Blake Long

Awhile back I got into a brief discussion with a few others on Twitter about the topic of Christians self-publishing. There were a couple that, in so many words, said a Christian should never self-publish. Rather, he or she should wait until an opportunity comes. Take the rejections from publishers as an opportunity to stay patient and work on your craft.

I felt compelled to add my two cents, which I don’t normally do on social media. But, because I obviously have a dog in this “fight”—and understand I come at this with a bias (I self-published both of my books)—I thought it would add value to the discussion for me to give a different side.

The question remains: Should a Christian author self-publish a book that has been rejected by traditional publishers?

My argument is this: Yes, when done carefully and with the support of your pastor(s), it is fine for a Christian author to self-publish.

Now let me flesh that out by asking some questions.

Do your pastors support the endeavor? Outside of ensuring your content is biblical (we’ll get to that in a moment), you ought to make sure the ones whom God has placed over you approve, generally, of the manuscript. To be sure, I’m not saying they have to agree with every jot and tittle, but they need to be on board with the work and back it up. Not all of my pastors agreed with every nuance in my latest book, but they were supportive of it.

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The last think you should do is write, publish, and promote a book that your pastor(s) don’t think should’ve been published to the masses. If you take seriously their pastoral oversight, you should want their backing.

Is your content biblical? By far the most important part: is your manuscript in line with Holy Scripture? Is what you’re writing backed up by what the Bible says? It doesn’t matter what you’ve written if it doesn’t agree with the Bible. You might as well throw the manuscript in the trash. (Like many popular books that have been published.)

Our chief concern as Christian authors—-and non-authors—is to align everything we do with holy writ. This is connected with receiving pastoral oversight; your pastor(s) will help you make sure what you’re saying is biblically accurate.

Are you utilizing professionals? This may not be the most important question to ask, but if you have any intention of making your book attractive to your audience, you will consider paying professionals. By that I mean paying a professional copy editor or someone to, at the very least, proofread your manuscript. Of course, you could have a fellow church member you trust look it over. For me, I wanted church members and my pastors to look at it, in addition to having someone I paid to give editorial suggestions.

Further, you need to pay someone to design the cover and interior of the book. If you want your book to look and feel professional, you need to do this. Perhaps you have someone around you who can do this for free, that’s great. Personally, I paid someone to do my first two books and then figured out I’m decent at designing a book cover utilizing Canva (that’s what I did for publishing my Theology & Life book). Bottom line: though expensive, make sure you get professional help as it will go a long way.

What are your motives? What’s your reason for writing a book? What’s you’re reason for publishing said book? If your motive is to edify the church and glorify God, I think you should go for it. In contrast, upon self-reflection if you find that your motive is for praise, attention, and money, then you absolutely shouldn’t publish the book. (You shouldn’t proceed with publishing at all even if you get a traditional publisher to accept your proposal.)

Nobody truly knows your motives but you and God. And sometimes you can’t even decipher your motives because we all still struggle with the need for approval of our peers. But you do need to make clear your motives before self-publishing a book. For example, if you are a new Christian, I don’t think you should be publishing anything, but focusing solely on your walk with Jesus. If you want to write in the meantime, that’s great. But don’t be intent on publishing a book when you should be intent on becoming more like Jesus in general. There are certainly other reasons you shouldn’t pursue self-publishing depending on how your Christian walk is going, but I digress.

Do you care deeply about the message? This is a big thing. Do you truly believe the universal church needs to read your book? It’s not that you’re saying anything new—if something is “new” you should steer clear from that—but you believe the church would benefit from your writing. If by prayer you become convinced that the Lord is pushing you to write, then do it regardless of if a traditional publisher accepts it.

Self-publish with caution. Not every Christian who wants to write a book should publish it. There are many books available that shouldn’t be in print. And I don’t say that because I’m just better—I’m not. I say that because I ensured that I did all of the above. A Christian author can self-publish when he or she does the right things to ensure the book be biblical.