Nick Harrison, Senior Editor at Harvest House Publishers, recently made mention on his Facebook page about a study which revealed that “60% of Christian fiction readers are over 45.” That the Christian fiction industry 
markets to an older demographic of readers is not news. Neither is the fact that the majority of that group, or the Christian market in general, is comprised of white females. Hence the proliferation of Amish, Historical, and Romance titles.
What we often miss is the readers, writers, and genres that get overlooked because of this demographic tilt.
Case in point: Earlier this week The Weekly Standard ran a piece entitled Divine Deduction, subtitled “Christian crime fiction comes of age.” Did you know there was such a thing as “Christian crime fiction”? Let me rephrase that: Did you know there was a Christian writer out there putting out some fantastic crime fiction?
Apparently, a lot of other readers didn’t either.
Jon Breen of The Weekly Standard describes J. Mark Bertrand as “a major crime-fiction talent,” admitting that he’s “one of the best police procedural writers I’ve come upon in years.” Breen proceeds to describe Bertrand’s three-book crime series (beginning with Back on Murder), published by Bethany House, in rather glowing terms:
The police procedure has a feel of authenticity, with extensive detail of weaponry and forensics, and the course of the investigation bears some of the messiness of real life. The narrative energy is relentless. The visual, cinematic style sticks to a single first-person viewpoint, a unity some contemporary thriller writers violate to their detriment. Present-tense narrative annoys some readers (including this one at times), but its sense of urgency and immediacy is effective in the [Roland] March novels.
There’s just one problem…
Bertrand is a major crime-fiction talent—one of the best police procedural writers I’ve come upon in years—but he has not reached nearly the wide audience he deserves for a simple reason: His novels come from a religious publisher. (bold mine)
One would think a religious publisher, just like any publisher, should be about cashing in on their clients’ talents. I mean, why hire Eddie Van Halen to stuff envelopes for your mail order company?
Give dude a stage.
So how does being a religious publisher (in this case Bethany House) limit the reach of an author’s audience? Well, it doesn’t… unless you write sci-fi, epic fantasy, ethnic fiction, espionage, horror, literary, or crime fiction.
Because Women’s / Historical fiction is the wheelhouse of the CBA (Christian Booksellers Association), publishing houses are now designed to crank out this product. A new title rolls in and the marketing department just rearranges all the typical pieces: bonnet, covered wagon, parasol, petticoat, doe-eyed lass. Check, check, check! It’s a quick cut-and-paste affair. The economy has forced Christian publishers into “safe mode.” Maybe they’ve always been in “safe mode.” So when a horror, crime, fantasy, literary, or sci-novel rolls in, it’s the equivalent of adding a fifth wheel to an assembly line of carriages.
In other words, Bertrand’s problem is not that he’s “a major crime-fiction talent,” but that “religious publishers” don’t know how in the hell to market “a major crime-fiction talent”!
Even sadder is that some Christian authors and readers simply shrug and mumble something like, “Well, that’s just the way it is. If you don’t like it, go elsewhere.”
Apparently, that’s just what Mr. Bertrand is doing.
J. Mark Bertrand deserves a wider readership than a religious publisher affords. Many writers are able to carry readers along by employing nice phrases and descriptive passages, bits of humor, character involvement, and curiosity about how it will all turn out. But few have Bertrand’s relentless narrative power. His website states he will write more March cases if he can find a new publisher, suggesting the three-book original contract was a commercial (surely not spiritual) failure for Bethany House. Perhaps the ideal new publisher would be a major mainstream house, one that won’t ask Bertrand to compromise his beliefs but can get behind this extraordinary writer and gain him the wide audience he deserves. (bold mine)
“J. Mark Bertrand deserves a wider readership than a religious publisher affords,” someone who “can get behind this extraordinary writer and gain him the wide audience he deserves.” So if you’re a Christian writer who writes really good stuff, that’s NOT clean Romance or Historical fiction, and you want a “wide audience,” look elsewhere.
I don’t want to portray Mr. Bertrand as a victim in this drama. No doubt, he’ll land on his feet elsewhere. The real victim in this tale of intrigue is not J. Mark Bertrand.
It’s the industry that forces him to look elsewhere.
The thing is though, they’ll publish them if they target women. That means women main characters and a style of fiction that women like. With good reason, look at Nick’s comment thread. 90% of replies are from women.
Even SF. Everyone says “Oh, they don’t publish Christian spec fic,” but Anne Elizabeth Stengl has six fantasy books out and Donita Paul likewise. Even Marcher Lord gets this-look at what book they sent to the Christy’s; Morgan Busse’s Daughter of Light, which is similar. Of course Bertrand’s going to struggle, because it sounds like he writes noirish procedurals with male main characters. Unless he can tap into something that appeals to women, like the Da Vinci Code, it’s a tough sell.
I think the industry and men in general need to discuss and look at why Christian fiction, or often fiction in general, doesn’t appeal to us. Why is it a safe bet not to write for us?
It’s an interesting question to ask, but questions like these are always open to the chicken and egg argument. When women began to publish and were ever-increasingly literate, their success was an upward spiral. For some reason, women love to read and write and are good at it. Did the women change the market enough that men no longer wanted to take part in it? Or do men just not have as much interest in reading? Both? Rest assured, though, that the majority of prestigious awards still go to men.
I don’t know. I think videogames in some part have distracted many men from reading, but it’s more than just women reading and publishing more. That would just mean a bigger market overall. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s where the most successful guys in the Christian world aren’t ones who read fiction widely as opposed to non fiction. Non-fiction doesn’t seem to suffer as much in the CBA I think.
This got me wondering what the gender demographics were on book readers in general. The Barna group had some interesting stats here:
https://www.barna.org/barna-update/culture/614-the-books-americans-are-reading#.UfmWio32ZRY
Here’s some info on Kindle users:
http://floridaresearchgroup.wordpress.com/2010/02/16/demographics-of-kindle-and-other-ereader-users/
And yet James Rubart won the Christy Award for Visionary, D. M.
