Can you offer advice to new Christian writers about how to widen their appeal to secular, as well as religious readers?
That’s a tough question for me because I never adjusted my writing for the purpose of appealing to one market segment or another. I honestly write what I would write regardless of readers, publishers and markets. I trust that I’m right where God wants me to be. I write what I want to read, and I think that’s key. I’ve read general market suspense fiction since I was a kid. As an adult, I’m offended by graphic sex scenes and heroes who are very un-heroic. I wanted all the suspense and action and technical stuff, but without those offensive elements. That’s what I wrote, and it’s what I would write if I were writing for Random House.
There’s a place for the kind of fiction that I’d call more traditionally Christian. I don’t think people ought to change what’s in their hearts to write, regardless of how much that may limit their appeal. Write what God wants you to write. Then you’ll be in your sweet spot and write so well your stories will transcend markets.
You interact with your readers through your website. Is an internet presence a necessity for novelists?
I believe it’s absolutely necessary to have an internet presence. Today’s readers are sophisticated. They want more information about a writer and his work than you can fit on a postcard or in an ad. If you can direct them to a website that has reams of information, you’ve kept the marketing piece simple and attractive, and you are still able to satisfy our society’s insatiable desire to know more. Even if the website is graphically simple, get one. It doesn’t have to break your bank. My first website was designed and hosted by the Author’s Guide — I was a member — for something like fifty bucks.
You can read more at robertliparulo.com.
Article comments
1 - Joe
Great informative read.
2 - Vicki
Thanks, Joe!