The Great Christian Fiction Debate
It’s always interesting when you create a blog post that blows up, since you never know how people are going to respond (or what sort of biases they’re going to bring to their reading of it). I found that out last week when my post on Christian fiction, in the words 
of two different publishers, “blew up the internet.” Seems I struck a nerve, and everybody wanted to talk about it… but a bunch of people got it wrong. So some notes on the debate:
I said that CBA fiction is facing hard times for authors. It is, no matter how much of a happy face anyone wants to paint on it. A bunch of houses have simply gotten out of fiction, several others have reduced the number of titles, and the slots available at traditional publishing houses for authors is considerably smaller than it was a few years ago. By my count, we’ve seen the number of slots for Christian fiction cut in half over the past six years. That’s troubling.
I did not say that CBA fiction is dying. In fact, I believe just the opposite. This is the Golden Age of publishing — we’re selling more books than ever, we have more readers than ever, and we have more opportunities than ever. (And, since it’s conferences season, I should add that we have more great training and conference opportunities than ever.) The struggle is with connecting books to readers. In my view, that’s the biggest challenge we face.
I said that sales numbers for CBA fiction are down. They are — at least for 
traditional houses. Ask any CBA sales person. Numbers for fiction titles from traditional publishers may be stabilizing, but at a much smaller number than they were at a few years ago. One can argue that the numbers overall are still greater because of indie-published titles — and that might be true, but there isn’t adequate research on that, at least in CBA. And the problem I’m dealing with as an agent really isn’t “how many indie novels have released,” so much as “how much less money authors are making because of the changes in the industry.”
I did not say that indie publishing is bad. Anyone who has read the blog or heard me speak about this over the past eight years knows I am a huge supporter of authors having a career plan, and in today’s market that will probably include some aspect of self-publishing. I will note that I’m tired of authors-who-have-sold-two-hundred-total-books coming onto the blog and haranguing us with their “indie is the way to go speech.” Indie publishing has opened up all kinds of doors for authors. It has also dropped prices, reduced earnings, and made discoverability harder. We have to find ways of dealing with those challenges.
I said the demise of Family Christian Stores is a disaster for CBA novelists, and that relying on Lifeway Stores is a problem because many publishers don’t want to rely on Lifeway. This seems to be the thing that really set some people off… I actually had people write to me and tell me that I’m not really a Christian, or that I shouldn’t be selling CBA books. Good grief. Here’s news: Lifeway is a chain of stores that happens to be owned by the Southern Baptist Convention. That means they’re going to sell books that fit their theology. I’m actually fine with that. But when I was at Time-Warner, we had the biggest selling Christian book of the time: Joel Osteen’s Your Best Life Now. Lifeway wouldn’t carry it, since Joel is Pentecostal. We also had the best-selling author of that era, Joyce Meyer. Lifeway wouldn’t carry her, either. You think traditional CBA publishers, who are used to selling books through brick-and-mortar stores, aren’t worried about that sort of thing?
I did not say that Lifeway is bad company, or that I opposed them. My actual
words were that they’ve been “a huge disappointment.” Which, in my view, is true. If they’re the biggest Christian chain, that’s a disappointment, because I’m not Baptist, or even a conservative evangelical (I’m an Anglican), so some of the books I represent will never see Lifeway store shelves. But many people took this as a slam at the Lifeway fiction buyer, Rachel McRae, which I did not intend. I reached out to Rachel, we had a nice discussion about our respective roles in the industry, and she’s created a blog post about all of this you can read here.
I said that Christian literary fiction is really struggling. Again, in today’s market, that’s just a fact. I’ve represented as much Christian literary fiction as any agent on the planet, and right now, if I get in a great new literary novel aimed at CBA, there are going to be fewer than ten houses to talk to — perhaps as few as five. That doesn’t mean genre fiction is bad, only that literary fiction is facing a tough time.