I think speculative fiction shows that there are men who read Christian fiction if we’ll only let them know there’s something there for them to read.
Becky
I’m 62. I started reading fiction about age 10; first Ian Fleming, then Edgar Rice Burroughs, then Conan Doyle, then got a library card and discovered science fiction. That did it! Got saved somewhere around 14, and didn’t even know there was christian fiction. Reading everything I could get my hands on, I would buy a paperback sometimes and tear it in half so I had something to read in between classes, then I’d tape it back together with some glue also and loan or give it to a friend. Sorry, never read any Amish or romance fiction, but read tons of sci-fi, horror, crime, mysteries, just about any genre of fiction. Ok, a little non-fiction, but not much. After 52 years, still reading all I can get my hands or “nook” on and would love to support Christian writers when I was able. Thanks for this great blog topic, found it in my e-mail this morning!
Hi, Ray. If you’re 62 and got saved at 14, you’re off the hook for not knowing “Christian fiction” existed. It didn’t. At least, not in the segregated form it is today. That started in 1979 with the publication of Janette Oke’s LOVE COMES SOFTLY by Bethany House, acquired by Carol Johnson. 🙂
Thanks Rebeca 🙂
While I’m all for the idea that all genres of fiction written with a Christian worldview need to be promoted and accessible to wider audiences, let’s not make this about hating on romance written from that same worldview. Romance authors, both in the CBA and the general market, are among some of the most successful authors (numbers-wise and readership, if not always financially), and yet we take the highest amount of flack from everyone else in the industry. Even in my grad-school program, which is genre-based and supposedly unbiased toward any genre (horror, mystery, suspense, YA, romance, etc.), we romance authors continually had to defend ourselves in workshops led by a few of the leading professors in the program (horror writers and mystery writers themselves) because they continually dumped on romance as the sewer of the fiction world. Just because there are similarities from romance novel to romance novel and “interchangeable covers” for them (how many unique covers are there for any genre?—just look at this list to see how interchangeable covers are in EVERY genre: http://www.buzzfeed.com/lukelewis/19-book-cover-cliches) doesn’t mean that romance authors don’t work just as long and hard to hone our craft or do our research or write our books as authors in every other genre. You may not respect romance as a genre, but please don’t belittle the genre or the authors who tirelessly write it because, forgive the pun, it’s their passion.
I’m not sure I agree with everything the writer of this article said. I know plenty of readers who will read every Christian crime novel they can get their hands on.
One thing I do agree with is that J Mark Bertrand’s novels are wonderful reads. I highly recommend them to readers.
I very much disliked this article, mostly because of the snide and snarky view of “bonnet books,” and the accusations that Christian publishers are just churning out doe-eyed heroines with stories that all look alike. It makes me so sad to see people in our own industry disparaging other writers, editors and publishing houses. Especially when you see books like Francine River’s “Redeeming Love” or “The Atonement Child” out there…no one in their right mind could call that bonnet fiction. Rather, that was a huge risk the publisher took to publish such controversial topics as abortion. The whole point of writing Christian fiction is to lay our talents at the feet of Christ, and if some writers do that through “bonnet fiction,” and others through crime fiction, let them all be convinced in their own minds that they do it to the glory of God, rather than to have a stage. I am personal friends with many so-called “bonnet writers,” and I know they get letters from people regularly, thanking them for writing books that have encouraged them in the Lord. These “bonnet writers” are servants of God, so I have to ask Mr. Duran: “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.” [Romans 14:4] It is God who decides the timing and reach of the “stage” He puts us on. It is entirely possible that Bertrand will influence for Christ many more people through a secular publisher than a Christian publisher…perhaps that is God’s very design for his message through Bertrand. That being said, it’s possible Christian publishers are missing the point…it’s possible they are guided by dollar signs rather than the spirit of God and what He wants them to publish. If so, that is a huge indictment. And if so, the solution isn’t to give talent the stage. The solution is to pray our Christian publishers will be increasingly lead by God to proclaim His Name His way. But that’s not what Mr. Duran seems most concerned with in this article. Here, he seems almost whiny that Christian publishers are giving way too much page space to “bonnet books.” His underlying point seems to be that talent is what deserves to be given the stage. God’s Word says He sees it very differently. His measuring stick is not talent. God shows us throughout His Word that the one who is submitted to Him, is the one who gets the stage. But that stage may look very different than what we’d imagined. If God doesn’t give us or another talented individual the stage we want when we want it, the answer isn’t to blame the publishers or even our fellow writers–“bonnet writers” or not. Proverbs 14:30 tells us how that will end: “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” I pray that Mr. Bertrand will continue to work hard, honing his craft, and that he will commit himself more and more fully to Christ, so that when God does provide him with his stage, he will be fully prepared to give a “reason for the hope that lies within.” And I pray the same for every Christian writer, including myself. Lord, may proclaiming Your love always be more important than our talents.
ReBecca… I can appreciate your comment. I often am sensitive to the way Christians sometimes bash other Christians, whether it’s about somebody disparaging someone else’s ministry or their fiction genre. It’s silly to bash missionaries to China because you are a missionary to Brazil. Let’s embrace the fact that we all have different calls?
However, after re-reading Mike’s article, I think perhaps you over-reacted in this particular case. He referenced “bonnet” books one single time and did not disparage them — I don’t see a sentence anywhere that he actually said they were bad or useless or even that they were poorly written.
His beef with the CBA is that it fails to serve a HUGE part of the Christian market — those of us outside the demographic who like the bonnet books. Especially men. I tend to have male tastes in my fiction — I like science fiction. Occasionally fantasy and other speculative genres. Rarely I’ll do contemporary crime or suspense. But I’m with Mike inside that demographic group who just don’t pick up the stuff the CBA sells. So I rarely darken the doors of Christian bookstores, unless I’m buying a Bible.
