Into the Fire

I've had the opportunity and the blessing to meet and converse with editor Mick Silva via email and on a couple of different occasions in person. Mick is as real as it gets in life and in publishing, and when you ask him something about either, you're going to get an honest, thoughtful answer. He's got a wry sense of humor, and he's a deeply passionate man especially about God and the subject of writing and publishing. So, here's Part One of this interview with Mick Silva.

1.Mick, you’ve been in publishing for a considerable time now. This last gig with Waterbrook/Multnomah just ended. To quote you:

“Riffed. Canned. Sacked. Laid off. But there's absolutely no way this isn't God's perfect timing. Hang on. I think I'm remembering a dream…” 

You don’t sound unhappy about your new “unemployment”. Why is that?

Well, there are always jobs. I spent 5 years writing and editing at Focus on the Family before moving to WaterBrook, and then 5 more years acquiring and developing nonfiction. I enjoyed the education. I’m just excited to finally develop my writers workout website. Hopefully, that will be revealed soon.

2.Would you say you’re a writer at heart? Explain who Mick Silva is at his core.

Ha ha! If I could do that, I probably wouldn’t be a writer. If you went through my files, you’d find I have a hoarder living in my core. I’m exposing him here. I keep the most ridiculous little scraps of ideas and connecting thoughts in case they might be useful someday. Maybe I’ll have space to get a system now. But I guess I have this idealistic notion of uncovering how different people experience God. I want to bring all that transcendent fantastic to bear on real life. I want reality to become the fantasy.

3.You’ve observed, experienced, and at times commented on the changes over the years in publishing. In your opinion what are some of the better things? In contrast what do think have been some of the more harmful things if any?

Unbelievable opportunities exist for authors willing to pursue nontraditional publishing avenues. That sounded almost canned—it’s just I’ve been thinking about it a while. Self-publish and figure out what God’s telling you to share and how to best share it honestly, and go out and share it! The established channels for mass media are money-driven. Do readers consider what chance is there for hearing God’s whisper in a Christian retail market that’s largely owned by secular conglomerates? Probably not. But the fever pitch may still drown out many well-intentioned messages before they can reach the people who need them. And I’m here to tell you that’s exactly what’s happening in mainstream Christian publishing.

4.Everyone these days has an opinion about the “future of publishing”. So what’s yours?

I have no opinion, only facts. Competition is good. And publishers have never had more. Except they still know it’s a popularity contest, and they make money by being the big dogs who can make authors into demigods. Expect to find books you wouldn’t have previously on the shelves. More and more books will get through that, as Mark Noll beautifully put, “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” My prediction: as ebooks and audio continue to steal market share from print, and big name authors’ books continue to undersell the little guys with powerful messages, self-published books will cause many in traditional publishing to wish they’d listened to their moms and become lawyers or doctors and such.

5.If you could do anything in publishing, what would it be? The obvious question: what’s next for Mick Silva?

I’d write and self-publish The Shack 2! I’m starting a community-based publishing website to help writers figure out how to best prepare for the changing market and develop their work. Since traditional publishing isn’t able to develop authors much anymore, I expect to be busy.

6.On a more personal note, you spent some time in the past sampling what the world had to offer. If you’re like me, you have considerable regret for some of the things experienced during that time of your life. What changed in your life to drive you there and what brought you back?

I do regret hurting a few people along the way. I’m sorry I missed my chance to have a positive impact on them in some way. I was raised under a deadly combination of sheltering and extreme discipline. I was also the oldest son of the senior pastor, so mine were fish bowl friends. I was always special and wanted to be anonymous. Dirty, street-wise scarred. But you can only live that way for a little while before you realize you had it good once. Eventually I was simply done being dirty. But I still never enjoy being special. (You can’t help it, Mick. It was God’s decision to make you who you are.)

7.I know you as a man of faith who never quits searching for a deeper place in God. I also know you as a passionate lover of “truth and beauty” in writing. Translate how those two parts of you mesh.

Sadly, I think we tend to neglect the sides of God we don’t understand. Truth and beauty are mysterious; they can’t be unraveled. The truth is beautiful, and beauty contains something of truth. Both involve contrasts, like God himself and everything he made. Why does the deepest truth only leave you with more questions? That’s the way it is, unstable, uncertain, but he’ll be there with you because he is love. So love him, love others and yourself, and let your writing be a continual search for him—his grace and justice, love and law—and forget answers as a goal. The search is its own reward. When I’m trusting him there I’ve found he reveals exactly what I’ve been after. But I have to step out in faith and not cling to my comfortable assurance. The one assurance is that he’s with you. We’re forgetful, and many truths have to be rediscovered again and again. But it’s so rewarding to develop your taste for it.

8.At times you’ve been a vocal critic of some of CBA fiction. What is your main objection to some of it?

Simply, it’s unrefined. And I used to get so bent out of shape about it. You have to understand that most Christians shopping in Christian stores aren’t looking for Tolstoy. If a Christian is taking the time to find Christian fiction, they want it to do certain things. Be redemptive, at least. Affirm them. Support their beliefs. And why shouldn’t they have that? Amy Grant’s old song “Fat Baby” explains a bit more, but there’s no call for being snobby about it. I had to learn that some readers need simple answers. Black and white. I decided I didn’t want to be the judge of who had the wrong preferences and maturity level.

Some people will like fancy books, others plain. But both gourmet and grub can be nutritious—or make you sick. And when you look at your average Christian in America, it’s easy to see why some Christian fiction has a way to go. St. Flan said, “Everywhere I go I'm asked if I think the university stifles writers. My opinion is that they don't stifle enough of them. There's many a best-seller that could have been prevented by a good teacher.” If you don’t want to end up writing thin gruel, read a lot, deeply study the Bible, and be willing to be taught and have your mind stretched.

9.You’ve been working on a novel of your own. Can you tell us anything about it?

Nope. Oh, okay. It’s my first attempt, so it’s a slog. Six years in the making. Basically, I wanted to know whether God can still exist for someone who’s lost his memory, his ability to tell fact from fiction. And finally he has to figure out how to live without his body. It’s a trippy beast of a book, but my critique group has been extremely helpful.

10.What do you think was your main “gain” from your years at Waterbrook/Multnomah?

Experience. I wouldn’t know much if I hadn’t committed the time I did there.

11.Do you have any plans to relocate?

We’re in the middle of a move now, to the Portland, Oregon area to be closer to family.

12.Have you ever considered being an agent?

Once. But then I remembered that I hate all agents! Truthfully, I’ve liked almost every agent I’ve known. I’m just not smart enough to do what they do. And I can’t handle contract negotiations. They bore me to tears.

13.Do you have a favorite genre to read—or to write?

My shelves are pretty ecclectic. My wife is encouraging me to get rid of a lot of stuff in the move (“You can get it on the Kindle”), but the stuff I’m keeping is off-the-beaten path with broad appeal. I’m sitting next to The Book of the Dun Cow, A Confederacy of Dunces, 100 Cupboards, Fight Club, Peace Like a River and Flannery O’Connor’s Mystery and Manners.

(Mick’s current website can be found here: http://mywritersgroup.typepad.com/)

The conclusion to this interview will appear tomorrow.