Bound
up in one's endeavours to succeed in a particular craft - in my case hoping to
be a published Christian author - are several tricky hurdles to overcome to
make an author publishable. I think this can be illustrated by referring to Ricardo's
well-known distinction in economics between the intensive and extensive margins
of cultivation. The extensive margin refers to the process of bringing new,
previously uncultivated (and typically less fertile) land into production as
demand for agricultural goods increases. The intensive margin, on the other
hand, involves increasing output on already cultivated land by applying more
labour or capital. At the intensive margin, adding more inputs to the same land
leads to diminishing marginal returns. As demand grows, it may become more
economical to expand cultivation to new land, even if it is of lower quality.
This is Ricardo's rent theory; economic rent arises from differences in land
productivity, where more fertile land (closer to markets or naturally more
productive) generates a surplus over the least productive land in use - that
is, the land at the extensive margin.
In the economics of Christian writing, the extensive margin is like finding entirely new topics or niches where few have written before - akin to cultivating new, less fertile land. For a Christian writer, this means exploring fresh or overlooked subjects where the competition is low, but the audience or interest might be limited. The intensive margin is like writing more articles on well-established, already saturated topics - like adding more effort on already cultivated land - which is a challenge in a crowded market, where fresh and uniquely interesting ideas become harder to find and produce. As with diminishing returns in farming, the marginal cost of originality rises, because anything truly fresh and unique has a higher probability of being either too niche or arcane for public consumption, or not wholly factual, because the field is already crowded with smart people's work over centuries, and surely if it's truly fresh and unique in a good way, someone will have written it already.
Consequently, just as in agriculture, breaking into the Christian writers' market and making a significant difference involves the key balance between exploring new, less trodden ground (extensive margin) and deepening effort in saturated topics with high barriers to originality (intensive margin).
I think some of my books are at the extensive margin, bringing fresh and unique perspectives but risking limited readership. I'd say The Genius of the Invisible God is at the most extensive margin, where there nothing quite like it out there - and as so much of it came from (I believe) direct Divine revelation, I'm not sure anyone else could or would ever write it.
And I think Benevolent Libertarianism and The Ecstasy of Divine Goodness are slightly at the extensive margin too - even though the topics (economics and morality), are well-trodden. I think those works stand out in their field as being comprehensive and compellingly fresh enough to make a splash - they each take a well-trodden subject and flesh it out to its deepest, most expansive treatment, expression and dimensions.
The Divine Truths of Love is similarly on the borderline; it is at the intensive margin, because love is a very well covered topic in writing history, and it's hard to break new ground; but it's also at the extensive margin in its uniquely comprehensive writing style, and the breadth of elements contained within one book.
Dear Treasured You and my as yet untitled Christian apologetics book both occupy the intensive margin - they are the ones most surrounded by existing literature - and probably require the most exceptional creative distinctions in order to stand out.
This
is the challenge ahead – but it’s always a pleasure and privilege to be on such
a journey.
If you're one who prays, then all prayers for this next stage of my journey are appreciated.
