Monthly Archives: September 2015

After the Pope’s Final Farewell, First Things

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First Things EcheverriaOn Thursday, October 1, after the Pope has bid America farewell, the staff and friends of First Things will enjoy a lecture and book signing with Eduardo J. Echeverria, author of Pope Francis—The Legacy of Vatican II. According to his hosts, among the questions Echeverria will raise are: What is the textual basis in Pope Francis’s pre-papal and papal writings where we discover a theological mind that is grounded in the authoritative faith of the Church? How does Pope Francis stand with respect to the legacy of Vatican II and his illustrious predecessors St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI— two great interpreters of Vatican II?

There’s little doubt that theologians and others who are intrigued by this Pope—but often annoyed at the media’s coverage of His Holiness—will find the lecture a consoling conclusion to the Pope’s U.S. visit. If you happen to be in the New York City area, join the lecture; books are available at the event, on the Internet, or on our book page.

Lectio is is a young, creative publisher of scholarly books for academia and for a spiritually thirsty world. We welcome your inquiries and manuscripts.

Pope Francis Causing a Buzz

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The country is abuzz this month with the impending visit of Pope Francis. Timely to say the least, although we certainly believe it to be on the merits of the book—our latest title, Pope Francis: The Legacy of Vatican II by Eduardo Echeverria, was recently featured in two reviews.

Fr. C. John McCloskey, the Opus Dei priest better known as “the convert priest” for having helped a number of high profile people convert to Catholicism, and currently a Research Fellow of the Faith and Reason Institute in Washington, D.C. reviewed the book for The Catholic Thing, Sunday, August 16, 2015. In this article, Fr. McCluskey refers to Pope Francis as “misunderstood” by a secular media “stoked by the Internet” and constantly portraying him as somehow intending to “change the fundamental teaching of the Catholic Church.” He refers to the author, Eduardo Echeverria, as somewhat of a beacon — shedding new light on the Catholic Church and on Pope Francis himself at this particularly challenging time in history and showing that this Holy Father is truly a man of the Second Vatican Council and faithful to its teaching.

And again, as the Pope’s visit to the U.S. draws near and the whole world watches, Mgr. Dr. Gerard de Korte, Bishop of Groningen-Leeuwarden, from the Catholic Association for Ecumenism refers to Echeverria’s clarity on the pope’s history with Vatican II to argue that some Catholics, troubled that the pope seems to create confusion on ethical issues, may not understand this pope. His article, Pope Francis: rupture or continuity—a Review, is written in Dutch; using your browser’s translation feature this is the English version.

Small Publishers

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As a direct result of the upheaval in today’s book publishing industry, the new reality of Small Publishers is here to stay. The benefit is that authors have a lot more choice in who publishes their work; on the other hand not every publisher is appropriate for any given author. It may take a little more work to research who is the right publishing firm to bring your work to fruition. More selection equals more choice, which leads to differentiation among the plethora of publishing options.

When searching for a publishing company, authors must now ask themselves who is best suited to edit my work— what are the skills or knowledge that the publisher brings? What is their previous experience? Are they competent in editing skills of grammar and readability; are they detail-oriented? How familiar are they with my specific subject matter? Theologians often refer to the Bible; if I use Biblical languages, does the publisher have the requisite understanding to edit this material?

While small publishers do not have the clout of the large houses, do they make up for that with personal attention and an expertise in the new methods of Internet marketing? Market dynamics these days make global marketing affordable, word-of-mouth indispensable, while older methods of marketing are cost-prohibitive to providing affordable texts.
Robert Lee Brewer, editor of Writer’s Market, has written a helpful article entitled The Pros and Cons of Publishing With a Small Publisher. And if you have a great book and believe that it would be valuable to Christendom, see what we can provide, and contact Lectio Publishing.