revolution. Soon there will be no dilemma. Marcher Lord Press is an example of a small, agile publisher that can operate with low overhead to successfully reach a niche audience. Other presses like mine will pop up soon, now that the Internet and other technology allows publishers to bypass the traditional brick-and-mortar bookstore model and sell directly to the consumer.

TCW: Does this mean you don’t apply the same ‘moral’ yardstick that mainstream CBA (Christian Booksellers Association) affiliated publishers use? (For more on this see Simon Morden’s essay  Sex, Death and Christian Fiction)

JG: In Christian publishing in North America, whatever standards are applied to fiction in general are applied to speculative fiction. Perhaps more so. Christian speculative fiction is on thin ice anyway, as far as traditional Christian publishers are concerned, so if a speculative novel contains even a modest amount of sex, violence, or foul language, it can become a convenient reason to simply say no to the whole project.

Violence usually gets a pass in Christian novels, even in mainstream Christian publishing. I have a friend who jokes about the body count in my own (Jefferson Scott) novels. It’s a strange kind of arrangement for these books: you can kill people left and right but can’t say a curse word.

So to be accurate, I should maybe say it this way:

1. Sex – almost none is allowed in CBA fiction
2. Profanity – almost none is allowed in CBA fiction
3. Violence – just about anything goes so long as it’s not gratuitous or too disturbing (for whoever is in charge of determining such things at any given house)

TCW: Do the same standards apply at Marcher Lord?

JG: My standards at MLP are not quite as strict as at mainstream CBA houses, but are more or less the same.

TCW: There is also a sense that only the ”right kind of Christian” gets published? What kind of Christian worldview is acceptable? Who becomes the arbiter of that?

JG: Most CBA houses are evangelical Protestant and reach an audience that is primarily evangelical Protestant, so that’s the determining factor there. These publishers are looking for Christian fiction that arises from the evangelical Protestant worldview and will be familiar to their readers.

That doesn’t mean that Christian fiction from these houses can’t talk about Catholics or Muslims or whatever else. And it doesn’t mean they don’t challenge readers to consider other viewpoints on the Christian spectrum. It just means that the thrust of the story and of the author need to be supportive of that evangelical Protestant tradition.

Note that these publishers aren’t saying that they’re judges of what Christian worldview is acceptable. They’re saying they reserve the right to publish novels they agree with and that their target audience will agree with.

TCW: Back to the new wave of Christian speculative fiction. What kinds of books might now get published?

JG: Books that don’t fit the traditional classifications, that’s what. This is great news for those authors of Christian horror, fantasy poetry, off-brand comic books, and more. It will also give rise to a certain lawlessness where you’ll be able to find any kind of depraved wackiness for sale, but that’s the nature of the Internet anyway, so I think we’ll be okay.

We’re seeing the dawning of the age of publishing in which authors can successfully find smaller and smaller niche audiences. And for fans and writers of Christian speculative fiction, that’s a very good thing.

TCW: Thanks for visiting The Crafty Writer, Jeff.

JG: Thanks for having me!

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Whose story is it?

The most marketable and interesting form of written history, is history about people. Your research will have unearthed many potential ‘characters’. Which ones are you going to feature in your story? Articles are best written when focusing on a single ‘protagonist’ or a small group. In a book you can deal with more characters, but they need to be linked. There are a number of questions that you can ask that are used by fiction writers to develop a character. By adopting this approach you will help to bring your personalities to life and to present them in a lively, readable historical narrative.

Who is your protagonist?

This may be an individual, a family, a group, a community, a class or a nation. It could also be an institution and the people associated with it. One of my students has written the narrative history of his local bowling club and hopes to get it published as a booklet. In his ’story’ the bowling club itself is the main character and the people who drift in and out of it the supporting cast. Rian Malan’s family history My Traitor's Heart, which is a lens on South African white guilt, has his whole family (and by association, all white South Africans) as the protagonist. If a Pirate I must be by Richard Sanders, has the infamous pirate of the Caribbean, Bartholomew Roberts as his protagonist.

What is their goal?

Rian Malan, as the central character in his own book, wants to come to terms with his family’s racist past and find a place in the ‘new’ South Africa. Bartholomew Roberts wants fame and fortune and to avoid getting caught. These are goals that drive our historical characters in their real lives but also give their stories forward momentum on the page. If I were to write the life story of my grandma Betty Veitch, her central goal would be to shake off her parents’ working class mantle and find respect as an independent business woman.  What is your central character (or protagonist’s) goal?