I did not say CBA fiction suffers from being unrealistic. This was one of the criticisms I got from several people who wrote me, and I kept wondering if they had bothered to read the blog post. There are PLENTY of great, realistic writers and stories in Christian fiction these days — writers who want to dig into the struggles we all face and the great questions of life. To me, that’s what good fiction does. But right now, category fiction (contemporary romance, historical romance, romantic suspense, etc) rules in CBA, and literary fiction is hard to find. Meanwhile in the general market, literary fiction is king. We certainly see some real-world experiences in CBA category fiction, though it tends to lean more toward the violent side, since we’re a violent culture. (That’s not a criticism, by the way — I sell a lot of suspense and thriller novels.) But sooner or later, I believe we’ll see a return to more thoughtful books being published and sold.
I am not a pessimist about Christian fiction — in fact, over the past several years, I believe I’ve sold more CBA novels than any other agent. (Look it up.) But we’re in the midst of a sea-change in Christian fiction. The way things used to be aren’t working any more. We’re training writers to create great books, so we’re going to have to create new and better ways of linking stories to readers. That means we’re going to see changes in the marketing and selling of CBA fiction. From an agent’s perspective, we also have to re-think how authors make money at this, and that’s what this blog is all about. (And there was a study commissioned about CBA fiction recently, to determine buying patterns. It was flawed, but interesting — I’m going to explore that study tomorrow.)
By the way, if you dig into the comments on that last blog, you’ll find a wonderfully thoughtful note from the owner of an independent Christian bookstore, and some GREAT thoughts from Daisy Hutton, the fiction publisher at Thomas Nelson and one of the true forward thinkers in the field. So jump in — I would love to hear how you see Christian fiction changing, and what you think the solutions are for moving forward.
80 Comments
Chip,
Your post has some very interesting points and has certainly stirred the pot in the writing community. I have also read the semi rose-colored glasses counter posted by Steve Laube. I am somewhere in the middle. Those of us who got dumped by a major on our first go-round for lack of sales can only look to the example of Zane Grey who simply published his books in serial form in newspapers until a legitimate publisher picked him up. I am self-publishing my next book and taking as much care in it’s production as if I were a major publisher. I have a built a loyal fan base and will continue to write books because I believe that’s my calling. I will not be dismayed nor will I fear. If one person finds the truth in my books and meets the Lord through them, then all this work is worth it.
I read the short article in Family Fiction which I am thankful for personally. Why? Well, I along with a girlfriend read/write reviews and I post reviews daily. Did all the books come from author or publisher, nope. In fact,my girlfriend and I scour various sources and mediums to locate books we put on a Word doc. title “Watchlist. If we aren’t offered the novel, more times than not one of us buys it then shares it with the other. Our whole goal in doing a book review blog is to attempt to inform readers, from a Christian perspective, what they can expect & find in a book. Frankly there are times when have to write a negative review before publishing, we contact the author and try to open a discussion. We believe authors have unique opportunities to reach out and influence a culture or society. Just like we are aware that our blog posts attempt to influence readers as well.
I have come across authors who have some of their works published the”traditional” way and yet other books written by them are self-published. It is hard to locate those novels unless you spend lots of time perusing various sites looking for books.
I’ve experienced great sadness at seeing book stores close or publishers not offering fiction to review. But the hardest, is when a book is published as an eBook and the print come later. To my friend and I that is almost like penalizing readers who don’t or can’t read eBooks. I can’t read eBooks but even if I could I wouldn’t. Why?
Mainly because you can’t share with others as easily as handing them a copy of your favorite novel to read and then either return or keep.
Also, it is too dependent on electronic stuff that fails and a hard copy is right handy.
Finally, a hard copy allows us to build a personal library to pass the books down for generations. Anything electronic is subject to change as we all know computers and their software do. The other experience happened last year when my father passed away. My mom’s eBook account at one outlet got closed, while she didn’t lose her library, she couldn’t add to it either. To protect identity theft the store closed the account, and I had to talk to her long distance in setting up a new one. She was frustrated to say the least, and she is just hitting her early 80’s. Technology is highly frustrating for this generation of folks who grew up in a totally different publishing culture.
Our blog isn’t dependent on receiving books for free to review, though we have been & are truly blessed to receive the books we do. We know in our hearts that it is necessary to share about a book because Jesus used stories to express truths, for example. There are seekers out there who want to know about Christ, and some who because of a story had their lives changed by the message of the Gospel.
One way to help in navigate the seas of constant change is to open a discussion like this one and look at what comes to the surface. This way anyone can read the posts and responses, then share their thoughts hopefully in a way that provides information or direction.
