Attending publishing conferences over the years as the Publisher’s Agent for Mary Baker Eddy’s writings has led to some interesting conversations. As I’m surrounded by publishers, literary agents, and authors—all scrambling for networking contacts and increased marketing and sales opportunities—conversations others initiate with me often end up being brief. The individual will ask, “How many authors do you represent?” “One,” I say. “Huh. What do you publish?” “On behalf of our governing board, I publish the core texts of the Christian Science Church.” (“Huh.”) And my newfound friend usually spots someone else to talk to over my shoulder.
Over my years in this job, the dearness of this unique situation—one that’s perceived as odd by other publishers—has grown and deepened in my thought. My office has the privilege of publishing and distributing Mary Baker Eddy’s writings, as print books and digitally, to a global audience. We are responsible for only one author. (We also publish the Bible, of course, but as the text is licensed to the Church by the perpetual copyright-holder in the United Kingdom, our Bible publishing is more akin to that of a distributor.)
Publishing the works of a single author, and publishing those same books for over one hundred years, is a rare task in today’s business world. But what I’ve learned, over and over again, is that Mary Baker Eddy’s writings are continually fresh for the receptive reader; additionally, our focus on a single author and on publishing her books enables us to appreciate even more her unique and timeless contributions as an author and editor, reader, poet, listener, teacher, and leader.