How do they achieve it?

What steps did they take to achieve their goal? Remember, a main character who takes destiny in their own hands is far more compelling than one who is simply swept along by historical fate. Even if they are swept along, how did they attempt to navigate their way? Even if they never achieve their goal, their attempts to do so will drive your historical narrative forward.

What or who stands in their way?

In fiction this would be the ‘antagonist’. This does not have to be a person. Circumstances, in and out of your main character’s control, may block their efforts to achieve their goal. In writing my family history, my grandma’s marriage to my grandfather, a man beset with illness who died in his 40s, became an inadverdent ‘obstacle’ to her goal. How did she deal with it?

How are they affected by historical events?

On the broader stage of history and society, what events impacted, positively or negatively on your main character and the pursuit of their goal? Again, with my grandmother, the Second World War affected her pursuit of a business career.

How do they change historical events (if at all)?

My grandmother did not change or have an impact on historical events, but your main character (person, community, institution etc) might have. If so, how?

What is their legacy?

How was the world changed by your character living in it? The world may be as small as your family or as big as the earth. The fact that you are writing about this person suggests that a legacy has been left. What is it?

• A fond memory?
• An inspiration?
• A change in circumstance?
• A change in perspective?
• A change in legislation?
• Or simply a regret?

Join us next time for tips on using timelines to structure your historical narrative.

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Public vs private history

Whether it’s your own family history or simply an aspect of history you find interesting, you need to ask yourself whether this is something that should be kept private or be written for public consumption. This will have implications for both the writing style (we’ll look at that in a future session) and subject matter.

Finding the social context

Just because something interests you, it doesn’t mean it will interest anyone else. This is particularly true of your family history.  So what makes history relevant or of interest to the broader reading public? A social context. For example: How does the life story of Granny McAdam provide an insight into the social history of her time?
Or how do the changes in fortune of the Marmaduke family from blue-blooded artistocracy to blue-collar workers reflect changes in class mobility?

The Lens Concept

This is what I refer to as the ‘lens concept’. A lens is something that helps focus the eye on something else. When considering the story of the history you want to write, ask yourself: what lens am I going to use?

• Female emancipation?
•  The decline of a community?
• The rise of an industry?
•  The suffering of the oppressed?
•  The changing political landscape?

This will help you to establish the theme of your story as well as to select the information you are going to use from your vast research. It will help you to leave out irrelevent information and structure your article / book. It will also give your publisher a marketing angle. Remember, a body of research can be looked at through multiple lenses, which can give rise to a number of differently angled articles or books. It is a common mistake of  novice history writers, particularly family history writers, to try to include too broad a sweep of their subject in one article. The lens concept helps to narrow it down and allow you to present a ‘slice’ of history.

Keeping it in the family

If you cannot find or are not interested in providing a social context for your ‘story’ then it should remain private or be written for family members. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this, just make sure that if you do write something for your family to be careful how you handle skeletons in the cupboard, lest you cause a family rift.

A good book to help you get started is Writing your Family History by Deborah Cass.

In the next session we will look at finding the ’story’ in your history and using narrative techniques.

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TCW: I know you’re an accomplished writer in many fields, but would you agree that you are best known as the author of Christian Chicklit?

PC: My first books were Christian Chick lit, and I’m still comfortable with that, although I don’t dye my hair pink these days. I’ve given talks and interviews on the subject. As long as people buy the books, I’m happy.

TCW: How do you feel about being categorised in such a way? Has it been beneficial to your career or detrimental?

PC: I haven’t found it a problem so far. If I need to, I’ll use a pseudonym for other genres.

TCW: Is the label one you suggested when you sent in your first proposal for Theodora's Diary or was it one slapped on you by publishers, marketers and / or the press?

PC: I was amazed to discover that I wrote Christian chick lit. It came up in my very first press review for Theodora’s Diary. However I do consider Adrian Plass and Helen Fielding as my influences. I was delighted to get the credit for inventing a genre.

TCW: Why do you think there’s a compulsive need to categorise books as something-or-other lit?

PC: People – publishers and readers – like what they can relate to. They like comparisons to something that already exists: “this book is a Jane Austen-meets-John Grisham” or whatever. They like to have something on which to hang their hat.

TCW: What are the pros and cons for the writer?

PC: This need to categorise can be turned to the writer’s advantage if they make the comparisons themselves when pitching to the publisher. The disadvantage can be a sort of literary type-casting.

TCW: And the reader?