All this to say is chart your course as you feel the Lord would have you do, I have been amazed at what He has blessed my friend and I with, and the ways He has led us. Keep pounding out the words, share the stories, and whatever is decided the results are the responsibility of God.
God Bless you all for what you do and bring! God Bless America!
Refreshing honesty. Seeing the big picture should help authors dig in for the long haul, not fight the messenger. As a reader I long for strong fiction; and as a writer want to get my writing into the hands of readers with similar objectives. Sounds like the connection is the key.
Well said, Ann. Thanks.
Hi Chip (remember me? I have not forgotten that you carried my bags for me when I was limping through the airport at Nashville. Thank you again. Not many would have been so kind) anyhow I have to agree with your statements that because of so many changes in the industry we have to market smarter. We have to have a career plan and we have to find what is working and what isn’t. I am the founder of the CIA Christian Women’s Writers Club. We are a branch of the original CIA (Christian Indie Authors) With this new club I am taking what I have learned (some of it from you and Amanda) and applying it to help other Christian Women Authors learn how to market and we are standing together to help promote each other as well as sharing what is working and what isn’t. This is the point that I want to make here; You are right. Christian Fiction has become saturated and therefore making it difficult to stand out and market with so much out there. I am sad at the thought that some of the Christian publishing houses are being so exclusive. I don’t have any answers to fix that but to keep trying and looking for effective ways to market and make your work stand out from the others. Of course the best way to market is still to write a good book. Thanks for this insightful blog post.
Everyone still refers to you as Peg-Leg Gentry, Jenny. Glad you found this useful.
LOL Chip. That is so true.
This has been an insightful series of posts, Chip. Thanks for giving us your perceptive take on the industry. I’ll be interested to hear your analysis of the study that was commissioned on CBA fiction.
Yes — that’s something I’ve been meaning to do for a while now, Preslaysa.
Frankly, Chip, as a yet to be published novelist, I like to be provoked to think outside the box. That’s what both these posts have done for me and I’m sure many others. The more I run around trying to catch the ever changing and sometimes confusing publishing business, the less likely I am to discover the story I’m supposed to write. I appreciate all the professionals who can report honestly what’s going on and don’t get too shook up about it.
Thanks, Jan. Glad you came on to comment.
There is a lot to discussion about an industry in flux. I wonder when things will start to settle into a ‘new normal’. From my perspective, writing has less to do with great writing and more to do with name recognition. Do people know your name? If so, they’re more likely to purchase your book. That doesn’t suggest that people with name recognition aren’t good writers, but that self-promotion is becoming more important.
Love this question, T.G. I think we’re starting to see things settle into a new normal — print numbers seem to be stabilizing, digital numbers are pretty static, we’ve figured out what is selling. But that leads to new questions: How do we reach all those readers? How do we reach them if brick-and-mortar chains aren’t helping us? How do we best market and sell Christian fiction? Where are the deeper literary books that will actually change lives?
Those are similarly excellent questions. I’ve heard people speak of the power of ‘word of mouth’. I can understand that once the momentum starts, but that’s the secondary level. I’m not sure how to get the ball rolling initially. I suppose perseverance is the key. My self-published novel is called ‘The Pastor Who Hated Church- a Tale of Redemption’. (That’s my shameless attempt at self-promotion.)
Thanks for both of your posts about this. I appreciate realism and I think that there are just so many touchy people in this industry who take offense when none is intended. As an industry professional and the wife of a newer CBA fiction author and an aspiring novelist myself, what I think we need is not to view things through rose-colored glasses but to meet the industry and the readers where they are and figure out how to make books work and reach their audience.
I don’t want to sound like I’m a victim, Erin — the fact is, I said some things I believe to be true, and others took offense. That comes with the turf. But I didn’t want the fiction buyer at Lifeway to think I was hammering her, since I don’t feel she’s to blame. Clarifying was good for me. That said, I do think it’s funny how so many people can read their own biases into someone else’s words. The email that began, “How can you see yourself as fit for CBA?” was a good example. It suggests there is a code we all keep, one belief system we al share, and that I’d somehow broached it by daring to suggest CBA fiction is struggling. Um… ANYONE could tell you CBA fiction is struggling. If that fact shocks you, the you’re terribly out of touch with reality. (And Erin, thanks for giving me a chance to vent.)
