Bubble or Patron?

[Heather Goodman]

Christians have their own publishing houses, record producers, stores, and magazines. I've decided to pursue publication in CBA because I desire to see the Church claim (reclaim) their position as a Patron of the Arts. While part of this includes shepherding individuals in secular realms, I believe part of this is creating lighthouses of art.
But where is the line between making a bubble that protects and shelters us from the world and building a lighthouse to shine into the world?
What are your thoughts?

[Sue Dent]

There's the idea of, is it okay to have Christian publishing houses

Publishing houses for Christians specifically have been around for some time. To debate whether it's okay is sort of irrelevant. But since the label "Christian" applies to such a wide variety of groups, it's important to state who each group markets to in order to avoid confusion.

Publishing houses that place a label of any kind on themselves are doing so to make sure those they market to can find them and they set the boundries to protect that market they plan to serve. As an author, if I see that a publishing house calls themselves "Christian" I query them for guidelines. They'll have some and they'll favor their market. I'll also ask what market they serve.