Associate Publisher Interview ~ Chip MacGregor, Part III

How important are writer’s conferences to the new writer?

I think writer’s conferences are a great way for newbies to get educated in the process of writing. Hanging around a bunch of experienced people in your chosen field is ALWAYS an excellent idea. If you want to be a mechanic, you hang around mechanics. If you want to be a millionaire, you hang around millionaires. It’s nice to find somebody a bit further down the path.

Do you think a new author should start by writing the easier to place books, (like sweet romances, etc.) even if it’s their heart’s desire to write a gothic thriller or whatever?

I do. In fact, I’d suggest a new author start with something much shorter – articles, reviews, short stories. Every new writer needs to learn the craft, needs a place to be bad. That’s one of the biggest problems newer writers face today – they have heard all these wonderful stories about writers getting published, and they assume it happened overnight, so it could happen to them. It’s the curse of the internet, or maybe the curse of MacDonalds – “You can have it now, without waiting!”

Unfortunately, good things take time.

I’m a ballroom dancer. I sometimes teach swing dancing. If you’re a total clod out there on the floor, I can help you get the basic movements in less than an hour. You won’t be Fred Astaire, but you won’t be Frankenstein either. I can teach just about anybody how to survive on a dance floor. Still, you can expect it’ll be awhile before you’re replacing the lead in 42nd Street.

Describe a dream author’s attributes.

He (and feel free to replace with “she”) can write like Mark Twain.
He has ideas bigger than Alvin Toffler.
He has the platform of Oprah Winfrey.
He solicits input into his ideas.
He is flexible, but he knows his own mind.
He listens to advice and input.
He meets his deadlines.
He helps us sell his book.
He looks for ways to help us make him more successful.
He says yes to our marketing requests.
He works to understand the business of publishing.
He sees me as his partner in the business of writing.
He makes an effort to work with me.
He occasionally says thanks.
When he has a complaint about me or my team, he comes directly to me with it.
He makes us a lot of money.
He only sends me one email every other day.
He sends me Starbucks products at Christmastime.

Who do you like to read?

I love everything Ross Thomas ever wrote, and just about everything Helen MacInnes ever wrote. I think William Shakespeare was a genius with words, Mark Twain the greatest American writer ever (the man could create clear and clever prose while half drunk and falling off a log), and that modern Americans should read both.

I love Barbara Tuchman, Mark Helprin, Tom Pynchon, Lauren Winner. I think Haven Kimmel is a genius, Sebastian Junger the writer we all aspire to be. I believe people overlook the great writing style of P.G. Wodehouse, Russell Baker, and Dave Barry (yes, THAT Dave Barry), and that people are afraid of Dostoyevsky needlessly. Brennan Manning, Henri Nouwen, and Frederick Buechner have been the most influential spiritual writers in my life.

If you want me to name people who aren’t as famous, I also like many of the writings of Sue Monk Kidd, Davis Bunn, Tom Bodett (of Motel 6 fame), Garrison Keillor, Robert Fulgham (yeah, it’s dopey, but I love it), and Lisa Samson. Some people have this image of me as being too negative, but I believe I see several young writers in CBA who have incredible potential to write something great.

What should aspiring novelists be reading?

Hmm… I think aspiring novelists should be reading great writing, not just the same old stuff everybody in their genre is reading. Read HUCKLEBERRY FINN, LITTLE DORRIT, NOSTROMO, CRIME AND PUNISHMENT, 100 YEARS OF SOLITUDE, E.M. Forster, Lewis Carroll, and Jane Austin. Pick up a copy of IN THE BEGINNING by Alistair McGrath to see where books came from, and DICKENS FUR COAT by Daniel Pool to discover the roots of the modern novel. If you want to see where we get our American novels, start with Twain, then try AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY, something from Carl Sandburg, Ernest Hemingway, Scott Fitzgerald, and Saul Bellow. Don’t miss THE SOTWEED FACTOR, THE CATCHER IN THE RYE, CATCH 22, FARENHEIT 451, THE JOY LUCK CLUB, OF MICE AND MEN, and, maybe, THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD. You’ve probably heard what to read from somebody else. But don’t miss C.S. Lewis or Chaim Potok or Victor Hugo’s LES MISERABLES. And read books on how to write better. I enjoy the work of Noah Lukeman, Patricia O’Connor, and Carolyn See.

I’ve heard Hachette Book Group will only work with proven authors, is that true?

Nope. I’m always looking for great writers. I’ll admit that a track record helps, but it’s not true that we only work with people who have done a lot of publishing.

What genres are you actively pursuing; and must an author be agented to query?

Actively pursuing women’s contemporary fiction and suspense thrillers. Would love to find a writer of legal thrillers.

What are you most encouraged about when it comes to CBA fiction? Least?

I’m most encouraged by the new writers with great talent. Some names: Ray Blackston. Ginger Garrett. Sigmund Brouwer. Davis Bunn. Charles Martin. Siri Mitchell. Lisa Samson. Rene Gutteridge. They’re taking us in new directions, publishers are suddenly willing to move in those directions, and the whole of CBA fiction is looking good.

I’m least encouraged by…ack! I hate this question. It’ll make me sound negative. Um…okay, recently I was asked to help with a fiction writing contest. (There have been several, so nobody can trace this back to any one contest or group.) I read the finalists. I kept thinking… “These are the FINALISTS? There was a group of experienced writers who PICKED these as finalists?” They were awful. Every one of them. They were everything I speak out against – trite, stupid stories, stupid names, overwrought dialogue, everything pat. I would guess what was going to happen on the next page and invariably be correct. In the end I helped choose a winner based on the fact that “I hated this one the least.” To me, with all the good fiction being produced in CBA, and the incredible opportunities for growing our writing, I couldn’t believe this was the best people could do. Very discouraging.