One of the things I like about the particular publisher I work for is that there is a wide tent view of Christianity and a wide range of denominations represented at all levels looking to publish for a wide range of readers. However, I understand completely that an SBC controlled company needs to be careful about their stock.
Chip,
Thanks for your honest assessment. Truth allows one to adjust their direction instead of barreling into an iceberg. Thanks for shining a light on the “iceberg”. J Nell
I appreciate your comments, Chip. My perspective is that of an (Anglican) editor who can’t find literary fiction to edit because many writers don’t understand the absolute need for proper editing and proofreading. I just stopped reading a Christian book (for pleasure) because of egregious errors. Not budgeting for editing is a problem both within publishing houses and self-publishers, and unprofessional products contribute to poor/falling/no sales. Just another part of the larger problem you have been discussing.
Agree that there are some terribly edited books out there, VW. That said, I know of some fine editors working both freelance and within CBA legacy publishing houses.
Chip, there are some great Christian indie author support groups on Facebook. I’m part of a group creating marketing support so that we can spread the word more effectively about our books. Someone commenting on the previous post mentioned the need for a website and effective categorizing. We have websites we’re working on, too…
Agreed, Krystine. Want to share some of those groups with the readership, and tell us how you’ve found them helpful?
Chip, not all of the groups I belong to are available to the public, but this is a good place to start connecting: https://www.facebook.com/groups/291215317668431/
We also decided to divide some of our efforts for the purposes of marketing women’s fiction and men’s fiction, which seem to attract very different groups of readers (but we are still marketing across genres).
So, we now have a Christian women authors marketing group (CIA Christian Women’s Writers Club) at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1678846389016251/ where we exchange tweets, Facebook posts, blog tours, promos, and Thunderclaps, and will add other marketing exchanges as we have time.
Full participation in the CIA Christian Women’s Writers Club group is $50, although women may join and interact in the group for free.
The group is not confined to indie authors, nor do the books have to be specifically Christian in content as long as the author is a Christian, but where a book touches on biblical or spiritual subjects it must be theologically sound.
There should be a men’s group available in the near future, but I haven’t heard how far along the men are in setting that up.
Mr. MacGregor – To be sure, there are a number of Christian Indie Authors group on Facebook! Other than CIAN (that Krystin listed), there are also two more that I am familiar with:
Christian Indie Authors (CIA) FB private group — membership by invitation only, focused on “indie shop talk” 24/7/366. We have hybrids, indies, tradpub authors all helping one another. No membership fees.
ACFW Indies — membership via ACFW. Hybrid and indie authors are there too. I’m a member of both the above groups! Lots of CIA out there these days.
Indie Christian Authors is another one. It’s public, free, and does not allow spam so that we can talk shop, support one another, and answer questions. We also focus on weekly writing goals and prayer requests. Plenty of ways to get involved!
Thank you’s to Krystine, Jan, and Vicki for sharing this information with readers. Appreciate it.
Krystine,
Great! I’m looking forward to your creation.
J Nell
I just have to ask this question: what is the Christian worldview? Could the answer to that question be one of the biggest reasons “Christian” fiction is struggling? I’ve been a determined, “I’m going to understand this” believer in Christ since the mid 1960s. The doctrines that many Christians seem to cling to, even when they’re writing fiction, tend to divide them from the rest of the human race and to set themselves above everyone else. This underlying presumption of the infallibility of their belief system (especially when the rules apply to everyone else) seems to ignore the power of God’s absolute love for everyone.
So, instead of reading relatable stories of God’s faithfulness to meet us where we’re at simply because He loves us, we get thinly-disguised altar calls. And, underneath those calls to salvation is the misconception that those who don’t accept Christ will spend eternity in hell (so not what the Bible actually says). With that fallacy in place, why would reasoning people want to read “Christian” fiction?
You ask a fascinating question, Patricia, that has potentially far-reaching implications. I’m not going to offer my response, since I’m not sure my answer to the question of “what is my Christian worldview” matters. But I love the question, and I would love to see some novelists’ responses.
