What do CBA and ABA stand for? It seems to me that in all of what Betsy is quoting, "Christian" is not a truthfully representative term. They seem to be talking about a very specific sub-category of Christian -- Baptist. Right? Cause, the "no drinking, no dancing" thing is kind of a tell that it's not Good Shepherd
Episcopal
Church we're talking about.
So, by requiring that all mention of denomination be whitewashed out of the stories, as quoted above, aren't the author guidelines condoning a lie of omission? Also, why fudge it? Like, if a non-Christian like me can decode it all, why bother with a code in the first place? Is it a turf thing, where conservative Lutherans won't give the time of day to something openly labelled Baptist, or what?
gambling or games of chance (including raffles),
Who can write a novel without raffles?!?
Could you have Goth Christian Chick Lit?
While I do know Christian (and Mormon, and Catholic, and Jewish) goth girls (I hesitate to call them "chicks"), I dunno if you could write Chick Lit about them and have it conform to those rules.
CBA and ABA stand for
Christian Booksellers Association and American Booksellers Association. What they're saying is that unless your book adheres to these guidelines, it can't be sold in a CBA bookstore.
Basically, they're saying "We're targeting an evangelical Christian market, and therefore your book must not contain anything that would offend any Evangelical Christian." Some of whom believe that only their church's members are truly saved, and who would immediately stop reading when Millie turns out to be a Methodist.
Jilli, many Evangelicals believe that Halloween is the Devil's holiday. It was a big deal in Charlotte -- half the kids on our street stopped trick-or-treating between one year and the next because of it.
Afternoon. My boss has been out all afternoon, so I'm all caught up.
Also,
Who can write a novel without raffles?!?
Who can write a church novel without raffles? (You can tell I live in the Land of the Lutherans.)
The thing that really frosts me is that the most bigoted Christians are being allowed to set the standards for everybody else.
"The Friendly Persuasion" isn't a Christian book by these standards.
The thing that really frosts me is that the most bigoted Christians are being allowed to set the standards for everybody else.
Really? It seems to me that they are only being allowed to set the standards for people who want to write Christian romance novels that can be sold in CBA bookstores.
Is this publishing house dominating the romance publishing world?