I love so much of what you said, ReBecca. God is looking at the heart, not the talent. Nonetheless, look closely before accusing Mike of bashing the bonnet writers. We don’t want to do away with them. Just add some books to the shelves that are missing. Or perhaps move all the books to a bigger bookshelf with a wider audience. 🙂
Teddi, the fact that you “don’t pick up the stuff CBA sells” and “rarely darken the doors of Christian bookstores” is what we Christian publishers are up against when we try to publish to your tastes. If the folks here who want to see these genres succeed in CBA, they (and many others) need to be aware when authors like Brandt Dodson, Mark Bertrand, Bryan Polivka, and others are published. If you don’t buy good quality books when we publish them, how can we be faulted when those books don’t succeed?
But there’s not much way we can be aware. There are no publications like Asimov’s or the Magazine of F and SF for Christian genre fiction, and you guys don’t do separate imprints for your non-bonnet books. It’s not like there’s a Tor.com for us either. Even just a cardboard shelf point-of-sale display showing a few Christian spec or thriller books might help.
Thanks for making that point, D.M. I was thinking it, but chose to make other points. But I totally agree. It’s on the publisher to make the reader aware of what’s available if they want to succeed. A challenging prospect, but that’s the nature of the business world.
The good news is that word-of-mouth is still effective, and will continue to be so. Moreso than ever, with how connected people are these days. That’s how I heard about Tosca Lee and Shannon Dittemore and the other rare CBA folks who are writing what I enjoy reading.
I was going to say, Teddi, you and D. M. are both some time visitors at Spec Faith, so you know there are people trying to make readers aware of Christian speculative fiction. Word of mouth has always been the book industry’s most powerful marketing tool. So are we talking about the writers we’re hearing about?
Take the Clive Staples Award for Christian Speculative Fiction. I can probably count on one hand the number of blog posts that mentioned the award and, most importantly, the nominated books. There were, in essence, reader endorsements, and we were . . . indifferent to the opportunity to inform other readers.
Becky
The general answer is that there’s a difference between fans and unpaid publicists. I know virally spreading information is important, but in a lot of ways there’s an increasing amount of work being dumped on the author or consumer. It’s understandable with shoestring efforts, but if I like a book there’s starring it, reviewing it for multiple websites, blogging about it, and other things that seem to now be the domain of fans. I have gotten fatigued with it myself, to the point where even reviewing on goodreads gets old due to me essentially giving that site tons of content for free.
In specific, I think most of the people who follow me either know already about the award, or wouldn’t be interested since they like anime. I should probably ask them.
I hear your pain, Nick. Nonetheless, the damage is done. The damage was done back when I went into Christian bookstores as a young adult in the ’80s and ’90s and found disappointing results.
The Christian bookstore didn’t have what I liked to read, so I didn’t return. How can you fault me for that? We can stand here all day pointing fingers at each other, but I’m not interested in that (and I’m sure you’re not either).
Which is why I said what I did in my other comment. Everybody knows what the CBA majors in (or they find out soon enough). Personally, I don’t know why people get so mad at ya’all for doing what you do best.
So…. either CBA publishers spend a large amount of effort (and money) and rebrand themselves and start publishing enough other genres by Christian authors until readers start expecting that from them… or just recognize your niche and stick with it. Nothing wrong with that. Isn’t that what everyone in publishing is saying these days? “Find your niche.” The CBA knows its niche. If anything, CBA publishers may need narrow things down to the strongest elements of their niche(s) to survive the changes in the publishing world.
Let new publishers arise that handle other genres from a Christian worldview.
Let authors of the new publishing era arise, and let them succeed in their own ways. Banding together under indie labels (a la Marcher Lord Press and Splashdown Books) or doing it individually (a la insert_Christian_version_of_Amanda_Hocking_or_Hugh_Howey_here).
P.S. Just because I don’t go to Christian bookstores doesn’t mean I don’t buy books by Christian authors. I go out of my way to find Christian authors whose work I *do* enjoy and purchase those online, regardless of who their publishers are.
The irony is that most editors I know would love to see new genres succeed. We just don’t know how to do it. 🙂
I’ve got it, Nick. Let’s put together a team to take two years to visit every single ABA bookstore – chain and indy – in the country. That’s roughly 10k bookstores. Insist that they shelve HH fiction in the general market section, by genre. Let it sell through for one year (putting promo behind it, etc.). Then compare those numbers with the sales numbers produced by placing it in the CF ghetto. That would give us good info about whether CBA publishers – if shelved with the rest of the population – could actually make a go of it.
Also, we’ll have to talk to the BISAC codes folks so that Religious/Fiction isn’t the only option (or maybe isn’t an option at all). 🙂 I vote for just putting it in FICTION and sub-categorizing as appropriate.
And I’m not even half-kidding about either of these ideas. 🙂 CBA publishers must find a way to put their food in front of the fish who actually LIKE that bait. Otherwise, why be in the pond at all?
Teddi, you and I are in total agreement, as your first paragraph states. Thank you for hearing the heart of what I had to say. Christians judging, bashing or even being snobby to one another is something that has always broken my heart. Jesus prayed in agony, just before his crucifixion, that we would have unity. It’s possible that you’re also right in saying that I overreacted. However, to be clear, this is the particular phrase I was reacting to: “A new title rolls in and the marketing department just rearranges all the typical pieces: bonnet, covered wagon, parasol, petticoat, doe-eyed lass. Check, check, check! It’s a quick cut-and-paste affair.” This is intensely offensive to me, because it infers that formula is all there is to Christian romance, and that those who write it are hacks. I would venture to guess that most Christian romance writers would consider this sentence to be a belittling of their ministry. Especially given the climate toward Christian romance writers that exists in many writing circles today. But again, thank you for your thoughtful response…in speaking out for Christian romance writers, I have not encountered many like you who have taken my comments in the spirit they were intended.
I just had to reply to this as it is infused with sentiments I’ve seen throughout my career promoting novelists.