PC: I suppose it can lead to certain expectations from the reader, but it is good to have a following. I still get e-mails asking if there are going to be more Theodora books. I don’t think I’m going to turn my hand to hard-bitten war stories or erotica, although some of my stories and plays are very different from the Theodora books.

TCW: Would you advise still-to-be-published writers to target a niche market or genre?

PC: I would advise them to write what they think they can write really well. Write their passion. If it fits into niche all the better, but niches can be limiting. Pitching a book that would only be bought by your Auntie Mabel and her dog isn’t going to get publishers excited.

TCW: As to the Christian part of the label, did you try to get Theodora published through a secular publisher?

PC: I tried a couple of agents first, who were not interested, but I did my research and HarperCollins (UK) were the first and only publisher I sent it to. I was very fortunate that they liked it and published it initially under their Marshall Pickering imprint, which went on to be acquired by Zondervan, a publisher of Christian books based in Michigan, who are still part of the HarperCollins family, all part of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. Confused?

TCW: Would you agree with the widely-held belief among Christian writers that ’secular’ publishers are anatagonistic towards them and their writing?

PC: My honest answer is, I don’t think so. Publishing is a business and they publish what they think they can sell. Most publishers specialise to a greater or lesser extent. If religious books is not one of their fields, of course it’s going to be turned down.

TCW: Would you define all of your writing output as ‘Christian’? Why or why not?

PC: A difficult question. I think my faith influences my life and therefore my writing. Themes such as grace, forgiveness, transformation, sacrifice, etc which are central to Christianity, also work beautifully woven into stories. If you’re asking if I’d use my writing to preach or evangelise, I’d say no.

TCW: In your opinion, what defines a book as ‘Christian’ or otherwise?

PC: That’s a difficult one. For simplicity of categorising a book, I’d define it as one written by someone with a Christian faith, published by a niche publisher and with the intended readership made up of Christians. Having said that, it is a weak definition in that any book may have elements in it that are drawn from, or point to aspects of Christianity, intentionally or unintentionally. For instance ,there are many books that don’t meet my first definition but that use some of the themes I mentioned above. “A Christmas Carol” is one of the most Christian books I can think of, as it deals directly with themes of repentance and rebirth.

TCW: Do you think someone who doesn’t define themselves as a Christian can still engage with and enjoy Christian literature?

PC: Of course. The themes I mentioned are universal and common to the human condition. But I suppose a book that used a lot of jargon or had “in jokes” might alienate a reader.

TCW: In your experience of meeting readers, what preconceptions do people have about what a ‘Christian’ book should be?

PC: I suppose people’s preconceptions may revolve around things like no swearing, no sex and that God gets a mention. I’ve had some very strange comments when books haven’t lived up to people’s expectations. Some people, particularly some American readers, expect Christian books to have absolutely no alcohol and no gambling, not even a raffle. These are cultural differences and it’s important to know what a particular publisher and their readership expect.

TCW: How does the Christian book market in the States differ from that in the UK?

PC: It’s much bigger. Exponentially bigger. More readers and a lot more writers. From a business point of view it’s more successful too. Many more books are bought and sold and there are several prestigious conferences every year where new writers learn from old hands. In the States “Christian” books are far more likely to be sold through mainstream bookshops than they are here.

TCW: How does this affect you as a writer?

PC: Most of my books are sold in the USA. It’s really nice, and still seems a bit weird, to get e-mails from people in America who have read them.

TCW: How much do you consider the potential readership while writing?

PC: More so as I understand more about the business of writing. My first book was just for me. My current book is much more focussed on who might read it – although I’m having fun too.

TCW: What advice would you give to British fiction writers hoping to get published through a Christian publisher?

PC: Do your research. Find out what kind of things the publishers take, and target them. There are only a few publishers based in the UK that take fiction, but they are accessible. You can meet them in person at places like the Christian Resources Exhibition, and ask them directly. Most Christian fiction is published by American publishers and like all publishing, it is not easy to break into. Some people find it is helpful to attend conferences like Mount Hermon and Glorieta, if they can afford it.

TCW: Finally, what are you currently writing?

PC: A play for a school’s tour of Rome and a murder mystery that I hope to sell to the mainstream British market.

Penny has very kindly offered to judge a mini-chicklit competition on The Crafty Writer. If you would like to enter, just write a short chick lit scene in the comments box below – maximum 200 words. The winner will receive a signed copy of Theodora's Diary. And if you don’t want to enter the competition but have something you would like to add to this discussion, please feel free to weigh in.

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