In the last few months, I've been approached by publicists asking me to review their clients' books. Being a book addict with no budget for books, this situation seemed like a dream come true.
Yeah, I said "seemed".
Some of the books the publicists wanted to send me didn't sound like ones I would enjoy, so I turned them down. One was the latest in the Artemis Fowl series, which didn't thrill me but I could see its charm.
And then there were the others. The others were BAD. The premises SOUNDED good, they really did. But one was so poorly written that not only will I not finish it, I will not even donate it to the library book sale. The others were only slightly better.
Some were mysteries, some thrillers, some chick lit. All had different authors. The only thing they had in common is that they all had an Evangelical Christian message. I didn't think anything of it with the first book, or even the second. But this third one has made me pretty suspicious.
Readers, would any of you put me on an Evangelical Christian reading list? Though I'm too lazy to link to the posts, I'm pretty sure I've clearly stated my support of gay marriage, sex ed, masturbation, choice and my disbelief in the Bible in this blog. Plus, I'm kind of a bitch. I certainly wouldn't think of me when looking for reviewers for Christian books.
Let me make one thing clear, though: if even one of the books had been good, I would not have written this post. Each book - two of which are from SERIES - has been DREADFUL. One dimensional characters, lousy or no dialog, boring exposition, trite plots. . . .I shudder just thinking about them.
Is the message the only thing that matters in Christian publishing? And, if so, should I write a few Christian novels for extra cash?
8 comments:
This has me curious> Are they from respected true honest to God royalty paying publishers or are they thinly veiled self-pubbed novels from vanity presses?
I'm completely flabbergasted by this. It would be like asking ME to do something similar.
I am thinking you got on the wrong list. You aren't exactly screaming Evangelical. :)
Have you read "The Shack"?
I have read a few books that would fall into this category. There is one series that I thought I would enjoy. It was "Christian" but it is also "historical". I have to say that I got SICK of reading them because of the poor work. It wasn't so much grammatical or typo stuff, but the inaccurate history and the sappy way that every time a character died/nearly died they would be miraculously revived! At first the author would forget little details like the character's eye color or something. But then when he would say something historically inaccurate (like about the Panama Canal when it wasn't built yet!), it was downright STUPID!
Bwahahaah! Perhaps it was the competitor's publicist that sent you those books!
And don't worry- not all Christian lit sucks. I thought it did too, until I started reviewing for TitleTrakk.
And yeah, I've had a fair few of the type that you describe above (and that I remember from as little as 10 years ago)- and I simply don't review those. But I've also had a few that I can even refer to as *awesome* (one fantasy in particular, plus I love Kristin Billerbeck's earlier chick-lit, though her newest novels not as much).
Some of it depends on the publisher. Revell markets to the audience that eats up message only books, though tends to be *slightly* better than that. WaterBrook cares more about quality than message, and some of their books could pass as clean mainstream books. NavPress is somewhere in between. Thomas Nelson is a big mix of everything, but usually pushes for both message and quality (as far as I can tell).
Thing is, I've known people who just eat up the message only, no story, no plot, terrible writing books, and as long as they're there? It'll still be published.
I just don't know where those people came up with you to review them! I'm thinking like Travis, and that they may just be self-pub or little better.
I have read a few books that would fall into this category. There is one series that I thought I would enjoy. It was "Christian" but it is also "historical". I have to say that I got SICK of reading them because of the poor work. It wasn't so much grammatical or typo stuff, but the inaccurate history and the sappy way that every time a character died/nearly died they would be miraculously revived! At first the author would forget little details like the character's eye color or something. But then when he would say something historically inaccurate (like about the Panama Canal when it wasn't built yet!), it was downright STUPID!
Bwahahaah! Perhaps it was the competitor's publicist that sent you those books!
And don't worry- not all Christian lit sucks. I thought it did too, until I started reviewing for TitleTrakk.
And yeah, I've had a fair few of the type that you describe above (and that I remember from as little as 10 years ago)- and I simply don't review those. But I've also had a few that I can even refer to as *awesome* (one fantasy in particular, plus I love Kristin Billerbeck's earlier chick-lit, though her newest novels not as much).
Some of it depends on the publisher. Revell markets to the audience that eats up message only books, though tends to be *slightly* better than that. WaterBrook cares more about quality than message, and some of their books could pass as clean mainstream books. NavPress is somewhere in between. Thomas Nelson is a big mix of everything, but usually pushes for both message and quality (as far as I can tell).
Thing is, I've known people who just eat up the message only, no story, no plot, terrible writing books, and as long as they're there? It'll still be published.
I just don't know where those people came up with you to review them! I'm thinking like Travis, and that they may just be self-pub or little better.
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