Patricia and Chip, My Christian worldview is rather simple: John 3:16-18
I agree that the problem with Christian fiction’s struggle really comes down to connecting books to readers. At least among Christian teens, I feel that many of us love Christian books because we can rest assured that they are going to be clean and uplifting while still being true to life and entertaining. I think it’s also great that I can read some Christian adult books that are way cleaner than some general market YA fiction that causes me to do a lot skimming/ Personally, I love the work of Anne Elisabeth Stengl and Kristy Cambron, (oh, and the classic authors like CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien, but that’s a bit of a given) and the more Christian fiction I read the more authors I learn about (next, I plan on reading the work of Nadine Brandes and Jaye L Knight). However, there are also a lot of teens who have written Christian fiction off as cheesy due to bad experiences with certain books. Then, of course, a lot of readers who are not Christian are not going to read Christian books. I think this happens because Christianity is considered to be a majority religion so while including other religions in books might be seen as a positive thing because it contributes to the diversity movement, including Christianity is a warning sign to some readers.
As an aspiring writer, I worry a bit about my novels finding general market readership. Some of my novels don’t overtly talk about Christianity but are written from a Christian worldview, such as my speculative fiction. However, some of my other novels such as my historical fiction novels do overtly talk about Christianity, although I of course try to make this subtle and not preachy. What I worry about is not being able to allow my books to reach the general market because publishers or readers might mark them off as “too Christian”-even if my novels are not preachy and instead include Christianity as an integral part of the character’s lives just as any other religion would be portrayed in books. At the same time, I want to stay true to my faith and not be scared of including it in my fiction when it fits the story. I also don’t think that indie publishing is for me because I would rather go for traditional publishing. So yes, it is very much a dilemma. Also, I just had a quick question. In your opinion, how much do non Christian publishing houses “tolerate” Christian fiction?
Appreciate you coming on to comment, Ana. Just so you know, I don’t feel a novelist who happens to be a Christian has to write a Christian novel. In fact, I’m not sure he or she needs to say anything about faith. It’s not just that a book isn’t preachy — it’s that some books are written for entertainment, some to educate on certain issue, some to cause readers to think about life in new ways… and I’m not certain a novelist’s work has to always reflect their faith. It often happens, of course. But what if someone simply wants to write a book that’s a great thrill ride? Isn’t that enough?
Oh, definitely. I probably wasn’t clear about that, but I believe that, too. One of my spec fic WIPs has nothing to do with faith except for my decision to keep it clean just because like you said, all books have different goals, and for that book, I didn’t really see a need to talk about faith. For another WIP of mine, however, faith is a huge part of the plot becasue the story is a lot about forgiveness, and without the faith aspect, it just wouldn’t be the same. My spec fic, on the other hand, would not change either way. Anyways, yes, I agree. If Christian writers always felt that they needed to somehow shove faith into every book they wrote regardless of whether it would actually contribute to the story, then the result would probably be a lot of very stilted books. Thanks so much for replying!
Late-comer here. Excuse me if I oversimplify, but concerning the whole idea of Christian fiction, my feeling is if we’re Christians, our books will be Christian books, whether or not we proselytize or market our work to a specific publishing house. If we’re nurses, we’re Christian nurses or CPA’s, we’re Christian CPA’s. Christian DNA runs through us. We’re free (and called) to use our gift to write the best story we can. Readers learn who they enjoy reading and trust the brand of their favorite authors, as it used to be before literary segregation. Take down that wall.
Thanks for joining in, Peggotty. What you’re suggesting is something many people in the arts have agreed with… but the devil is in the details, and once a novelist who is a Christian starts including characters or language or scenes or philosophy that doesn’t fit the conservative evangelical paradigm, they tend to face a lot of hostility. So while I agree with your premise, I’d say we’ve seen difficulty living this out in reality. My two cents.
One more comment – I was told by a Christian publisher that my story was too edgy. ABA publisher said my story was too inspirational. Ha ha
I’m sorry, but your comment is too edgy, Jane…
I appreciated your blog last week, Chip, because, as always, you dealt with the issues head-on. Nothing wrong with rosy optimism, but I’d rather hear the truth. It’s one of the reasons I so appreciate you as my agent. You don’t tell me what you think I want to hear but what you think is true, and that enables me to make wise choices.
