Rebecca Martin, GIVEN ’19

Please share a little about yourself – feel free to include a fun fact!

Greetings! My name is Rebecca Martin, and I’m a professional nerd! My husband Carl and I were married in the spring of 2020 in a little family-only wedding, and we live in Michigan with our three cats. I’ve been involved in the publishing industry since college, and currently serve as acquisitions editor for OSV, freelance editor for Chrism Press, and editor for the Central Province Lay Dominicans. When I’m not editing what other people have written, I’m writing my own books for children and adults. While I joke that I have no hobbies outside of books, I do enjoy singing and gardening as well (and as a fun fact, I used to play trombone and almost went professional).

Describe your professional work. How were you led to this? What are you passionate about?

As a young adult, I had the opportunity to dive into the publishing industry via the Catholic Writers Guild (CWG), and never looked back. My IT analyst dad taught me editing skills during my homeschooling days, and when I started volunteering with CWG, the Guildies all gave their bright-eyed, bushy-tailed college student helper a ton of love, support, and networking connections! After freelancing and working for the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist after college, I was hired as an assistant editor at OSV. My boss there, Mary Beth (Baker) Giltner, has been an amazing mentor and friend for the last six years. These days, I’m an Acquisitions Editor, which utilizes my extrovert tendencies and my passion for developing new books. The call to be a writer was a surprise from the Lord, and has been an incredible journey that seems to only be just beginning.

What are the personal strengths that you’ve been given and how do you utilize them?

To the bafflement of my introverted parents, I’ve always been good with people — making friends, talking to strangers, and everything in between. The Holy Spirit tends to use me to console and advise, and I’m always in awe of His work (because it’s certainly not just coming from me, and he decides how and when it’s going to happen!)

I’m a good choir alto, and love singing sacred music either in church or in concert choir.

My strengths of organization and leadership are mostly put to use in my Lay Dominican province, where I head up a communications team. We’ve improved so much over the past couple years, and I’m excited to see where we go in the future.

Perhaps most publicly obvious, I’m a good writer, and I’ve enjoyed developing my writing strengths in children’s books — like Meet Sister Mary Margaret, OSV Kids 2023, and the forthcoming Father Drew, What Do You Do?, OSV Kids spring 2025 — and novels — Love in the Eternal City: A Swiss Guard Romance, Chrism Press, 2024 and more coming.

What women inspire you, and why?

My mom, first and foremost. She taught me and continues to challenge me to live my faith to the fullest, to pray, and to love Jesus and Mary. We’re Lay Dominicans together, and being able to share that vocation has drawn us even closer together.

Mary Beth Giltner, my long-time colleague and mentor, always inspires me with her clarity of insight, respect for individuals, and the wealth of expertise she’s always willing to share.

And on the heavenly side, my confirmation patron St. Agnes has always been an inspiration of courage in the face of cultural pressure.

Are there friends and mentors that you depend upon? How do they support you?

The already-mentioned Mary Beth always has my back, and I can go to her with questions about work, life, and everything. One of my dear religious friends, Sister Hyacinth, is ever-wise and my go-to for deep intellectual conversations. I also have an amazing prayer group of women who are my constant spiritual support no matter what is going on in life.

Prayer is essential for everyone, but especially for women who are active in the life and mission of the Church. Do you have any favorite devotions or prayers?

As a Lay Dominican, my prayer life is centered around the regular devotions of my Rule: the Liturgy of the Hours, the Rosary, and prayer for the dead. I also have a deep love for Ignatian imaginative prayer, lectio divina, and the Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary. I use the Hallow app on the daily for various devotions, and it’s my go-to whenever I’m struggling in prayer or with my mental health and need a guided meditation.

Do you have a favorite inspirational quote?

A beautiful quote from C.S. Lewis has been regularly coming up for me in the past year:

“There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations — these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit — immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously – no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption.”

What were your key takeaways from the GIVEN Forum?

During the GIVEN Forum that I attended, I had been experiencing a crisis of burnout and what I would later realize was depression. I came to DC worn out and broken in many ways that were also affecting my relationship with my then-boyfriend. I had considered breaking up with him because of how empty I felt. Stepping aside from everything — people, work, hobbies — for a week, being guided, prayed with, accompanied, and brought closer to God…well, suffice it to say that my now-husband proposed just a couple of months later. And I don’t think I’d have been capable of responding to that vocation if I hadn’t had the week at the Forum! The biggest takeaway for me was integration, being able to pull together all the seemingly disparate parts of my life in the light of Christ.

What was your GIVEN action plan? Describe its mission, audience, and impact.

My Action Plan was acquiring my first book for OSV, in order to prove that I was ready and able to take on the role of Acquisitions Editor. The book that resulted from my Action Plan was Prudence: Choose Confidently, Live Boldly, by Fr. Gregory Pine, OP. I really wanted to target a young adult audience and share the gift of living the virtues that I’d discovered in my Lay Dominican discernment. People, especially young adults, responded with great enthusiasm, and the book has sold so well for OSV that Fr. Gregory is contracted for three further books on the other cardinal virtues (though he is now working with a different editor). It would be a couple more years before I did get that promotion, but the book I acquired through my Action Plan continues to sell well for OSV and put me on a great path.

Could you tell us a bit about what motivated or led you to develop this action plan? Was this something that you had on your heart prior to this past year or was it something you developed through the GIVEN program?

In my initial years as an editor, as I was learning the craft of editing and the needs of the Catholic audience, my focus was on editing books that others had acquired. I’d known that I wanted to grow into an acquisitions role, where I could instigate new ideas, connect with authors, and take a more creative role in growing OSV’s line of books. GIVEN gave me the perfect opportunity to pursue that goal!

How did you grow throughout this year as you worked with a mentor on your action plan? Were there any moments where you had doubts or felt like you had taken on too much of a challenge? If so, how did you overcome them

Sister Mary Catherine, OP, helped me brainstorm and supported me through prayer — she was an indispensible partner on the project! A book takes two years or more to go from idea, to contract, to manuscript, to editing, to printing and release, which was a challenge for my lack of patience, but overall I felt as if I was being stretched in a good, fruitful way.

What were some of the fruits you saw from your action plan? What did you find most fulfilling in this process?

Sales numbers are a nice metric, but really where I’ve seen the fruits is in my continued work as Acquisitions Editor. Prudence was the beginning of a creative journey that has continued in the books I’ve acquired — one of my recent fun titles is Fr. Lawrence Lew, OP’s Entering Heaven on Earth: The Signs, Symbols, and Saints of Catholic Churches. The most fulfilling part of the process is holding a copy of the book you helped initiate, and being able to share it with readers!