First, the idea that “God shows us throughout His Word that the one who is submitted to Him, is the one who gets the stage,” made me shake my head. While that’s true, stating it in this manner and in this context begs the question – So, people who aren’t writing bonnet or historical romance aren’t “submitted to Him” therefore they don’t “get the stage”? Of course not. The faith level or sincerity of Godly pursuit of these writers isn’t what’s keeping them from reaching the audience for whom they were called to write. It isn’t keeping them from being offered a publishing contract. Their level of “submission to Him” isn’t a factor in the discussion unless you believe that all writers “submitted to Him” would evidence such by writing bonnet or historical romance.
Second, I’ve gotta say I appreciated the tone of the email. Clever. Witty. Insightful. Direct. Sometimes you’ve gotta knock a few tables over to wake folks up. At least, that’s what Jesus did when He talked to the people in His own house about an issue, which is what the author of this blog post is doing.
Third, I’ve watched and participated with great interest and reflection in the explosion, then implosion, of “Christian fiction” (meaning fiction published by CBA houses). I think it bears much consideration that God appears to be allowing the shrinking of shelf space for most genres in CBA, but not limiting that space in ABA. Perhaps it’s important that we embrace the storied history of our forebears and put our novels alongside our non-faith counterparts. This is how He had us work for many, many decades. It’s why there was an incredible friendship between Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Arthur C. Clarke. Tolkien and Lewis witnessed faithfully to Clarke throughout that friendship. If I recall correctly, Lewis even credited Tolkien with being a major factor in leading him to the Lord.
Finally, this should not be an “either/or” discussion. Faith, Christianity, sincerity of Godly pursuit – these things are not evidenced by your calling, but by whether you follow the specificity of your calling – even in the face of judgment or condescension from within or without the Church. To wit, if you are called to preach to the choir (which has sin in it, and needs a good sermon or two!), then preach. If you are called to preach to the unbelieving, then preach. And, while you speak to the audience He gave you, smile and nod at your fellow writer who speaks to the audience granted him or her. Neither of you is more Godly. Neither more Christian. Both are necessary for the body to be complete.
Well said, Rebecca. Well said indeed. This is the attitude EVERY writer should have. Just because I choose to remove explicit mentions of Christianity in my writing doesn’t mean I’m less holy or have abandoned my “calling”. It just means I know where my audience is, and how best to reach them.
Kernels and seeds of truth go much further than a bucket over the head.
Rebecca, I’m glad you posted this reply, giving me an opp0rtunity to clear up any misunderstanding.
You wrote: “First, the idea that “God shows us throughout His Word that the one who is submitted to Him, is the one who gets the stage,” made me shake my head. While that’s true, stating it in this manner and in this context begs the question – So, people who aren’t writing bonnet or historical romance aren’t “submitted to Him” therefore they don’t “get the stage”?”
That is NOT where I was going with this. I simply meant that talent is less important to God than a willing heart–evidenced by the fact that He used a stutterer (Moses) to speak to a King to free his people. And I also do NOT mean that Mr. Bertrand is not submitted, and that’s why he’s not been given his stage. And neither do I mean that writers who are Christian won’t be used by God unless they have obvious Christian messages.
You also wrote: “The faith level or sincerity of Godly pursuit of these writers isn’t what’s keeping them from reaching the audience for whom they were called to write. It isn’t keeping them from being offered a publishing contract. Their level of “submission to Him” isn’t a factor in the discussion unless you believe that all writers “submitted to Him” would evidence such by writing bonnet or historical romance.”
Again, it seems my point was not made clearly. I did NOT say that their faith level or sincerity of Godly pursuit is what is keeping these writers from reaching their audience. Far from it. Rather, that God is the one who is firmly in control of our writing careers and the publishing houses. Beyond that, I cannot explain why a person’s books are not yet published on a wider scale, because I am not God. I just know He’s in control…of my writing career, and of Mr. Bertrand’s. And that’s good enough for me. Personally, I believe that if Mr. Bertrand was made by God to write, and if he was given this talent for a purpose, then as God’s word tells us, this will be accomplished. But it will be accomplished by God, and in His time. “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me.” Psalm 138:8 I believe it’s very possible that the Lord has more planned for Mr. Bertrand and Christian publishing than any of us can know right now. All we can do in the meantime, is to work as if it depends on us, and pray because we know it depends on God.
I just finished a tour of bookstores all throughout California and it breaks my heart to see the Christian bookshelves shrinking in Barnes & Noble (down to one Christian fiction shelf in most LA & SF stores). This greatly limits new, dynamic authors in breaking in and, quite frankly, makes the selection overly narrow and cliched. It’s also frustrating to see our shelves HIDDEN in the back of the stores and branded with a, “Warning…Jesus may be spoken of in these books.”
But the problem is NOT with the secular bookstores, it’s with the Christian readership. If you look to see what IS featured in the front shelves and in heavy supply in secular bookstores, that is what is being bought. A large majority of those are being bought by Christians and many of those books are ones they would not be proud to let the folks at their Bible study know they were reading. This is especially true of what’s secretly being downloaded to Kindles and Nooks.
You want GREAT, amazing, God honoring, family friendly literature. It’s out there and there’s more waiting to be published. Do your homework, check out the reviews, buy these books, and then let the rest of the world know.
This idea that “it’s the reader’s fault” can be taken too far, but I think there’s a lot of truth to how poorly many Christians live out their faith in their choices of entertainment.
If more of us refused the mammon version, the entertainment-makers might get a clue and make something different.
Totally agree with your last comment about getting out there and finding the good stuff, Michael. I so appreciate hearing perspectives from so many folks here. Love that so many are weighing in!
Like the proverb says, it’s foolish to judge a matter without hearing both sides. I hope that with every swing of our word-swords (which admittedly come from different directions, are headed in different directions, and inevitably clash because of that), we are sharpening each other and stirring each other on to good works!
Another factor in all this–also a little depressing is that currently CBA fiction is in somewhat of a slump. Some say publishers are overpublishing and there’s just too much out there for readers to wade through. A spark of creativity that would send CBA fiction in a new direction would be welcome, frankly.