I think that if we Christian authors will respect and support each other, if we will deal with the real issues (which are not indie vs. traditional, ABA vs. CBA, gritty vs. prairie), we will come out on the other side of this storm stronger than ever.
If instead we focus on attacking each other for speaking the truth or making different choices than we would make, then we’ll get what we deserve.
Amen, Robin! Thanks for that.
Hi Robin — Thanks for joining in. When you say “we will deal with the real issues,” what do you believe the real issues are? (I’m not being argumentative, by the way. I’m honestly asking your opinion.) -chip
The issues Christian authors are facing: Shrinking sales. Publishers stepping out of the market. The crisis–if you don’t mind the word–of discoverability. The fact that so many Christians don’t read CBA fiction because they think it’s all Amish or Historical Romance. Echoing what Katdish said above, there’s a stereotype about Christian fiction. It may have been mostly true at one time, but it’s not true any longer. Unfortunately, the folks who might’ve been fans tired of what the CBA had to offer before some of those newer authors’ books got to the market. If we would all band together, perhaps we could change the perception of Christian fiction. I remember a commercial a few years ago–I think the tagline was “Not your father’s Oldsmobile” or something like that. We need people to know that the books they can find at their local Christian bookstore are not their grandmother’s novels.
That’s what I mean when I say the “real issues” facing the CBA.
Robin, I agree. I loved a responder’s rebranding of Christian fiction to Transformational fiction. I ran that brand by two of my nurses who love to read. Both refused to read “Christian Fiction” for reasons too long to write, but both LOVED the brand Transformational Fiction. We may be on to something. J Nell
I love that, Jeanelle. Interesting idea.
#Moral #Leadership from #Christian #Church must #engage #FreeExercise attack w #HolySpirit inspired #Ethos & #Charity http://www.wsj.com/articles/whatever-happened-to-religious-freedom-1436827114
… @MessiahScrolls
Let’s start
with authors and writers continuing to frame the arc of the “Ethos”. Thanks for clear and encouraging article. Here’s my contribution: http://www.themessiahscrolls.com/megachurch/
#You either, #Tertius.
#Moral #Leadership from #Christian #Church must #engage #FreeExercise attack w #HolySpirit inspired #Ethos & #Charity http://www.wsj.com/articles/whatever-happened-to-religious-freedom-1436827114
… @MessiahScrolls
Let’s start
with authors and writers continuing to frame the arc of the “Ethos”. Thanks for clear and encouraging article. Here’s my contribution: http://www.themessiahscrolls.com/megachurch/
#I must admit #I have no #idea what you’re #saying here, #don.
Anytime you say “The Emperor has no clothes” you’re going to get a reaction. What you wrote fits in with what industry insiders have told me and what I’ve observed and heard from others. Pretending things are normal doesn’t help anyone.
I think people ignore the good news that you point out which is: “…we’re selling more books than ever, we have more readers than ever, and we have more opportunities than ever.”
Which means there IS a market for well written fiction–it must might mean a non-traditional avenue and even more emphasis on your personal responsibility for marketing.
Keep telling it like it is, Chip. It doesn’t help us to play ostrich.
Thanks, Dennis. I tend to think nobody really knows what “normal” is for CBA fiction any more.
Plainly put, with four published novels in the CBA market my time there came to an end. As tough as it was for me to admit it, they simply had no idea–none at all–of how to market my stuff. I’ve since bailed for the general market and haven’t looked back.
I don’t think I’m alone: go to any ACFW conference and you’ll discover there’s not enough male writers to get up a good poker game. And that’s fine; I suppose the CBA’s bread and butter has and always will be the distaff side. But as I heard an old preacher say (about church, but it’s true here as well), “go where you’re celebrated, and not just tolerated.”.
Lesson learned.
Goodbye, my Coney Island babe.
If you come to ACFW this year, we’ll play Texas Hold-Em, John.
John,
There were many male writers who wrote male protagonists at the Historical Novel Society Conference in Denver. Matter of fact, a male writer won “best novel”. Steve Berry, one of my fav author’s, was the key note speaker 2 years ago.
