On Writing, Reading, and Fr. Barron's "Catholicism"

I was recently interviewed by Brandon Vogt of The Thin Veil; the first part of the inteview is now available for viewing, commenting, and memorizing:

Q: You've run Ignatius Insight for a while, and with your books and editing roles your days are filled with writing. What are some of the ups and downs of being a full-time writer?

Readers might be surprised to learn that not only did I invent the Internet, I was the first blogger. Ever. And if any readers aren't surprised to hear that news, I humbly acknowledge their trust and suggest they seek therapy for gullibility susceptibility syndrome.

But, more seriously (if only slightly), this summer will mark ten years as a blogger—or, as I prefer to be called, “author of thousands of mini-books that don't cost readers a cent.” I began blogging in June 2002, shortly after becoming editor of Envoy magazine, and then began blogging on Insight Scoop in May 2004, after taking the job as editor of Ignatius Insight.

Which brings me to your question. First, I think being able to make a living as a writer is a privilege, and I hope to never take it for granted. Writing is a craft and an art, of course, and so deserves due compensation, but a writer must earn a hearing and a readership.

One of the challenges of being a writer is to develop and build trust with readers, which is a complicated and even mysterious process, but necessarily involves integrity—personally, professionally, and everything in between. And since I obviously write often—almost daily!—about Catholicism, I have a great responsibility to present and articulate Catholic doctrine, theology, practice, and history as accurately as possible. I do so first as a Catholic, but then as someone with a vocation to communicate, as best I can, the truth regarding everything I write about, even in the shortest and least consequential blog posts.

Read more on The Thin Veil site.

Comments

[Agnieszka]

Carl, thank you for the interview/agreeing to be interviewed, it was very enjoyable! (It would make a good podcast).

I even read it twice (to understand it better -- no, it was fun!). Actually, I kept thinking about 40 bookcases instead of 40 bookshelves.

[Deacon Harold]

Great interview! Looking forward to Part 2.

As one who has had the privilege of spending time in your office on a number of occasions, I must say that the feeling of being surrounded by so many books is quite comforting--almost like snuggling with a woolen blanket next to the fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate on a blustery winter night ... or not. ;)

[Jeff]

Since you've probably only read about ten percent of it, I vote that we add Belly Dancing for Dummies to the list of potential book group reads. We could all learn something, and we could put on a performance for our wives at the annual picnic this summer.