Shaping Up The Shack (Off The Map style)
I don’t read Christian novels. I buy books on a regular basis and have books gifted to me from friends all the time, but I can count on one hand how many inspirational novels I’ve read in the last twenty years.
So last fall, when a woman I know handed me a book called, The Shack, by William Young, and urged me to read it, I accepted it, but inwardly I groaned. Months later, I finally picked it up – out of sheer politeness.
It’s not the best book I’ve read, though I was startled, and delighted, by the theology of the book and how the author portrayed the triune Godhead. (I gave it three stars which you can read in my blog’s review)
After reading my review several friends told me that Young, who’s known as Paul by friends and family, lives here in the Portland area and that maybe I ought to contact him for an interview. I’m a writer. I’ve been working hard to build a writing career the last couple of years.
As The Shack gained momentum, I began paying attention to the internet buzz surrounding this humble novel and decided there was a story worth chasing down.
I decided to get in touch with Paul. Bill Dahl, a long time friend of Off The Map, and someone I met at last year’s conference, offered to connect me. So did Fran, the woman who gave me a copy of The Shack.
It worked. Paul, who is inundated with dozens upon dozens of emails everyday due to the enormous success of his novel (more than 700,000 copies at the time of our meeting) answered my email and soon we had an interview date set up.
I met up with Paul at a popular coffee joint. Cliché, I know, but most Pacific Northwesterners do our best talking amped up on caffeine.
He was great. Paul was easy to draw out and I loved hearing the fairy-tale like story of his book’s birth and success. He had only quit his day job in manufacturing a few weeks prior. He never had any ambitions to be a published writer (unlike me). “I wrote this book for my kids,” says Paul.
I found myself thinking of Jim Henderson as Paul talked. They are both renegades from institutional church, both of them having gone off the grid in search of meaningful Christian spirituality. And they are both willing to listen graciously to their critics.
I asked Paul, what did he think when a popular pastor from a large Seattle church ranted about the theology of his book in a YouTube video. He smiled and said, “Everyone brings to the table what they have.” Pausing, Paul added, “He who knows him best loves him the most.”
After the interview I needed to hit the road to get up to Seattle. Off The Map had an opportunity to participate in a citywide event. Several of us OTM’ers headed in to help out.
As I caught up with Nancy Murphy at the welcome dinner she introduced me to Chuck Conniry and Larry Shelton, theology professors from George Fox Seminary. We somehow began talking about The Shack. They were intrigued with the interview I’d had that afternoon with Paul, and I was very interested in their response to the theological takeaway of the book. They gave me their contact info and by the next week I had interviewed both of them for my story. My article was beginning to shape up.
I began emailing editors around the nation. Newspapers, magazines, Christian and otherwise, I was looking for a buyer for what I considered a hot story. I sent out at least a dozen query letters.
Not a single bite.
Feeling discouraged I decided to contact Christine Wicker. Christine used to work as a religion journalist with the Dallas Morning News and she’s also written several books. A couple of years ago she spoke at an OTM conference and has become a friend to many of us since then.
She was great to talk to, albeit realistic. “Pam, you’re doing everything right, but freelancing is hard work.” She encouraged me to be patient and remain persistent. “Be the go-to-girl for this story,” she said as I told her how many sources and interviews I had been collecting.
I’ve been closely following the progress of The Shack. It’s sold well over a million copies to date and it hasn’t even begun to crest the wave. International distribution has begun. A big New York publisher has partnered with the book. A Hollywood movie is in the pipeline.
I have continued to knock on the doors of those elusive editors. I’ve been most persistent with my hometown paper, The Oregonian. Five emails, three editors, and finally a sale, the first of what I hope to be a flurry of others.
The OTM community helped shape this story. This is no surprise. OTM has shaped me as a writer. I like to think that I’m shaping them, too.
by Jim Henderson