As always, love your heart, Nick. Thanks for being part of this discussion. 🙂
Hmmm. I’m a Christian, white, female over 40 and I don’t read romance at all, Amish rarely, and historical occasionally. My fiction pile consists of mostly speculative and science fiction books. I hope that Christian publishers wake up before they lose out.
Mike, you wrote: “Bertrand’s problem is not that he’s “a major crime-fiction talent,” but that “religious publishers” don’t know how in the hell to market “a major crime-fiction talent”!”
I often agree with your rants about the world of publishing, but this is not the publisher’s fault. One might as well blame Macy’s for not selling the world’s finest raincoats in Phoenix.
Mark Bertrand is indeed an excellent writer, but I knew after the first chapter of his first novel that the vast majority of CBA readers would not want to read what he writes. So if you’re trying to explain why he gots great reviews and poor sales you should have stuck with your first instinct, when you mentioned that most CBA readers are white females over 45. Because that is the problem. Those women are not interested in reading Mark’s descriptions of the aftermath of violent murders. And that is absolutely not his publisher’s fault.
What’s his publisher supposed to do? Invent a market out of thin air? Force those women to read what they do not want to read?
Or is the idea is that Mark’s publisher didn’t really try, or didn’t have the chops? If so, I’m pretty sure that’s also wrong. I’ve been published by Mark’s publisher, Bethany House, and also by Zondervan, Tyndale, and Howard. Bethany House’s marketing ability in the CBA is head and shoulders above the others. If ANY publisher could have sold Mark’s novels in a market that doesn’t want to read police procedurals, my bet would have been on Bethany House.
The real problem here is very simple, and it’s been blogged to death in the Christian fiction world, so it’s difficult to understand why it still needs to be said. But apparently it does, so here goes:
We live in a culture where nobody outside the CBA wants to read a novel with an overt Christian message. Also, readers in the CBA have strong genre preferences. Those are facts. No amount of grousing about it will change it. There’s no right or wrong to it. And only a snob would insist there’s anything wrong with it, because readers have every right to read exactly what they want to read.
So if one wants to write police procedurals as Mark does, or more “literary” novels as I once did, and if one also wants to SELL said novels in a real world marketplace, one must omit the overt Christian themes and market to the ABA. Period. End. Fade out.
Of course, there is another path. If one wants to write Christian themed novels in a genre not much appreciated by CBA readers, then one can take satisfaction in doing the work, and in the (very few) readers who appreciate the work, and one can thank God for any publisher willing to put up enough money to get it into print. Such a publisher should be praised for risking the dough to give the work a shot, not panned because they failed to convince thousands of readers to buy something that they just don’t want to read.
Raincoats are not ever going to sell in Phoenix, no matter how well those raincoats might be made. It would be pointless to try to sell them there, pointless to complain about it, and more than a little crazy, frankly, to blame it on Macy’s.
Athol, you know I love you. You know I absolutely LOVED promoting your novels – literary and anything else you ever write. You’re a fantastic, gifted, incredible writer whom I will read until you stop writing. 🙂 Your works are ones I recommend to anyone – regardless of faith background – who wants to write with excellence.
But, what?! “…one must omit the overt Christian themes and market to the ABA.” WHAT?!
If that means, “One must omit a cheesy, Come to Jesus Moment, that is not organic to the story and is clearly a sermon glaringly dropped in the midst of a good story and kill off any characters who feel a need to preach or speak in terms and phrases only understood in the shadow of a steeple,” okay, I’m with ya, brother.
If that means, “Don’t let your character discuss or wrestle with Christian ideas or concepts, or talk about the Bible (much less quote it), or pray, or go to church, or do anything that can directly communicate ‘Christian’,” well, WHAT?! I submit THE CINDERELLA DEAL by Jennifer Crusie as a supreme example of how a character can actually read from scripture (Job) in the middle of a (very steamy) romance novel and it works.
But you were referencing the former, right? Please say yes. (Lie if ya need to.)
Also, raincoats in Phoenix. Let’s do it. Hey, a swamp worked for Walt Disney! All we need is the government’s ability to control the weather. (Oh yes they can. Just ask SyFy.)
Rebeca, sadly, I can’t make it better. Believe me, I do wish I could. When I mentioned “overt Christian themes,” I wasn’t thinking of the kind of cheesy “come to Jesus” novel you described. (Those novels shouldn’t be published ANYWHERE.) But I also wasn’t thinking of a morality tale which contains a universal truth that could have been written by a well-meaning Buddhist, Muslim, Jew, or atheist. I mean “a pervasive theme which is openly connected to Jesus.” And I am saying with a high degree of certainty that novels with that kind of theme do not typically sell well in the ABA. If they did, after nearly 20 years of writing novels I would know about it, and I would be writing for that market, absolutely. We can all think of a few ABA titles to the contrary, just as we can think of a few CBA titles that somehow got away with being “edgy” or “literary,” but unfortunately those lists are very short.
Fascinating! So many facets to this discussion. So many angles to look at.
Athol’s comments press my mind in yet another direction. Mike’s post asserts that a crime has been committed, and that there is a victim (or victims). (Sure, maybe it was just a tongue-in-cheek title for the post, but bear with me…) Athol responds that there was no crime, because the CBA never was intended nor designed to serve other demographics.
But what if this isn’t the failure to sell raincoats in Phoenix? What if this is really the failure to sell sunscreen in Phoenix?
What if part of the angst felt by those not served by the CBA isn’t simply entertainment genre preferences? What if what we really want is Christian fiction that deals with REAL issues the way the Bible does, the way the world needs it to?
Two things especially concern me:
– What are we teaching our children, when we only give them “sanitized” stories? At what point do they decide (in their hearts) that Mom and Dad are out of touch with the real world and cannot be trusted to guide them in the harsh realities of real life?
– What are we telling the world, when the bulk of published Christian art can only be appreciated by those already inside its own little fandom? When our art is a fantasy of what we wish life was like, rather than a portrait of some facet of God’s beauty (and majesty and wisdom and love) set in the world in which they (the lost) actually live?
