Conversations with Editors: Mark Moore

So Mark Moore is one of my favorite people. He’s an author, editor, dad, husband, God-lover, and one of those annoying people who looks really great in hats. He was born and raised in Fairmount, Indiana, the hometown of James Dean. He studied writing in Indiana, mixed in some graduate work in theology in Southern California, works as an editor for Wesleyan Publishing House, and is the author of The Rhythm of Prayer. He currently leads a roving band of Christians in downtown Indianapolis.

1. What made you want to work in book publishing?
When I was a senior in High School, we read Macbeth aloud in class one
semester. I read the part of Macbeth and knew that I wanted to write and
work with books.

2. What do you look for in a good proposal?
I look for the spark. Good ideas or even good writing alone doesn’t get
it. There has to be some depth, something beyond that surface that
connects with the human experience, offers meaningful insight, and draws
the extraordinary out of the ordinary.

3. What books are you reading right now? Meaning of the City by Jacques
Ellul and The Passion for Life: A Messianic Lifestyle by Jurgen
Moltmann.

Baby news!

 

I think it’s about time I mentioned what’s going on with me these days. Jeff and I are very excited to announce that we’re expecting! Our little family will be growing this August. It’s been the two of us for five years now–well, nearly ten if you count all the years we’ve actually been a couple. Now we’re adjusting to the idea of there being three of us.

We found out in early December and then shared the news with my family over the Christmas holidays. Everyone is excited. It means so much to me to have so many people in our lives who are happy and supportive of us. So far the pregnancy has been fairly typical. Some nausea, fatigue, emotional ups and downs, crazy eating habits and such. We’ve had two super-fun ultrasounds already–so we’ve had those first introductions to Baby Bruce. He/she was jumping around and clapping his/her hands last time. It’ll be a few more weeks before we can definitely find out the gender. I’m so, so anxious to find out! I can’t wait to choose a name and start preparing for our baby’s arrival.

It’s an amazing process–to hear our baby’s heartbeat and to see him/her growing inside of me. Jeff and I feel so blessed to experience all of this. Another step in this journey he and I are on together.

Anyway, I’ll keep you posted as we learn more about Baby Bruce, see more pictures, and eventually, begin the countdown for the big day. For now, everyone seems to want to know if I’m having weird cravings. Not really. But the other morning I did want a frito pie more than anything on Earth. So I went to Sonic at 10 am and had a foot-long frito pie. It was heaven.

Relevance and all that good stuff

I’ve been thinking a little more about this whole notion of writing in such a way that you’re reaching beyond your usual audience. At ECPA a few months ago, Sarah Miller talked about using language that people will understand. At CWG a couple of weeks ago, Dallas Jenkins talked about using art to reach people. When I first became an editor (for a Christian publishing house, I might add), our managing editor stressed the importance of avoiding incorporating ”Christianese” into our resources. She wanted me to “think like a seeker.” What a great idea. I started reading over some of our material, and asking myself, If I hadn’t been raised in the church, if I didn’t know the lingo–would I get this? Would I understand? Maybe, maybe not.

Personally, I think this is okay sometimes, depending on the intended audience. The problem is when we never leave the inner circle. We never make an effort to reach beyond our borders. The silent mentality is that They should be more like us anyway. They’ll understand once they join our club. What’s wrong with this mentality? Everything, obviously.

In the world of writing, I think there’s room for just about anything. And I don’t think you have to compromise your standards in order to reach out to people who aren’t just like you. It’s not about compromising, it’s about wanting to reach someone so you go where they are. I think of Jesus being called a drunkard for hanging out with those rascals at the bar. He didn’t think twice about compromising his reputation, but I don’t believe He ever compromised who He was and what He was about. He was there to reach out, to love, to be…well, Jesus. Isn’t that why we love Him? It’s why I love Him. He came after me. He found me. He extended grace to me where I was.

Like I said, in the world of publishing, there’s room for everything. I’m a big fan of both Christian fiction/ nonfiction and secular fiction and nonfiction. I like commercial fiction and literary fiction. Even a little sci-fi. But I can also appreciate those writers who live dangerously, delicately weaving faith in stories reflecting real-life. And by real life, I’m talking about those uncomfortable areas that most of us pretend don’t exist. I felt this way the first time I read Lisa Samson’s book Club Sandwich. There’s this situation where the (Christian!) husband is always gone and the (Christian!) wife is lonely and ends up in a tricky situation with another guy. Gasp! Does this really happen? Um, yes. Read the book–it’s fabulous. It clearly shows the humanity of believers–and when this happens,  the grace of God is even more beautiful.

Writing for the Soul

So I’ve just returned from the Writing for the Soul conference in Colorado Springs. The fact that the conference is held at the Broadmoor hotel means that there’s not much to complain about. It’s the kind of place that helps with inspiration. I was there to represent our publishing house, have appointments with attendees, host tables at meal times, and sit on a panel with other editors. It’s a great conference. One of the speakers was Robin Jones Gunn (seen in the picture to the right). She’s one of my favorite writers and just a fabulous person. We also heard a great message from Dallas Jenkins (son of Jerry Jenkins) about writing in such a way that we’re reaching the unchurched audience. It’s so great to be challenged to be relevant in our culture–writing is just one way of doing that.

Robin was the keynote speaker Saturday night. After hearing her–which was wonderful–another editor and I were sitting in the lobby, talking about books and publishing and the business in general. I was sharing with him that Robin’s books had meant so much to me as a young girl, and that part of the reason I work in publishing today is the very true fact that books can make a difference in a person’s life–at any age. And isn’t that just amazing? Robin told different stories of girls who have been touched by her series for teen girls. Her speech was a refreshing reminder of why we do what we do, why we work to create books.

After two long days, my friend Luke and I were still able to talk with excitement about books. What an incredible blessing.