Trends in Christian publishing

I belong to an email writing community called "The Writer's View" which is for Christian writers serious about pursuing publication. This is an excellent list for tips on how to do everything from produce excellent web site content to preparing for radio and television interviews. The list features a panel of experienced editors, published authors and literary agents. It's definitely worth joining for the quality and volume of useful information.

One of my favorite posters on that list is Chip MacGregor, who is a literary agent at Alive Communications. I find his posts engaging, sometimes LOL funny and highly informative.

The discussion on "The View" right now is on trends in the Christian Booksellers Association or CBA. Here's an alphabetical list of trends that Chip posted on the View. I am reprinting them here with his permission.

Chip wrote:
Alphabetically, I'd say trends include...

Advances (they're higher)

Agents (they are becoming the norm rather than the exception)

Author taking charge of marketing (not relying on the publisher)

Big box stores (Sam's, Wal-Mart, Target, Costco are moving LOTS of
books)

Blockbuster mentality (everybody is looking for the big score - either
it sells or it's gone)

Business books (new lines from two CBA houses are coming)

Celebrity (as in the general market, Christians love celebrities -
more Kathie Lee books!)

Creative nonfiction (The Perfect Storm, Latitude, Into Thin Air, In
the Beginning, etc)

Credentials (to write on health, you need to be a health
professional...ditto money)

Emergent church (read McLaren's "New Kind of Christian" and Devries'
"delicate fade")

Health and wellness (boomers care about two things: health and money
in retirement)

Humor (a spate of so-so books aimed at making us laugh)

Lack of editing (the days of a strong hand are over)

Marketing PLAN (your publisher will have one for your book)

New talent (we're seeing a large number of beginning writers)

Niche (EVERYBODY wants to know who exactly you're writing to)

Platform (what marketing support do you bring to the project?)

Royalty rates (going up from the pauper's wages publishers used to
pay)

Self-help (especially new voices in the self-help category)

Shelf-life (going down - you sell in 75 days or you're sent back)

Small print runs (technology and tracking make it easier to print
smaller runs more often)

Speaking schedule and bio

Teen lines (Think, Transit, Thirsty...why do these lines all start
with a T?)

Transitions (people are most susceptible to change their life when
hitting one)

Women's issues (women still buy the huge majority of books in this
country)


I think Chip has an excellent understanding of the industry and he's put into words what most of us sense when we walk into our local Christian book store or Wal-mart or big box bookstore.

A list like this belongs in the "wise as serpents" category, but if we're not careful, a focus on these trends could be chilling.

As a Christian writer, I try to remember that it is God who allows us to have favor or not have favor in the eyes of the world, the market, and the celebrity-oriented culture. The View has also had great discussions on how one might handle the tempation of fame, of celebrity.

My main focus has to be on Him first, and on writing what He calls me to write, with all the attention to the craft that I can bring. I can't expect the Holy Spirit to "channel" a work of art without my doing my part to apprentice in the discipline of writing.

J. Mark Bertrand, one of the new bloggers over at the Master's Artist wrote recently on Dave Long's Faith in Fiction blog the following:

My position, I'm sure, doesn't make sense from a practical standpoint, but to me it seems like a book that is written "for the market," or "in a fashion calculated to attract a certain market," is a lot more like a product than a work of art. There's nothing wrong with that per se. If it sells, then it is a good product. But that doesn't make it a good book (or make it not a good book, for that matter). I just think making a good book should come first, and if you can make a good product of it, too, then so much the better. You can make a good product of a bad book -- or a series of them -- but what's the point of that?

I guess what it comes down to is asking if you are a person who "wants to be a writer," or a person who wants to write. If your goal is to "be a writer," maybe it doesn't matter what you write so long as it is published. But if you take pleasure in the task itself, then it's natural to want to do it well, and that might mean leaving the marketing to the marketing department, or at least leaving it alone until the creative work is done.

Mark has excellent tips for writers over at his web site.

My hope is that I will focus on the creative work and on obedience to Christ, and let the publishing or lack thereof be in God's hands. That doesn't mean I don't take steps to that end, such as getting out the odd query, or sending off my manuscript or entering into the odd contest or two. But I no longer huff and puff with exertion over these things. As St. Paul exhorted Timothy in one of his letters: Godliness with contentment is great gain. I'm finding that when my focus is on God, then the writing becomes a joy and rejection or praise are not as important as that sense of peace and abiding.

As I wrote on the Master's Artist yesterday, my career and my spiritual life are, in retrospect, clearly marked by divine interventions, doors that swung open unexpectedly, opportunities beyond my dreams or capacity to meet without divine help, and long stretches of ambitious striving that accomplished nothing. So, I no longer strive like I used to, elbows sticking out, eye on that worldly ball. Which is not to say I don't work very hard, that I do not apply discipline to my craft, or do not have my eyes wide open to the trends in the industry. But God counters trends. He can break through when everything seems to be going in the opposite direction. And if He doesn't choose to, I still have peace and I've enjoyed the ride.

What I hope to do is encourage other writers who also happen to be Christian to stay the course, putting Jesus first, caring about the art more than whether it will sell, and trusting that God will take care of the rest.