J Nell
Chip, I thought your first post was concise and to the point. I don’t know WHERE people got confused! I always appreciate your willingness to boil down what’s going on in publishing into something manageable. And i’ve always agreed – this is a golden age for publishing – it just looks a little different than we might have imagined. Keep up the good work!
That’s very kind of you, Edie. Thanks. Many people felt I was condemning Lifeway. Many others felt I was claiming CBA fiction is dead. And still others felt I was whining about the lack of depth in contemporary Christian fiction. The fact is, we are indeed facing a different industry than we were just a few short years ago.
Interesting that as soon as you ask for ‘solutions’ … where are all the comments? 🙂 I’ve heard everything from CBA being a ‘sinking ship’ to it already being sunk and sitting at the bottom of the ocean. I don’t believe that for a minute. Your first post said nothing new, really, nothing that those in the business weren’t already aware of, and yeah, I think some of what you said may have been misinterpreted. The fact is, there are some brilliant books coming out of CBA, publishers are taking risks, authors are being allowed to stretch their wings. The problem is, finding the right audience to embrace those stories that dive deeper into real life issues. Readers run the show. But that doesn’t mean giving up and saying things will never change. Change is a good thing, but it’s also a little scary. People don’t like it. As Daisy said, “The hard lines that have traditionally been drawn between Christian Fiction and General Fiction are beginning to dissolve,” which is good news for authors like myself who don’t put things in boxes and tie them up with pretty ribbons. But change doesn’t happen overnight. It takes work, and effort, and … faith. Some folks don’t want to wait. We’re seeing some great CBA authors now writing for ABA, which should tell us something. But I also think, if this ‘new genre’ as I like to think of it, is really going to take hold and find the new readers, we have to commit to helping one another, pooling resources, spreading the word. The negativity needs to stop. The great thing about the CBA community is the camaraderie. Authors help authors. We’re friends, even though we may write for different publishers and technically be ‘competitors’ in a shrinking market, we’re still playing on the same team. In my limited experience thus far, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. God-breathed stories will always find a way … I’d rather look at all this with hope and optimism, and a determination to be part of the change.
(Sorry for the long post, but as you might be able to tell, this topic is one I feel rather strongly about. 🙂 ). And thanks, Chip, again, for opening the discussion.
And it’s fine to feel strongly about it, Cathy — this is how many of us make a living. I loved Daisy’s comment, and plan to say more about that very topic soon. Appreciate you coming on to comment.
Wait. . .people are arguing over more than just politics? They’re bickering over books and blogs, too? Hahaha. Chip, happy to see you stirring the waters. We (authors represented by you) know what a champion you are, both for authors and editors. Proud to see you stating things so clearly. Very sensible post.
Thanks, Janice. You may be in the minority. :o)
IMHO, the reason Christian fiction is struggling is because some narrow-minded folks don’t want to read anything except happy people in happy places. This makes for boring reading. I want to read about people who’ve faced addiction, infertility, abuse, cutting, infidelity, gay and lesbian issues, and have come through the valley of the shadow of death with their faith stronger than ever. Too bad some Christians think we shouldn’t be talking about such things. WAKE UP people, this is the real world. Sorry for the rant.
It’s a good point. I have forced myself (literally…) to read some Christian contemporary romance and have found it to be so sugary sweet and unrealistic (Gilmore Girls on top of a cake covered in buttercream frosting. Ugh!) that I can’t continue past the first four chapters. I read “Gone Girl” in 2 days. The story gripped me even though it was general market and had bad language. I feel Christian fiction needs to provide a real story-grunge and all-if readers are going to take the gospel message to the world. And not just the Amish. 😉
Absolutely. I’m super picky about the Christian fiction I read. I love a good adventure story, legal thriller, etc. It doesn’t have to have someone get saved to be good.
Don’t apologize for the rant, Jane. You’re right — it’s going through those issues that make the stories real, and that’s where depth is found in writing.
I respectfully disagree. People are entitled to read what they like, and there’s nothing wrong with what people choose to read. The CBA has done a great job of reaching readers who prefer sweet to realistic. The issue is that the writers and publishers haven’t figured out how to reach readers who prefer grittier fiction. Let’s not disparage our readers, who have a right to their opinions. Let’s instead focus on broadening the Christian fiction audience
It seems to me that a lot of Christian authors feel as if they’re “supposed to” write for the Christian market, or write religious stuff. But is that really your calling? Notwithstanding the state of the Christian market, you might be better off shopping your book in the general market as well.
