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I GUESS IT’S TIME TO LET YOU KNOW…


Publishing is an interesting industry. To be honest, I am never quite sure what to expect. That can be frustrating at times. Like so many writers, I certainly have had my share of ups and downs working in this world.

For one, the financial side of things can be a roller coaster ride at times. While I’ve been lucky enough to land quite a few book deals with many different publishers, because I’ve never had a “slam dunk” book, as it relates to sales numbers [The Christian Culture Survival Guide is still my best selling book, with Coffeehouse Gospel just a couple of thousand behind it], making this “career” work financially can sometimes be a challenge. Thankfully, I’m blessed to have a wife who believes in what I do and is willing to ride the roller coaster along with me.

That said, last Tuesday I received word from my publisher Tyndale House Publishers that they weren’t going to publish “Jesus Needs New PR.” Gosh, that was a hard blow to take. I mean, I’ve been working with my editors at Tyndale for 16 months on this book. And while the team of people who signed me on love the book, and believe in its potential, the publisher thinks the book it too controversial for the Tyndale House roster.

Though it was a pretty big deal, it wasn’t necessarily a huge surprise, I suppose. I didn’t think it was going to happen, but I did know it was a possibility. This book is by far the most provocative book about Jesus I’ve ever written. The humor and the opinions and the stories I share are not exactly popular in the Christian book marketplace, as well as, the evangelical world at large. The group of people who made the final decision, for the most part, agree with what the book talks about, but think the humor and the provocative nature of the satire, was not a good fit for them.

I have no hard feelings toward Tyndale. In fact, I believe the book is better because of its time spent there. Tyndale, and specifically my editor Ken Peterson, pushed me to write the best book I could. He refused to let me get away with shoddy story telling or humor that bordered on “trying too hard”; that’s not to say the book is perfect–it’s not–but it is better because the folks at Tyndale are excellent at what they do.

So now, Jessica and I are praying about what happens next with “Jesus Needs New PR.” That sounds so cliche, but alas, it’s true. Both of us believe in this book. We both sacrificed time and energy for this book. And we think that a lot of people will find a good deal of hope in this book.

But we also refuse to let it be turned into something “Christiany,” a book that’s already been written about a 1000 times over. We’re not sure to what extent God is involved in the “Christian Publishing” world; in other words, we don’t know if it’s necessarily a priority of his to make sure my 16 months of hard work pays off in the form of a publishing deal.

Yet that’s not going to stop us from hoping that there’s indeed a home for this book in the CBA or ABA marketplace. So, if you think about it; say a pray that we’ll know what to do… And I’ll certainly keep everyone posted as to what occurs in the next few weeks…

As always, thank you again for your continued support of what I do and for your kind emails of encouragement.

best, mpt

MatthewPaulTurner@gmail.com

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Matthew Paul Turner

Author Matthew Paul Turner

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Join the discussion 5 Comments

  • Faylor says:

    I hope you find a publisher that will publish your book. Because I think you book is very much needed in our society today to get a lot of the the Christians’ community’s attention.

    Much needed book!!

  • Thanks Faylor. Your kind words are encouraging!

  • dude, that sucks but you have a good attitude and because of that I think you’ll get it published somehow. I’ll be praying for ya. shalom

    Christopher

  • Andrea says:

    Matthew,

    You know I’m praying for you. I’m confident that what is supposed to happen will. 😉

    Oh, and it’s “hear hear” not “here here.” 😉

    Andrea

  • davidpeck says:

    A bummer and hopefully a blessing. I’m really looking forward to readingf it so count me in on the prayer front.