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[Resource of the Day] - How To Sell Christian Books
By SeanJJordan | July 17, 2008
Today’s Article: Selling Books to the Christian Market
By: Bette Filley
Via: Independent Book Publishers Association
Believe it or not, my entire journey into the world of comic books and publishing began with a Christian comics-themed message board on Yahoo! Groups. There was a time when I was very serious about Christianity, and I wanted to produce books for that market. But as I grew a bit older and wiser, I realized three things:
First, the more I studied the history of Christianity and the religions that influenced it, the less I identified myself with the modern form of the religion. Having this sort of “doctrinal disagreement” would make it difficult for me to get books published in this market if I chose to stick to my principles.
Second, I realized that the Christian bookstore market wasn’t really about books anymore; it was about selling a wide array of Christian-themed gift items and inspirational CDs, with a few books on the side. The competition in the market was getting fierce, too, since chains like Family Christian Stores were using their distribution power to put mom and pop stores out of business.
Third, I realized that producing books for this market was the equivalalent of “preaching to the choir” — and the preaching that people wanted to hear wasn’t even all that good. For example, a popular book in Christian bookstores is Lee Stroebel’s The Case For Christ. The book is marketed as a sincere, skeptical analysis of Christianity that offers proof that the religion is true. But the problem with the book is that Stroebel only interviews people who are sympathetic to his viewpoints, and when he asks the “tough questions,” he doesn’t press his points or question the answers. Any answer he receives is good enough. Sadly, a lot of Christian books I’ve read fall in that category, and I couldn’t see myself, particularly with my unique perspective on some Christian doctrines, writing for that audience. I’ve always believed that it’s better to be a light in the dark than to see who can shine the brightest.
So that’s why I found this article very interesting — a piece about how publishers can sell books to the Christian market. Not surprisingly, the author recommends avoiding the Christian book market and looking for opportunities elsewhere. But I was surprised to see some of the places she recommended taking these books…
So where should publishers of titles for the Christian market concentrate marketing efforts? The answer to all things Christian lies in the Gospel, which means the Good News, as in, “Go ye into all the World and preach the Gospel unto all creatures.” Notice it doesn’t say “Go ye into all the Christian bookstores.”
If “the world” is our marketplace, that opens up limitless possibilities.
Many secular bookstores, both chains and independents, welcome new small-press books, including Christian books. They’ll gladly take a Christian customer’s money for a book the Christian bookstores won’t carry. Libraries, too, buy thousands of small-press and self-published Christian books. Church bookstores and church libraries are another growing market for books that fit their beliefs.
Still more Christian books sell online through BN.com, Amazon.com, eBay, Borders.com, Books-a-Million, and hundreds, if not thousands, of authors’ and publishers’ Web sites and chat groups.
And don’t forget the big-box stores such as Costco and Sam’s Club, both of which sell a lot of Christian books, including an occasional small-press Christian title. (Costco buyers “discovered” one of my self-published titles once and placed a nice big order when I hadn’t even approached them.)
Mail sales can be huge. These include sales via direct mail, book and nonbook catalogs, and card decks. Book clubs are another huge direct-mail market. And homing in on specialized readers can pay dividends even though it’s expensive.
Radio and TV are also getting into the act, with interviews and appearances generating hundreds of book sales. Book infomercials sell some Christian books. And QVC and other home-shopping networks sell them too. (Don’t laugh; several authors have used them very successfully. Joanna Lund, a Christian cookbook author, sold more than a million books on QVC.)
QVC? I never would have considered trying to sell books there, let alone Christian cookbooks. But that’s a fascinating market that a lot of publishers would likely scoff at. I’m wondering if the might of QVC could sell a million nature-themed educational graphic novels. I’ll have to look into that.
Some of the other recommendations are standard, but the author goes on to advise using rack jobbers to get books onto grocery store impulse racks and magazine stands. She notes that this was particularly effective in her own life, since it was a book on a grocery store rack that led her to become a Christian. Interesting.
What I like most about this article is that the basic principle here can be applied to just about any book — even if it’s secular. Is the book market giving you grief? Are you unable to break into the comic book direct market? Then use this long list of alternative selling channels to get your book out there. If you create a good product and you search hard enough, you will eventually find your niche in publishing. Sometimes, it’s just about looking harder than the competition cares to.
So, with that said, give this article a read, and see if it can’t inspire you to look at your product in a new way.
Topics: Resource of the Day |
July 27th, 2008 at 10:08 am
You have two characteristics prompting a response:
1) you assert that modern Christianity disconnected from you and your perceptions of Christianity
2) you intuitively understand marketing
I would not know good marketing if it walked up and kissed me on the lips. And yet, I must market my book on the very subject that alienates you from modern Christianity.
If you had a short book resetting Christianity to a pure Pauline meaning, what steps would you take to create a market for it?
July 27th, 2008 at 10:55 am
Hi, Don. Thanks for the comment.
I’d argue that one cannot “create” a market for anything. A better way to approach the problem is to use a process called Segmentation-Targeting-Positioning, or STP. (I’ll put an article up about this later.) But the short answer is that you should find people who are of a like mind and position your book towards them. If it’s a short book, you might be better off making it available as an eBook than a print copy. You could also use a print-on-demand service like Lightning Source if you’re serious about publishing it.
Back when I first began expressing questions about modern Christianity, I started studying the “Noahide” covenant and other foundational principles of the faith, and I noticed that several writers who were simply posting their research on websites were attracting large numbers of like-minded readers. So one tactic you might use is to set up a blog with essays about Pauline doctrine, position it to be search-engine friendly, and then use that to bring your target market to you. By simply offering good free content and then making your book (or a link to your book on Amazon.com) available to readers, you’ll make sales. Putting a preview of the book on the site is also a good idea.
Another tactic you might try is to search for podcasts or blogs that already talk about these topics and see if they’d be willing to do a manuscript review for you. Often, if they like the book, they’ll plug it, and even if they don’t, they can give you valuable information about how your ideas will be perceived by the people in their audience. One show that my dad listens to frequently that focuses on Reformation theology is Michael Horton’s White Horse Inn, at http://www.whitehorseinn.org. That might be a good place to start, provided that he’s in line with what you’re trying to reset Christianity to.
I hope that’s helpful!
-SJJ
July 28th, 2008 at 6:33 am
I’d also recommend:
http://www.lesfeldick.org
as a possible like minded organization.
Best,
Jason.