I agree. Isn’t our mission as Christians to ‘go and make disciples?’ How do we do that if we primarily write to a Christian audience?
Not sure I agree with that, Jane. As Christians we are called to make disciples. As writers, maybe we’re just called to write good stories. I don’t know that every story has to have spiritual significance.
I so agree with you, Chip.
Let me clarify – in our writing, we are evangelists if we can write a good story, where good and evil clash, and the theme is one of inspiration. Hard for me to articulate here. Looking forward to carrying on our conversation at OCW.
Good point! I am a Christian who writes fantasy/adventure for kids as well as mystery/ghost stories. Not what most people would consider what a Christian should write. But you know what? I don’t care. I have a readership and the kids love my stories that have Christian themes. I prefer the general market. 🙂
Good for you, Ruth. Thanks for saying something.
The biggest challenge I see is how to properly market Christian fiction. I am a long time fan of Stephen King, but there are people who simply will not read his work because they automatically associate that name with horror. Anyone who has read his work knows that while many of his books will fit under that genre, it is the story and the rich characters that keep readers coming back again and again. I see a similar problem with CBA fiction. I’ll use 2 of my favorite authors as examples. Billy Coffey and Amy Sorrells are both CBA authors, but their books–if they were marketed as ABA, would fetch a much broader audience. The problem I’ve found is the same as the King phenomenon. There are some people who simply will not read anything labeled as “Christian fiction” because they think all CBA is historical romance, Amish, or simply so white-washed that it is completely divorced from anything remotely related to real life. If one of the goals is to reach people “outside the fold”, how can we every hope to accomplish that when there is a vast audience out there who won’t even consider reading anything labeled as “Christian”?
Correct on every point, Katdish — Amy Sorrells could be widely successful if she were marketed differently, Stephen King is an amazing writer even if you are scared out of your pants by his stories, far too many people think “Christian fiction” is Amish romance, and the biggest issue we’re facing these days is “how do we market this stuff so that we reach the readers and it actually sells?” You win my “best commenter of the day” award.
(((blush)))! And Katdish always gets the prize for best commenter…
I started writing for publication (in periodicals) about ten years ago. It’s been a whirlwind decade, but I’ve learned that only one thing stays the same: things change. I feel badly for some of the houses struggling right now, but I’ve met some amazing people in the business. They’re smart and show ingenuity. They’ll find a way to recover. Here’s a great business-type book for people wondering how to navigate the changes: Who Moved My Cheese?, by Spencer Johnson.
Ha! I remember reading Who Moved My Cheese in grad school. The “business fable” still exists (The One Minute Manager, The Traveler’s Gift, The Goal, The Paradox of Excellence, Surviving Your Serengeti, etc), but it’s tough to make work, Lyneta.
This does seem a bit of a backtrack, Chip. Your reference to Lifeway’s commitment to “VERY safe Christian romances” as well as the chain’s “[reluctance] to take in much realistic fiction” leads one to believe that one reason Christian fiction is struggling is its inability to push some boundaries and win new readership… namely those who don’t require non-stop ““VERY safe Christian romances.” Frankly, that’s why I don’t shop at Christian bookstores for my books anymore.
Mike, I’m not backtracking at all. My point was that Lifeway, as a chain, DOES want things to be safe and Christian — which is fine, since they’re owned by the SBC, so I understand that. But I don’t want that to be the whole of Christian fiction publishing. (For those who don’t know, Mike and I had a discussion on Facebook about this topic. Now that he’s right with Jesus, all is well…)
This is good news for me since I am writing a Christian fiction book to pitch at ACFW. I thought about giving it up after Abingdon and CBA news, but your post is encouraging. Thanks! I figure that I will try my hand at obtaining an agent for my Christian fiction romance and if I need to, I’ll self publish since I have a readership. Publishing today takes a lot of pressure off writers.
I don’t think it’s time to give up — but I want to be honest with authors that publishing traditionally with CBA fiction is a bit of an uphill climb, Ruth.