If we’re actually failing on that score… then it is something Macy’s (ahem) ought to take to heart.
And before we blame the readers again… Maybe we ought to look beyond them to the church culture that created them in the first place. Perhaps the crime was committed not by the publishers in the CBA, but by those in the pulpit who shaped the readers in the first place. (Whew! Was that the sound of a can of worms opening? I think I need that for my ringtone…)
What if we – all us Christian folk – embraced the remembrance that THIS IS NOT HOME?
It’s not supposed to be comfy. We aren’t here to create safe, cozy niches for believing adults (kiddos are another story, to a certain extent), are we? We’re SUPPOSED to feel out of place because we ARE out of place until we’re before the Father’s throne in heaven, bowed down and worshiping.
Athol! Thanks so much for your words on Bethany House. We certainly were honored to publish your great stories. If it is possible to be unbiased, I’d say your pretty right on with the rest of your points.
Some of you might like to read my controversial post about the effectiveness of Christian fiction. Some of you might get mad:
http://thewritelife2.wordpress.com/2012/06/14/author-c-s-lakin-christian-fiction-is-it-effective/
Enjoy!
Great stuff, Susanne! I’m glad that there is a wide variety of people out there writing, each from their unique background, each with a unique voice to shine God’s love on those around them.
May we be true to who we are in Christ, and the stories He has for us to write. And may His grace and favor open the way for those stories to reach the readers He has planned for them!
I think the CBA and religious publishers are sort of stuck. Here’s why.
“Marketing” for most books consist of putting it into a catalog and shipping it out to bookstores. From there, more marketing efforts are made for books the publishers thinks they can promote, but the bulk of marketing and sales is focused on bookstores, and predominately Christian bookstores. Of the more secular stores that buy from them, they know their customers will be angry to pick up what they think is a general market book only to discover (gasp!) that it is “Christian propaganda.” (What one potential reviewer wrote upon sending my book back to me, unreviewed…thankfully.) So to be safe, anything that comes from a Christian publisher gets put in its own section to avoid those angry customers who might feel tricked into buying something they don’t like.
Bottom line, religious publishers don’t have many ways to reach anyone other than their niche. If you don’t write for that niche, it’s going to be tough to market and sell to that niche. To change that niche for publishers is going to take a major shift in audience expectations that would no doubt take some prolonged cash investment with expected losses over the first years until a readership could be built. Thus the reason their stuck, except for the case of some outliers.
There really isn’t much option for most writers of genre’s that don’t fit the CBA mold than to go general market. In many ways, that isn’t a bad idea either.
Loving this article and these comments! But if I may offer a slight defence. Believe you mean, as a publishing house Bethany House wants to diversify. Bertrand and Hoesel are evidence of that, as is my personal favorite– debut fantasy writer Patrick W. Carr. Granted historical fiction is what we do really well and have been doing the longest so the credibility and relationships that we’ve developed there are strongest. But publishing is not a simple direct to consumer situation. You still have book buyers, reporters and other influential people in the ABA industry who often won’t give CF a chance. There is still the stigma that the quality will be sub-par and that they are going to be pistol whipped with a salvation message every other page. On the other hand you have plain logistical issues that get in the way. For instance, Barnes and Noble has a buyer for science fiction/fantasy and a separate religious buyer. Both individuals get very territorial and either won’t give up a book that can count for sales in their section, or don’t want to give up shelf space. In short, it is nigh impossible to get a CF to appear anywhere outside it’s section. So lack of visibility isn’t for lack of trying. And sometimes, like with Steven James, traction happens and it’s a wonderful sight to behold. So in short, I just mean to say, this whole situation isn’t as simple as it seems and we celebrate diversity just as much as you do.
Margaret, as it happens, there’s quite a bit of speculative fiction that is out there now. I mentioned earlier the Clive Staples Award for Christian Speculative Fiction. This is entirely a readers’ choice award, so readers nominated the books to be considered. There were 33 books published by a royalty paying publisher in 2012 that received consideration. Of those, 16 were published by Evangelical Christian Publishing Association houses and 17 by newer independent publishers. The thing is, there are more that could have been named–books that sold well but for whatever reason didn’t make the list of nominees.
I suggest that it’s pretty hard for fans of the genre to buy and read all 33. There’s not a want of books, I suggest. There’s a want of awareness that the books are out there.
Becky
Sorry, Noelle, this was supposed to be a response to Margaret.
Becky
I continue to be stunned by the number of times I see quotes such as this one I read above: “Maybe things have changed in the ten-odd years since I’ve really paid any attention to the CBA-market, but considering Christian fiction is even more Amish/romance/historical skewed than it was back then, I kind of doubt it.”
There are genres I haven’t read in ten years or more. I have yet to feel compelled to offer an opinion on any of them.
Let me make an analogy to how I’m interpreting much of what’s being said in this blog post and in the comments (again, this is MY interpretation)—
YOU: Harlequin needs to diversify their readership
ME: Why? They seem to reach their target readership pretty well.
YOU: I’ve been pitching my book to them for years, and they keep telling me that it doesn’t fit with what they publish.
ME: What’s your book about?
YOU: It’s a horror novel.
Okay, yes, that’s an extreme take on this discussion, but allow me to give another example:
The Coca-Cola company built its reputation and brand on their main product: Coke. In 1985, they decided they needed to change, to “modernize,” their product. And we all remember what happened with “New” Coke—they almost lost everything until they went back to what they were known for, what their customer base wanted—Original Coke.
This discussion, especially reading comments from people who don’t even read Christian fiction but who still want to gripe about the CBA and the readership they’re targeting, reminds me of someone giving a book a 1-star review on Amazon because they don’t like the cover design and the back-cover copy, but can’t be bothered to actually read the book. Don’t like what the CBA is doing? Then don’t pitch your manuscripts to CBA publishers. CBA publishers won’t publish what you write? Cry me a river—there are plenty of general-market publishers out there who don’t publish what you (or I) write, too. CBA readers don’t want to read what you write? Then it’s incumbent on you to find publishers who are reaching the audience you write for.
