Phil Cooke (author of 4 books and a really sharp guy) just posted a great list of the top 10 mistakes he sees Christians make when they try to break into the entertainment business. Most apply to publishing as well:

The following list contains the most common mistakes I see with Christians who want to “move to LA” and get a job in the secular entertainment industry. Learn to overcome these 10 areas, and you’ll have a far better chance of success: 1) Explicit Style – Just because we’re Christians, we don’t have to produce explicitly Christian programs. When Jesus told parables, he never mentioned church, and only rarely even mentioned “God.” Learn to be subtle and win the audience with creative and compelling programming. Remember – your first priority is to make a good movie or TV program. 2) Poor Writing – Learn the art of storytelling, whether or not you want to be a writer. Every member of the production team needs to be able to recognize good writing. The fact is – most movies by Christians fail because they’re just not good stories. 3) Being Out of Touch with the Culture – Christian producers often don’t keep up with current TV, movies, internet, or graphic styles. Trends change faster every year, so stay on top of what’s working, and what people are watching. 4) Poor “Branding” – Know the importance of “branding” and how it can work for you personally as well as for the project. You can influence people’s perceptions of you and your projects – so learn the techniques of branding and put them to work for you! 5) Christian “Lingo” – Check the dialogue in most projects written by Christians… We have to dump Christian “lingo” and learn to speak in a language and style this culture understands.

Head over to Phil’s blog to read the other 5 Biggest Mistakes Made by Christians in Entertainment