But then, I keep in mind that “these people need a place to be bad.” (They certainly qualified.) So I keep spreading the message, and hoping writers are listening.

What new trends do you see in the way of fiction? Non-fiction?

Trends that are working in CBA include creative nonfiction, humor, fiction books that are focused on relationship, charismatic titles, nicely designed interiors, and the use of agents by authors. Trends that are not working include children’s books, homeschooling, most men’s titles and many audio titles, art-based gift books, and old-line CBA thinking.

The biggest change we’re facing is the delivery system to consumers – they’re walking into Wal-Mart instead of Betty’s Dove Book Shop to purchase their Christian books. I think future trends will include the continued slide of denominations and the rise of the postmodern church, an emphasis on volunteerism and self-help, even more of an emphasis on speed, and a whole new slate of Christian experts/spokespersons.

What’s your favorite chick-lit book?

Sophie Kinsella’s CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC. But I know this is a trick question. A couple of people have been suggesting that I hate chick-lit. (A curse from Camy and bloggers like her who fail to grasp my brilliance.) Not true. I just think we’ve explored the misunderstood-girl-with-chubby-thighs-who-works-in-publishing-in-New-York-and-has-struggles-with-her-relationships-but-a-heart-of-gold story line. For goodness sake, give us something else.

We’re starting to see that. Tracey Bateman’s CLAIRE books are great, and Laura Walker’s novels at Westbow have real charm. There are undoubtedly others.

What accomplishment, writing, agenting, publishing, etc, industry-wise, are you most proud of?

From an industry perspective, it’s easy to point to a couple of big winners – when Lisa Beamer’s LET’S ROLL hit #1 on the NYT bestseller list, I knew I’d hit the big time. That was a special moment. When I finally got publishers to buy Donald McCullough’s THE CONSOLATIONS OF IMPERFECTION and Mary Jenson’s OVER SALSA AND HOT BREAD and Marcia Ford’s MEMOIR OF A MISFIT (three of the most well-written books I ever represented), that meant a lot, even though none of the books sold. And I’m still married, after 24 years, even though I’m difficult. There’s a real accomplishment.

Still, from a personal perspective, I think I’ve helped a lot of people. I think there are writers out there who have read my posts and learned a bit from me. Maybe I’ve helped them move forward. I have set up a bunch of writing groups and mentor/protégé relationships – some of which I’ll never even know about. That’s been probably the most meaningful thing to me.

What’s your best advice for aspiring novelists? Non-fiction writers?

Writing is hard work. Approach it that way.

Is there something writing-wise that you’re working on and can talk about?

Sure. Right now I’m working on a book about the Great Schism of 1378. The Roman Church was falling apart. The plague had killed more than one-third of the priests in Europe. People were beginning to see themselves as nations. Governments were tired of the Church dictating to them. The people were in desperate need of spiritual guidance. When the Pope (who had been living in Avignon) died, the College of Cardinals gathered to elect a replacement. Dominated by Frenchmen, they were determined to elect another French pope. The Roman people encircled St Peter Basillica, demanding an Italian.

About 11 o’clock at night, they put the pope’s mitre on an 80 year old Italian priest and pushed him outside to wave at the crowd. The people, thinking they had their pope, went home to bed. Two hours later, the Frenchmen elected a French pope (a terrible human being who had been accused of slaughtering civilians while a soldier), then got out of Dodge. The next morning the people discovered the duplicity and rioted. They forced the Italian cardinals to elect an Italian pope. They foolishly chose an illiterate country priest they thought they could control – unfortunately, he was mentally ill, had moments of extreme violence, and was even more manipulative than the cardinals who elected him.

The church thus had two popes: an Italian in Rome, and a Frenchman in Avignon. They each had their armies, fighting each other, and it led to some tragic-comic moments – before one battle, both climbed ladders and excommunicated the soldiers on the other side. (Pope A: “You’re going to hell!” Pope B: “No, YOU’RE going to hell!”) With a weakened treasury, the church couldn’t do as much in the world. Their influence in civil affairs waned. They offered absolutely no spiritual leadership to the masses of people who wanted a leader, but didn’t know who to believe. One monk in England wrote, “The church has become a whore and a laughingstock; the butt of every joke.” This went on for more than forty years. (The modern Roman church calls this “the Babylonian Captivity of the Papacy,” and try to suggest some evil leaders tricked the church into moving the pope to France, but I don’t know of any non-Catholic scholars that accept that explanation. This was a disaster of major proportions, brought on by the church’s own corruption.)

How to resolve the situation? They couldn’t call a church council, since only a pope can convene a council – the French wouldn’t attend a council called by the Italians, and vice versa. Eventually some cardinals got together and resolved the situation by sacking both men and electing a third…but neither man stepped down, so for a time they Roman church actually had THREE popes.

From this situation rose some of the worst practices of the medieval church – selling indulgences to raise money, the violent questioning of suspects, an insistence on blind following of the leader. And yet, at the same time, it gave rise to reform movements – people who wanted to see the church become pure and strong again. From this sprung holiness groups, the rise of civil governments, the conciliar movement, and the Protestant Reformation. It’s a fascinating story that touches on history, doctrine, politics, leadership, and organizational influence. I’m writing about it for Random House.

Parting words?

Always take your wallet on stage with you.