There’s a very nasty air of entitlement to this post and many of the comments I’ve read here—it’s an attitude that says: because a business has a certain label on it (Christian, in this instance) and because I claim to have the same label, then this business should bend over backwards to accommodate ME. ME. ME. It’s all about ME. CBA publishers are in business to make money. And they’ve cultivated a certain audience by providing a certain product. Just like Coca-Cola.
And until you actually read and study what CBA publishers are publishing, how can you know who their audience is? How can you know what quality of work they’re publishing? And how can you work to change attitudes in an industry you, self-proclaimedly, know nothing about other than your own rumor-based preconceptions?
I’m sorry that this has come across as angry and defensive, but I felt like I needed to be honest about my reaction to all of what I’ve read here.
My decision to switch wasn’t easy. But it was based on five+ years of reading nothing but Christian fiction, and being unable to find *anything* that came close to what was coming out of me.
A lot of what’s been said rings true for me, as the demographic CBA has to capture if they want to still exist in 20 years. And they’ve lost me. I’ve read one CBA book this year. All the rest has been paranormal romance and science fiction. And I have zero interest in checking out Christian science fiction, what little of it there is. I like space opera and colonizing the galaxy and aliens. Not popular themes in Christian circles, and I haven’t seen anything I consider worth my time to try.
My attempt at writing for the market that did exist, while still writing what I wanted to read, failed. It was historical romance, which I love to read and write. I was told by every agent who read it that it was nice to see something different, but that it was too different and they couldn’t sell it. I’m grateful they were all honest with me about why they couldn’t sign me. But it was still hard to take, knowing I’m the future of the market and the market didn’t want me. (I’m 30)
I’ve officially crossed over, and I can’t deny the hand of God guiding every decision I’ve made. It’s been amazing! I don’t have to tone things down, or ignore the grittier aspects of what I’m writing about. It’s been very liberating.
You really might like Kathy Tyers and Chris Walley, both published in the CBA (well, Kathy was actually published in the ABA first and has written a Star Wars novel). They do a wonderful job of crafting tales with Christian elements that aren’t boring sci-fi, if you ask me. 🙂
“There’s a very nasty air of entitlement to this post and many of the comments I’ve read here—it’s an attitude that says: because a business has a certain label on it (Christian, in this instance) and because I claim to have the same label, then this business should bend over backwards to accommodate ME. ME. ME. It’s all about ME.”
I think it’s because the CBA bears the name of Jesus Christ. *Christ*ian Booksellers Association. By their name, they are claiming to represent Christianity, yet in reality they are only representing a small portion of it. What you are perceiving as “ME. ME. ME.” may be hints of anger at the way Christ is being represented. Me personally? I’m not angry at the CBA, but I am skeptical of all forms of Christianity, Inc.
Nice to see one of the best writers out there get discussed, Mike. Mark Bertrand is a great talent, and eventually he’ll get the attention he deserves. That probably won’t be in the CBA market, which is fine — perhaps a bit too limiting for his readership. But nice of you to let him take the stage.
As the subject of the Weekly Standard article, I’d like to chime in. First off, many thanks to Mike for sharing the review. For obvious reasons I would like to see it get as much exposure as possible.
And since I’m a novelist, I can’t help but tell the story my way. Breen’s review says, essentially, that there’s a major talent at work in Christian fiction and it deserves a wider audience. (Because the talent is mine, it feels slightly awkward to type these words.) If you want to argue against Breen’s main point, I guess we can duke it out. But please don’t lose sight of the main point as the secondary observations about Christian fiction in general are being discussed.
If you’re well informed about CBA matters, as many of you seem to be, and this is your first time hearing about me or my novels, it’s only natural to wonder why you had to hear about them from the outside. Why weren’t they on your radar screen already? Despite our best efforts over the past couple of years, the Roland March series is one of CBA’s best kept secrets. Could more have been done? Absolutely. Maybe Athol and Noelle are right in thinking that would have been wasted effort, but we’ll never know. Based on the response of readers (including white evangelical women over 45, by the way, a description that encompasses some of the teachers and mentors who kindled my passion for books in the first place) I’m more optimistic about what might have been accomplished.
Don’t get hung up on that point, though, because what a glowing critical assessment like this ought to do is help people discover the novels that generated the fuss in the first place. That’s an easy thing to do right now considering that Bethany House is giving the first one, BACK ON MURDER, away as a free e-book, and is selling the next two in the series for just a few bucks each. My hope is that you’ll read them and start talking about them, so that this best kept secret can get out.
BTW, I have another thought on this. If you think CBA editors are bad gatekeepers (we’re not, of course), just consider ABA gatekeepers. I have no stats to back this up, but just a sense about it. I think NYC editors at the big publishing houses are way out of touch with what many American readers want. There are MANY good CBA authors who could make a lot of money for the ABA houses if the editors there understood there is a huge market for good, clean, well-written fiction, with or without the Christian overtones. Years ago I interviewed Jan Karon’s editor at Penguin. She told me she often sent copies of new books Penguin had published to her mother back in the midwest. Finally her mother asked her, “Don’t you publish fiction that isn’t so dark?’ I think that mother speaks for many American readers, not just Christian readers. But except for a very few editors, that message just doesn’t penetrate the NYC mindset.
A lot of us authors who have been published in CBA are moving to ABA. I can’t see how I would ever write for CBA again, except maybe to write more fantasy/sci-fi. As Rebecca mentioned AMG’s fiction line in mostly speculative, and I applaud them for taking risks and believing in this genre. Although, from the beginning of my writing fantasy I have been confused hearing so many editors say to me there are no readers for fantasy. People in general love fantasy–all you have to do is look at most of the top-selling books in history, which include LOTR and Lewis’s Narnia (Christian writers). I don’t understand why these publishers would think there aren’t Christians out there interested in this genre.
