Secret Scriptures Revealed! Thoughts on Writing for Non-Specialists, part 1
I have been asked by SPCK Publishing to write a book for non-specialists on the Christian Apocrypha. After some deliberation, we settled on the title, Secret Scriptures Revealed: A New Introduction to the Christian Apocrypha. I think it has some flash, but avoids sensationalism (apocrypha, by definition are “secret” books, after all), and pulls away from the term “New Testament Apocrypha,” which places too many limits on the material (temporally and generically). The manuscript is due in September and I am relatively close to completion. I thought I would post an entry on the blog as I finish each chapter, offering some thoughts about the pains and pleasures involved in the writing process. I welcome any feedback.
First, because the book is aimed at a wide audience, it is relatively small (a limit of 55,000 words—around 200 pages, I think) and very inexpensive ($20). Unfortunately, this does not allow me a lot of space to discuss the texts. Other brief introductions to the CA limit themselves to gospels; but I wanted to discuss also letters, acts, apocalypses, and other types of literature. I also have a soft spot for texts that have been neglected in CA collections. So, if I want to cover a large number of texts, the introductory matter must be concise.
The first chapter sets the tone of the book with a whimsical interaction with Athanasius and his views on apocryphal texts (he says, “There should be no mention at all of apocryphal books created by …