Living All In

Recent reports of authors needing to hold to Phillipians 4:8 and The Nicean Creed over at Thomas Nelson are getting way out of hand.  First, Publishers Weekly reported on TNP’s new editiorial standards and asserted that the requirements were to be written into new contracts.  CEO Michael Hyatt has a denial/clarification over at his blog (his first post since a private equity firm took the company private last Spring BTW.)  I enjoyed his blogging and hope he ramps up again.

The kookiest commenters are over at Miss Snark’s blog (a literary agent).  Some of the commenters both at Miss Snark and at Hyatt’s own blog seem totally whacked out (medical term.)  Some are asserting that a publisher of Christian books and Bibles cannot require the books they publish or the authors that write them hold to almost universally held Christian principles.  Even the commenters that seem vaguely familiar with publishing should realize that every contract authors sign has a conduct clause of some sort.  Besides, their dissenting logic would also say that a publisher of calendars that requires each calendar design submitted by a contractor must fit a 365 solar calendar and not a lunar one is also equally discriminatory.  Bah ha ha.

Here’s my take:

I first heard about the whole N.Creed/Phil4:8 thing last summer from a Nelson executive.  Honestly, I was non-plussed.  I did wonder about non-Christian authors, but couldn’t think of one that TNP had published that would still be under contract.  This policy certainly might have filtered out ‘bad fit’ clients sooner, like Gwen Shamblin and her "Way Down Diet" and non-Trinitarian Remnant Fellowship.  Anyone at all in touch with reality and familiar with publishing (let alone common sense) knows you pitch books to publishers that have published like books or for like audiences. 

Personally, I wouldn’t care if Nelson threw that language into their contracts.  If you don’t like it, that’s what your agent is for.  If TNP is immovable on the contract language, go to one of a bazillion other publishers or self-publish.  Most of the dissenters would never publish with Nelson anyway.  I just don’t see the big deal.  I probably wouldn’t even worry about clarifications.  Did I hear that authors were going to be held to those principles?  Yes.  Did I hear it was going into contract language?  No.  Does it matter if it does?  I doubt it.

Links to the Nicean Creed here.

Phillipians 4:8 (ESV) follows:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.