But we have been seeing a lot of CBA authors moving into the general market and doing very well. All the books I write now are for the general market, and frankly, even all the books I wrote for CBA publishers were written primarily for nonbelievers.
This is why I, as an aspiring suspense/thriller writer, dropped out of American Christian Fiction Writers and will never publish in a Christian market. Christian culture and marketing are pet peeves of mine. In recent times I’ve decided to forgo legacy publishing entirely and self pub in ebook form exclusively. I hope to have a story or two in the ebook market before the end of the year.
If anyone is interested in learning how to get published in the mainstream you need to come to Naples, FL October 3-7 and attend our Spirit of Naples Storytellers Conference. Please check out our website at http://www.sonfilmfest.com for all of the particulars. We would love to see you there.
Mike,
You’ve done it again. Another thought-provoking post and the responses have reflected as such.
Well, I would like to add my perspective from a former bookseller of nearly 10 years (mom-n-pop stores and Borders Books well before they went out of business), also a reader and aspiring novelist.
It seems to me that many people in Christian Fiction want the next great author to take the genre out of the ghetto and finally be a true counterpart to the big, bad secular fiction in the industry. It kind of reminds of conservatives (I’m one of them) waiting for the next Ronald Reagan to save the Republican Party and usher in a new conservative era in politics.
However, phenomenona and things that crossover into the holy grail of mainstream success and acceptance are still rare and wildly unpredictable. There may be a young writer somewhere in this country writing their stories that could be the next great author and fulfill their wishes of so many who are dying for the next patron saint of the genre.
We still talk about Tolkien and Lewis endlessly and both men have been dead a long time now. While, Dekker, Jenkins, and Peretti have captured some mainstream success but have never reached the rarefied air of patron saint status.
What to do until that writer comes along? Hmm…
I believe in the baseball analogy of hitting singles, doubles, and even the occasional triple. Like a few people have mentioned, word-of-mouth is still the most effective way of authors reaching readers.
I have a good example of this effective tool recently. I’m a blogger and I’ve written quite a few reviews on my blog. I done reviews in the last year for Christian Fiction on:
1) Trophy Chase Trilogy & Blaggard’s Moon by Polivka (That’s for you, Nick. LOL!!)
2) Daughter of Light by Morgan Busse
3) Lost Mission & Opposite of Art by Athol Dickson
4) Safe Lands #1: Captives by Jill Williamson
The last book was recommended to me by Becky Miller who has already commented on this post. Becky and I are also FB friends and because I know how hard she has worked to promote Christian Speculative Fiction through her website and Speculative Faith….I trust her judgment when it comes to recommendations.
The second part to this is that I’ve also reviewed novels by John Updike, Paul Auster, Mark Helprin (one of my favorite novelists), Greg Bear, PD James, and Dean Koontz. So my blog readers know that I’m an avid reader and really enthusiastic about a good novel. I have earned their trust because I’ve step outside of my comfort zone to read from any genre. So when I recommended The Sparrow by Mary Dora Russell as one of the best books I’ve read in the last several years…..that can take it on face value.
As a matter of fact, I’ve given away 6 copies of that novel in the last couple of weeks at my day job. My co-workers know I’m a big reader and since I don’t tell every novel I’ve finished is great….they have come to trust me when I do make a recommendation.
That’s my point….is that authors have connect with their readers. Write good books, create characters your readers care about and they will stay with you a long time. It seems that old-fashioned and out-of date. But it still works.
The problem is a lot of people want that home-run or next the patron saint of fiction to gain greater acceptance. But if you are waiting for that…..good luck because you may be waiting awhile. In the meantime on the ground level….keep connecting with your readers and growing the genre one step at a time. That’s where real change takes place.
Lastly, I want to thank Nick of his perspective from the publishing end. However, I may have a new demographic for you. I’m a black man, conservative, Christian and whose favorite authors are Athol Dickson, PD James, Dean Koontz, & Mark Helprin. What you would call my demographic? How about a “Brother from Another Planet” demographic. Some days I feel like that I am from another planet. LOL!!!
A little humor to end this post. Life is too short…..in trying to change the publishing industry with one swing of the bat. Let’s get on the base and move runners over until we reached home plate. LOL!!
Marion
It is exceptionally hard to use any kind of Christian themes, and even any Christian characters (unless Christianity is being rejected, or unless the characters reject Christianity, then those books get rave reviews for their “realism”), in ABA without readers acting all offended that they were tricked into reading a “Christian” book.
(They also get offended when they read CBA books that, apparently, didn’t put “Christian” in big enough letters on the amazon.com description for them.)
They say things like they do not like being tricked into buying a Christian book with religious themes (but you know, religious themes from other religions besides Christianity would get a pass, of course), and of course they have no problem with characters in books being Christians (and then they attack Christian commenters and say they belong in a mental hospital) … but just don’t push that Christian religion on them.
Sample comments on goodreads on an author who talked about the power of faith healing people in her novel and who discussed the Almighty and who toned down her sex scenes (she is published in the ABA in the paranormal romance category and had previously been known for more sexual scenes):
“(I heard the author) just found her faith and being reborn. Good for her, but please don’t make that influence your writing :(”
“Bought this book based on her older books and I deeply regret it. … Guess she’s recently found Jesus and while I’m happy for her newfound religious beliefs, I don’t care to be hammered over the head with them. The book read more as a YA Christian novel, not what I was expecting to spend my money on. … Her need to preach her personal belief system ruined what could have been a great storyline. In future, (name of author), please ensure your books are put into the YA Christian/Inspirational Genre so that readers will not be mislead in what they are purchasing.”
“Sorry, but I don’t believe it’s any author’s place to push their personal religious beliefs onto their fanbase.”
So, you can be a Christian, as long as it doesn’t influence your writing. And you can write Christian novels, but only if God and Jesus and Christian are put in big bold letters (hopefully bright, flashing letters) in as many places as possible so people can’t be “tricked” into reading something Christian by accident.