What's An Author To Do?

with guest Dr. Richard Mabry.

Every author I’ve known (and probably a bunch I’ve never personally met) suffers in some form or other from what I’ve learned to call the Imposter Syndrome. A characteristic of this disorder, especially with the publication of their first effort, is that they are totally surprised by the event and even more astounded if their work garners praise. At some point, most of us (again, starting with me and probably including other writers) begin to believe it. We get comfortable with our status. We don’t think things will ever change. And that’s when the problems start to arise.

My first novel was published seven years ago, among the first novels of Christian fiction in a new line from an otherwise established publisher. The enterprise was so new that the person doing marketing didn’t send a pre-publication copy to some of the usual review sites, but I didn’t know enough to care. Only later did I learn of this slip-up. It didn’t matter because I had a contract with an established publisher. Who cared about reviews or anything else?

As time went by, I fulfilled my contracts, writing three more novels that were released by this publishing house. In retrospect, I’m certain I struggled to meet the deadlines, respond to edits, and produce a decent product. Nevertheless, by and large, I felt as though I’d become one of “their” authors, and the relationship would always be there. I was secure.

Then I got an offer from a bigger publisher. I recall telling my agent, “I can’t believe it. This is the New York Yankees of the writing world.” The offer was good enough that I had to ask twice to make sure I’d got it right. I had no problem accepting this one, with the blessings of my former publishing house. Now I was a writer associated with a top tier publisher. And surely this association would bring the marketing muscle that would boost me to the next level. But it didn’t happen.

Although my three novels with the publisher were successful, that contract wasn’t renewed. Fortunately, my first publisher was glad to have me back. At about this time, one or two publishers discontinued their Christian fiction lines, leaving some of my author friends high and dry. I commiserated with them, secure in the thought that would never happen to me. 

Then it did. 

There I was, the author of ten published novels of “medical mystery with romance,” without a publisher to lean on. It was during that time that I realized how important it was (I thought) for an author to be associated with a publishing house, and how lost I felt without such a relationship. I struggled to catch on elsewhere, and during that time I found myself more and more “writing for the market,” gradually forgetting the reason I got into writing Christian fiction in the first place.

Just when I was about to give up, I was offered a contract by a new publisher staffed by experienced people. This was wonderful news, and I reveled in it. Once more I was associated with a publisher, one about which everyone at a major writing meeting I attended was talking. I even detected a bit of envy on the part of some of my fellow authors because of this new house with which I was associated. And I sensed a bit of pride in myself. After all, I was one of their authors. Except I wasn’t. Financial problems arose, and once more I was on my own.

What should an author do in circumstances like these? How do they handle this situation? I suppose some could turn to drugs or alcohol, definitely not an action I contemplated. Maybe it worked for Edgar Allen Poe, but not for me. Some reach for the chocolate, but after the first couple of pieces I kept hearing the phrase, “A moment on the lips; a lifetime on the hips.” Some reevaluate their careers, and this is what I did. Was I writing for a contract? Or was I writing because God gave me the words? 

Lawrence Block has a great book out called Telling Lies For Fun And Profit. If you think about it, that’s sort of what authors of fiction do. In my case, when I began to try my hand at fiction, it was right after I wrote my non-fiction book, The Tender Scar, following the death of my first wife. I wanted to show how God had brought me through, telling about both the things I did right and the mistakes I made. I wrote unapologetically from a Christian worldview, and I tried to carry that forward into my fiction writing. But as time went on, I found myself writing more “for profit” and less “for fun,”—or, in the case of my fiction, to show the relationship of God to everyday people.

I took a long look at my novels, as well as the three novellas I self-published just to keep my hand in (and my name before my reading public), and it was obvious that I had begun to stray from my primary objective. Johan Sebastian Bach used to sign his music, Soli Deo gloria—glory to God alone. Was this the reason I was writing, or was I simply interested in sales and royalties? Was I telling lies for fun and profit, or to get a message across?


Cardiac Event was released about a month ago as an indie-published novel. Sure, I want it to sell, but I also want it to show the reader how God interacts with average people—those who are Believers, those who are Searchers, and those who are Scoffers. This is what I was called to write. I’d been depending on the wrong things, but now I had my priorities straight. I hope they stay that way.

Will I look for a publishing contract or indie-publish future work? My crystal ball is cloudy, so you’ll just have to stay tuned. But I can tell you this. I’ll try to be true to the real reason I’m writing. Because that’s what an author of Christian fiction should do.

Readers, do you look for a central message when you open a novel, or are you primarily interested in being entertained? Writers, can you sign your work Soli Deo gloria and mean it? Think about it before you answer. I did. 

Today Dr. Mabry is generously giving away a copy of Cardiac Event to one commenter (Kindle or print. Winner announced in the next Weekend Edition.

Cardiologist Dr. Kirk Martin continually crosses swords with Dr. Cliff Hamilton, so he is surprised when Hamilton asks him to care for him after a heart attack. When he is ready for discharge, Hamilton is found dead in his hospital bed, and Martin is suspected of murdering him. 


After another doctor is found shot to death, Martin’s girlfriend, nurse Janet Rush, reminds him to be careful because he may be next. Can he save his own life while searching for the identity of the real murderer?

Dr. Richard Mabry is a retired physician, now writing “medical mystery with heart.” His novels have garnered critical acclaim and been finalists for ACFW’s Carol Award, both the Romantic Times’ Inspirational Book of the Year and Reviewer’s Choice Awards, the Inspirational Readers’ Choice, and the Selah Award. He is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, the International Thriller Writers, the Faith-Hope-Love chapter of the Romance Writers of America, and Novelists Inc. 

He and his wife live in north Texas, where he writes, works on being the world’s greatest grandfather, and strives to improve his golf game.

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