Article-Publishing Truths and a Lie: An Interview with Benjamin Vrbicek
A familiar lie invades the minds of most writers: You have nothing meaningful to say or You’re not qualified. And so, not long after formulating their words on the page, a writer often abandons the project completely, treating the words God put on their heart to say like a private journal entry rather than pursuing the original goal of writing for publication.
But what if those words when shared with a wider audience translated into salt and light? Christians know that our qualification as writers comes not from a huge Twitter platform but from Jesus, the King of an upside-down kingdom where the first shall be last. The gospel spurs us to push through our insecurities and write about this kingdom and God’s great love for us in Christ Jesus—no matter how inadequate we might feel.
I interviewed Benjamin Vrbicek, Managing Editor of GCD, writer, and preaching pastor at Community Evangelical Free Church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. As an editor, Benjamin oversees the publication of articles from dozens of writers each year with the goal to make, mature, and multiply followers of Jesus.
* * *
[Timarie] Benjamin, what would you say to the writer who desires to prepare an article for GCD yet struggles with the thought, Do my words matter?
[Benjamin] All the writers I know ponder this exact question more often than they admit. But the desire to justify our efforts with tangible results is not unique to writers. Parents wonder whether their evening prayers matter when their child seems only to struggle. Police officers who fought crime yesterday wonder why today still holds so much violence. Pastors who preached last week wonder what’s the point when this week people can’t get along, let alone love one another.
I don’t use Twitter much anymore, but recently I noticed that in the time it took me to write and post a tweet, another thirty-five tweets had hit my feed. The deluge made writing seem so fleeting and pointless. We can empathize with the author of Ecclesiastes and his laments about the many vanities under the sun, especially in our age when words come and go with such little impact.
Ultimately, though, I try to encourage writers with the words written by the apostle Paul that also encourage me: “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,” he writes, “knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Cor. 15:58). In light of Christ’s resurrection and the coming resurrection of every believer, every ounce of your obedience to the risen Christ matters—whether it’s the words you write, the prayers you pray, or the sermons you preach.
[T] Writers who pitch to you at GCD vary in age and experience. What would you say qualifies a writer?
[B] I’ve written for lots of other publications, and you often get the impression they are thankful to have your content but not all that interested in developing you as a writer. There are exceptions to this, and I hope GCD is one of them. At GCD we’re not looking so much for big writers with established platforms. In fact, I don’t care very much about that. What qualifies a writer to write for GCD is taking writing seriously enough to pursue best practices and continuing education, the desire to improve at the craft and serve others with God-honoring words.
[T] To pitch an article takes courage. Could you please explain the process in a few sentences?
[B] Yes, writers do need courage to write for publication—but they also need coaching. I think if more writers understood what an editor looks for in an article pitch, that would make the process a whole lot less scary—and maybe even improve the writer’s success.
For those new to writing for publication, basically, an article “pitch” is a thumbnail sketch of what the article might look like when finished. Sending an article pitch tends to be less risky than submitting a complete article, which may or may not be accepted. The back-and-forth between an author and an editor created by pitches allows the editor to give input to the shape of the article, which helps improve the final product. It also increases the chances of publication because the editor (hopefully) already has buy-in. The pitch should include what themes you hope to cover, any key illustrations or metaphors, and why you think it would be a good fit for the publication’s audience. It’s also helpful to include a line or two in the pitch with biographical info.
Let me spell all this out in more detail. I’d encourage authors to put a compelling version of the article’s title in the subject line of the email. Then start the email with “Dear ______.” Try to use an editor’s name if you can. In the next paragraph or two, include some of your best writing from the article, likely a few paragraphs (or maybe just sentences) from the start that function as a sort of teaser, or what journalism calls the lede. You might also include what is called the nut graph—the paragraph that gives context and purpose to the article.
After you have written one or two short paragraphs, ensure to add something like, “In the rest of the article I will explore the connection between this or that, which matters to such and such a person and to so-and-so group of people.” Set the stakes for your article as high as integrity allows. In other words, neither oversell your article nor pretend that your words don’t matter. If you do not think your article matters, why would an editor?
In a Christian context, you’d probably also propose a few Bible passages you intend to reference in the article. Then add a bio line to give the editor some more information about who you are. For example, “I’m a pastor and I’ve written for your website several times.” Or maybe you’ll say, “I’m a stay-at-home mother, and this is my first time writing for you, although I’ve previously written for X, Y, and Z.” I’d suggest making the “X, Y, and Z” hyperlinks so editors can quickly see your best work.
Finally, write a line about when you’d plan to finish the article; editors like to know this. “If you’re interested in seeing the full article, I could have a draft sent to you next week.” Then write, “Thanks,” and add your name.
[T] Each time I write an article with GCD, I appreciate how the editors come alongside me and help make the piece stronger. What can you tell us about the editing at GCD?
[B] Yes, we do try to make the writing better. That’s our hope anyway. At GCD, we might do one round of what is called developmental editing. In this round, we’re not so concerned with editing words but ideas: what’s working well, what’s missing and needs to be added, and what needs to be removed. Then we do a round of copy editing with one of our associate editors. Finally, we proofread the article for typos or formatting changes.
At each step of the process our editors are not merely looking to correct what we feel is wrong in the article but to encourage and celebrate what is right. I suspect new writers and those used to writing for other publications might at first be surprised by the amount of editing done to their articles at GCD. But as an author looks more closely at the edits and the comments we provide, I think most find the process more encouraging than they expected.
[T] Lastly, can you share about a time a reader, impacted by a particular GCD article, responded, and how this encouraged you as an editor?
[B] Well, I’ll end where we started the interview. Believe it or not, I don’t receive enough feedback from readers to encourage me to keep editing. Encouragement is more of a trickle and a supplement to the calling to write rather than the life support for writing. As I said, Paul’s words encourage me, too: be steadfast and edit unmovable, always abounding in words written and published for the Lord, knowing that our writing labor is not in vain.
With that said, I do find encouragement when I see our articles picked up and shared by other authors and organizations. For example, every time Tim Challies shares one of our posts, it reminds me that others have benefited (and will benefit) from all the time we labor to write, edit, and publish words.
Timarie Friesen and her husband, Mark, attend and serve at Hope Church in Dubuque, Iowa. Timarie enjoys reading fiction with her three children, and on her website she writes short stories that reflect the good news of Jesus. As the GCD Writers’ Guild Director, her hope is for writers to grow in the craft of writing and to know and love God more. You can follow her on Twitter.